AP Psychology: Important People, Theories, and Definitions

Wilhelm Wundt

  • Founded the first psychology laboratory in 1879.

  • Used introspection (examining one’s own thoughts).

  • Known as the “father of psychology.”

Edward Titchener

  • Created Structuralism.

  • Focused on breaking consciousness into basic parts.

Structuralism

  • The study of the structure of conscious experience.

William James

  • Created Functionalism.

  • Studied how behaviors help people adapt.

Functionalism

  • Mental processes exist because they help survival.

Psychoanalytic / Psychodynamic Psychology

Sigmund Freud

  • Created Psychoanalysis.

  • Believed unconscious thoughts affect behavior.

  • Developed:

    • Id

    • Ego

    • Superego

    • Defense mechanisms

    • Psychosexual stages

Psychoanalytic Theory

  • Human behavior is driven by unconscious conflicts.

Carl Jung

  • Created Collective Unconscious and archetypes.

Alfred Adler

  • Developed idea of the inferiority complex.

Karen Horney

  • Challenged Freud’s theories about women.

  • Focused on anxiety and relationships.

Erik Erikson

  • Developed Psychosocial Stages of Development.

Psychosocial Theory

  • Personality develops through social conflicts across life.

Behaviorism and Learning

Ivan Pavlov

  • Discovered Classical Conditioning using dogs.

Classical Conditioning

  • Learning through association.

John B. Watson

  • Founded Behaviorism.

  • Studied observable behavior only.

Behaviorism

  • Psychology should study behavior, not thoughts.

B. F. Skinner

  • Developed Operant Conditioning.

Operant Conditioning

  • Learning through rewards and punishments.

Edward Thorndike

  • Created the Law of Effect.

Law of Effect

  • Behaviors followed by good outcomes repeat.

Albert Bandura

  • Developed Social Learning Theory.

  • Famous for the Bobo doll experiment.

Social Learning Theory

  • People learn by observing others.

Humanistic Psychology

Abraham Maslow

  • Created Hierarchy of Needs.

Hierarchy of Needs

  • People must satisfy basic needs before reaching self-actualization.

\text{Physiological \rightarrow Safety \rightarrow Love/Belonging \rightarrow Esteem \rightarrow Self-Actualization}

Carl Rogers

  • Developed Client-Centered Therapy.

  • Emphasized unconditional positive regard.

Humanistic Theory

  • Focuses on growth, free will, and self-improvement.

Cognitive Psychology

Jean Piaget

  • Created stages of cognitive development in children.

Lev Vygotsky

  • Believed learning happens through social interaction.

Noam Chomsky

  • Proposed humans are born with language abilities.

George A. Miller

  • Proposed short-term memory holds about 7 items.

Cognitive Theory

  • Thoughts affect behavior and emotions.

Biological Psychology

Roger Sperry

  • Studied split-brain patients.

Paul Broca

  • Identified Broca’s area for speech production.

Carl Wernicke

  • Identified Wernicke’s area for language understanding.

Donald Hebb

  • “Neurons that fire together wire together.”

Intelligence

Alfred Binet

  • Developed the first IQ test.

Charles Spearman

  • Proposed general intelligence (g factor).

Howard Gardner

  • Developed Multiple Intelligences Theory.

Multiple Intelligences Theory

  • Intelligence exists in many forms.

Robert Sternberg

  • Created Triarchic Theory of Intelligence.

Triarchic Theory

  • Intelligence includes:

    • Analytical

    • Creative

    • Practical

Memory

Hermann Ebbinghaus

  • Studied memory and forgetting.

Elizabeth Loftus

  • Studied misinformation and false memories.

Developmental Psychology

Harry Harlow

  • Monkey experiments showed importance of comfort.

Mary Ainsworth

  • Developed attachment styles using the Strange Situation experiment.

John Bowlby

  • Developed Attachment Theory.

Attachment Theory

  • Early relationships shape future relationships.

Lawrence Kohlberg

  • Developed stages of moral development.

Carol Gilligan

  • Criticized Kohlberg for gender bias.

Social Psychology

Solomon Asch

  • Studied conformity.

Stanley Milgram

  • Conducted obedience experiments.

Philip Zimbardo

  • Conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment.

Leon Festinger

  • Developed Cognitive Dissonance Theory.

Cognitive Dissonance

  • Discomfort from conflicting beliefs and actions.

Emotion Theories

William James & Carl Lange

  • Developed James-Lange Theory.

James-Lange Theory

  • Physical arousal causes emotion.

Walter Cannon & Philip Bard

  • Developed Cannon-Bard Theory.

Cannon-Bard Theory

  • Emotion and arousal happen at the same time.

Stanley Schachter & Jerome Singer

  • Developed Two-Factor Theory.

Two-Factor Theory

  • Emotion = physical arousal + cognitive label.