Term List History & Perspectives

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Trephination

A practice where a hole was drilled or scraped into the skull to release evil spirits or relieve pressure.

Socrates

A philosopher and teacher who engaged in ideas and discussions, viewing the mind as separable from the body, and believed in something after death.

Plato

A student of Socrates who shared similar views on the separability of mind and body, and the idea of innate knowledge.

Aristotle

A student of Plato who focused on the physical world and behavior to understand the mind, emphasizing that knowledge comes from experience.

René Descartes

A philosopher who agreed with Socrates and Plato about the separation of mind and body and studied how they communicate. Made theories about nerve pathways. Dissected animals to figure out how the mind connects to the body

John Locke

A philosopher who believed in tabula rasa, stating that the mind is a blank slate at birth and experience shapes knowledge.

Wilhelm Wundt

The creator of the first psychology laboratory in 1879 and known as the 'father of psychology'.

Edward R. Titchener

A student of Wundt who developed structuralism, breaking mental processes into basic components.

Introspection

A method of self-observation where individuals report their thoughts and feelings to study the mind.

William James

A philosopher and psychologist who developed functionalism, focusing on how mental processes help organisms adapt.

Functionalism

The study of the purpose of consciousness and behavior in relation to how organisms adapt to their environment.

The Principles of Psychology

A textbook by William James that introduced psychology as a discipline in the U.S. to the educated public.

Mary Calkins

A student of William James, denied a Harvard PhD due to her gender, who became the first female president of the APA.

Psychology (1879–1920s)

The science of mental life.

Psychology (1920s–1960s)

The science of observable behavior.

Psychology (today)

The science of behavior and mental processes.