Lesson 1.2: The Historical Roots of Psychology

Prehistorical/Traditional: Gods and Spirits

• No clear beginning

• Gods and spirits were attributed the power to direct and cause such activities and behavior of men.

Democritus

Believed that the human mind and body are composed of atoms, which could circulate freely, and which enabled it to penetrate the whole body.

Plato

• The mind and soul have a distinct power and are God-given.

• The soul is composed of three parts: Head, Heart, Diaphragm

Head

Exerts reason

Heart

Noble impulses

Diaphragm

Own passions and desires

Aristotle

• Believed that at birth, the mind is tabula rasa, a blank sheet, and that the experiences one encounters during one’s lifetime are impressed on the mind.

• Distinguished the three functions of the soul:

  • Vegetative, Appetitive, Rational (Common Sense)

Vegetative

Concerned with basic maintenance of life.

Appetitive

Concerned with motives and desires

Rational

Governing function

Galen

Believes that differences in behavior that is attributed to the vital fluids/juices of the body. (Blood, Phlegm, Black Bile, Yellow Bile)

Blood: Sanguine

Cheerful

Phlegm: Phlegmatic

Sluggish/flat effect

Black Bile: Melancholic

Sad

Yellow Bile: Choleric

Bad temper

Medieval Period: St. Augustine

Introduced and used the method of introspection, which is the description of one’s own conscious process.

René Descartes

Formulated a theory of mind-body interaction. (Dualism)

• Posits that the mind and body are fundamentally distinct substances, leading to ongoing debates about how they interact.

John Locke

Introduced the idea of the unit into which all experiences may be analyzed.

Wilhelm Wundt

• A German Psychologist founded his Psychological Laboratory at Leizpeg, Germany, which earned for the title “Father of Scientific Psychology”

• He first undertook, through the experimental approach, a systematic, scientific body of knowledge about the man’s interaction with his environment.

• Was interested in studying mental experiences. He used a method called introspection.

• Later, it was followed by Edward Bradford Titchener.

Introspection

• An attempt to directly study consciousness by having people report on what they are consciously experiencing.

• Inward focusing on mental experiences, such as sensations or feelings

Structuralism

• Developed by Wilhelm Wundt

• The school of psychology that attempts to understand the structure of the mind by breaking it down into its component parts

• Related to introspection.

• Example: “What sensations do I experience when eating an apple?”

William James

• Trained as a medical doctor, but made an important contribution to both psychology and philosophy. Although he too used introspection, he shifted his focus to the functions of behavior.

• To understand human behavior processes, the functional psychologist developed the technique of longitudinal research.

Longitudinal Research

• Developed by William James

• Consists of interviewing, testing, and observing one person over a long period of time.

Functionalism

• Developed by William James.

• A school of psychology that focuses on how behavior helps individuals adapt to demands placed upon them in the environment.

• Studies the purpose and usefulness of mental processes and behavior in helping people adapt to their environment.

• Example: A functionalist would ask, “How does eating an apple help me stay healthy and function better in my day?”

Max Wertheimer

While vacationing, his attention was captured by the illusion of objects in the distance, like telegraph poles, houses, and hilltops, which appeared to be moving along with the train.

Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kokler, Max Wertheimer

Founded the Gestalt school, which maintained that psychology should study the whole pattern of behavior or experience, or the perception of an organized configuration.

Gestalt Psychology

• The school of psychology that holds that the brain structures our perceptions of the world in terms of meaningful patterns or wholes.

• Emphasizes perceiving the whole experience rather than just individual parts.

• Example: A Gestalt psychologist would study how a person sees a complete melody rather than just individual notes.

Sigmeund Freud

A famous physician and psychiatrist attempted to find the cause and cure of personality disorders.

Psychoanalytic Theory

• Stressed the role of motives and cravings, often hidden and repressed in the subconscious mind, which result in abnormal behavior.

• According to Freud, much of our behavior is determined by unconscious forces and motives that lie beyond the reach of our ordinary awareness.

• Example: A person who had strict parents as a child might unconsciously fear authority figures as an adult, even if they don’t realize why.

Libido Theory

Concept from Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory that the sex urges in the unconscious constitute the main human drive.

• Ex: A child fixated at the oral stage (e.g., due to overfeeding or weaning issues) might grow up with habits like nail-biting, smoking, or overeating, reflecting how libido was expressed or blocked at that stage.

Psychoanalysis

• Based on the belief that therapeutic change comes from uncovering and working through unconscious conflicts within the personality.

• How unconscious thoughts, feelings, and early experiences influence behavior.

John Watson

Believes that psychology should limit itself to the study of overt behavior that observers could record and measure.

Behaviorism

• Based on the belief that psychology would advance as a science only if it turned away from the study of mental processes and limited itself to the study of observational behaviors that could be recorded and measured.

• Example: A student who studies hard because they receive praise or good grades is exhibiting behavior shaped by reinforcement.

Humanistic Psychology

• Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

• Emphasized the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom of choice and decision-making, as well as their potential for personal growth.

• Emphasizes personal growth, free will, and the innate potential of humans rather than focusing on disorders or conditioned behaviors.

• Example: A student chooses a career path based on personal interests and passions, not just grades or parental pressure, aiming to fulfill their potential.

Cognitive

• Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky, and Herbert Simon

• Focused on thought and mental processes.

• Human behavior cannot be fully understood without analyzing how people acquire, store, and process information

• School of thought that studies mental processes such as thinking, memory, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making.

Biological

• James Olds and Rogers Sperry

• Theorized that much of human and animal behavior can be explained in terms of bodily structure and biochemical processes.

• Studies how the brain, nervous system, hormones, and genetics influence behavior and mental processes.

• Example: A biological psychologist would study how a student’s brain activity and neurotransmitters affect their ability to concentrate during class.