Foundation of psychology - Essay Example

This method was termed as ‘structuralism’ as it was an attempt to figure out the basics of the fundamentals of conscious mind. Functionalism William James (1842-1910) was the first notable psychologist in the United States. He also studied consciousness, just like Wundt, but his perspective was different; he was not interested in breaking apart the conscious mind to study its structure. He studied how the conscious mind helps humans to survive in their environment (Franzoi, 2009). His approach to psychology was termed as functionalism.

Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud is considered a pioneer in modern psychology. Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian physician trained as a neurologist, and is the founder of Psychoanalysis school of thought. It is based on the premise that human behavior is determined by hidden motives, unconscious desires and motives (Franzoi, 2009). The main subjects Freud’s psychoanalysis dealt with include; dreams, childhood development, aggression, sexuality, motivation, personality, psychotherapy and creativity (Franzoi, 2009).

Behaviorism The way psychoanalysis is attributed to Sigmund Freud, behaviorism is mostly linked with John Watson (1878-1958). This school of psychology does not dig deeper into the thoughts. It looks for visible observable behaviors. Watson studied rats, cats and dogs and became interested in the workings of the mind. He proposed that psychology should be studied under the assumption that a thought dictates the behavior, so studying behaviors (visible) one can study the workings of the mind (Franzoi, 2009).

Humanistic Psychology Many psychologists were not satisfied with ‘behaviorism’ and ‘psychoanalysis’, they sought something more comprehensive that would explain (or satisfy their curiosity about) human behavior. So a third force emerged in the 1950s known as humanistic psychology (Franzoi, 2009). This school of thought highlights people’s inborn desire to excel and their conscious decision making ability (Franzoi, 2009). Carl Rogers (1902-1987) and Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) were the forefathers of this section of psychology.

Both of these gentlemen suggested that “psychology should study people’s unique mental experience of the world” (Franzoi, 2009). The stress here is on positive life experiences and how they impact a person’s psychology (their moods, personal growth, decision making abilities etc.). The relatively new school of thought called ‘positive psychology’ is closely linked with humanistic psychology. Gestalt Psychology The biggest critic of Wundt’s structuralism was the German, Max Wertheimer (1880-1943).

He disagreed with him on the point that “the whole is different from the sum of its parts” (Franzoi, 2009). In simple words, a person’s behavior and perceptions are not the result of individual elements or stimuli accumulated over time, the mind doesn’t keep them as they are, it makes them into something different, a whole or gestalt (Franzoi, 2009). Cognitive Psychology The word cognitive is rooted in Latin which means “to know” (Franzoi, 2009). As the name suggests, cognitive psychology looks at how the brain accepts and understands information and experiences (Franzoi, 2009).

This branch looks into matters such as how would a judge decide if the defendant is guilty or not, or how does a student comprehends a lecture etc. George Miller and Ulric Neisser are the most profound names from this school of thought (Franzoi, 2009). This branch developed quite late; at the same time when computer