history of psychology

Key moments, names, and dates associated with the history of psychology (know which historical figures and moments came before/after others and which earlier historical figures seem to have influenced which later figures)

roots in philosophy

wants to answer the question why are we here? what’s the purpose of things?

philosophers

• rene des cartes

  • reality is divided into two parts: mind and body

• john locke

  • life, liberty, property

roots in science

the systematic study of the world around us through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories using evidence

scientists

• galileo galilei

  • inertia, heliocentric solar system

• isaac newton

  • gravity

when did philosophy reach it’s apex?

1600s

when was the scientific revolution?

1600s

empiricism

the idea that knowledge comes from measurable, observable, and testable information that we can detect with our senses

theory of evolution

• charles darwin

• 1859

  • evolution, natural selection, survival of the fittest, adaptations

structuralism

defining the structure—the “what”—of consciousness

• what are the basic building blocks that allow for all levels of thought?

• consciousness

  • introspection

introspection

personal observation of our own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

• ignore what the object IS, instead describe your conscious experience of it

father of psychology

wilhelm wundt

birth year of psychology

1879

what was the theory explored by wilhelm wundt and edward titchener?

structuralism

functionalism

the idea that our conscious thoughts exist to serve a purpose, of helping us take in information from the world around us so that we might adapt to changes in our environment and survive

functionalism founder

william james, 1870s

psychoanalytic theory

the theory that our behavior is deeply influenced by unconscious thoughts, impulses, and desires (unconscious is the difference from structuralism

father of psychoanalytic theory

sigmund freud

gestalt psychology

the combination of all that we consciously experience is lost if we try to divide it into its component parts

father of gestalt psychology

max wertheimer (early 1900s)

behaviorism

psychologists should only be concerned with observable behavior, not thoughts

• this is different from structuralism and psychoanalytic theory, but also from functionalism and gestalt psych

father(s) of behaviorism

john watson, b.f. skinner