Five Influences of Psychology

Five Influences 

• Introspection 

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) 

• Introspection – to look within and accurately record one’s own reaction to a stimuli 

• Structuralism – looked at how the mind operated by combing subjective emotions and objective sensations. (Ex: determining the thoughts, sensations and memories someone has when they are eating a delicious treat). 

Does not currently influence psychology today. 

Gestalt Psychology 

• Max Wertheimer (1880-1943) 

  • Felt it is important to take into account the person’s whole experience rather than just parts of it. 

• Ex: Clinically, when sitting with a patient, it is important to learn about their entire background and history rather than trying to offer them quick fixes to their presenting problems. 

• Does not currently influence psychology today. 

Psychoanalysis 

• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) 

  • Unconscious mind – a part of our mind that we are not consciously aware of, yet it controls our thoughts and behaviors. 

  • Repression – sending to the unconscious mind traumatic events and hurtful memories that are too severe for our conscious mind 

• Belief that the mind and body are connected 

• Believed that to understand and uncover the elements and repressed memories into the unconscious mind, we must look at dream content and interpretation 

• Is widely used and recognized in psychology 

Behaviorism 

• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) 

  • Classical conditioning – a natural response to a standard stimulus is expressed in a response to a previously neutral stimulus. 

• Ex: Training a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell. 

• John Watson (1878-1958) 

  • Believed that psychology should be based on only scientific findings. 

  • Behaviorism – only looking at behaviors and reactions that can be measured. 

• B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) 

  • Reinforcement – a stimuli that either increases a behavior/response or reduces a behavior/response. 

• Does not currently influence psychology today. 

Eclectic 

• Eclectic – they draw from multiple theories and apply different interventions. 

• Is widely used and recognized in psychology. A majority of psychologists identify as eclectic.