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People speculated about human behavior; documented studies date back ~25 centuries to Greek philosophers.
Key questions: mind–body relationship; how ideas are formed.
Ideas about mind formation: Inborn ideas vs. blank slate; whether parts are connected or distinct.
Early/preceding influences listed: The Hebrews, Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Aristotle, Augustine.
Dorothea Dix noted as American advocate for the mentally ill.
John Locke associated with the idea of the blank slate (influential for later psychology).

Father of Psychology: Wilhelm Wundt.
Established the first formal psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany.
Focus of early psychology: Structuralism – study consciousness by identifying the mind’s elements and how they are organized.
Method: Introspection – looking inward at one’s own decisions and thinking.
1st American Psychologist: William James.
Emergence of a distinctly American school of psychology.
Early American focus related to Structuralism and understanding how consciousness (thoughts & feelings) functions to help people adapt to their environments.
Methods used: Introspection, questionnaires, and mental tests.
Revolt against Wundt led by Max Wertheimer (early Gestalt ideas).

Main focus: understand the structure of consciousness by breaking it into basic elements.
Key method: Introspection to examine sensations, thoughts, and feelings.
Objective: reveal how components of the mind are organized.

Main focus: how consciousness functions to help people adapt to their environments.
Emphasizes the whole experience rather than its parts; "the whole is greater/different than the sum of its parts".
Associated with William James as a leading figure in American psychology.
Tools used: introspection, questionnaires, and mental tests.

William James: 1st distinctly American psychologist; proponent of Functionalism.
Wilhelm Wundt: Father of Psychology; formal lab founder; Structuralism.
Max Wertheimer: Key figure associated with Gestalt psychology; notable revolt against Wundt’s approach.