Psychological Thinkers Across History - Coursework Example

PSYCHOLOGICAL THINKER ACROSS HISTORY al Affiliation PSYCHOLOGICAL THINKER ACROSS HISTORY Introduction The history of psychology as a study of human behavior in relation to the mind dates back to the Ancient Greeks. There is clear evidence that psychology emerged as a branch of philosophy. Psychology developed as an independent discipline in the 1870s in the United States and Germany. The development of psychology is caused by variation in the zeitgeist that typically inspire different ways of thinking to understand better human behavior and mind. With each line of thinking aimed at either improving the existing idea or challenge it merits, it is not foreseeable the destiny of psychology. It is clear that new fields inspired by divergent thinking will continue to emerge in a bid to better understand the human mind and behavior. Aristotle (philosophical antecedents to psychology) This philosophical assumptions relating to causes of human behavior according to Aristotle are the material, the formal, the efficient, and the final causes (Solmsen, 1955).The material cause covers what something is made from. The body is made of living cells. The material cause explains properties of the human body that shapes some behavior. An example is the body needs energy generated by its cells, and so the body will have to take in oxygen (inhalation) to support its cause material (cells). The formal cause refers to what makes unity of a thing rather than several things. The human body is a collection of various cells and other components. The variation of the human body and mere collection of cells and other components is that the human body has possess functions and properties that result from a precise organization of the right kind of elements and cells performing specific duties. A mere collection does not define a formal cause of behavior. The efficient cause as a way of influencing human behavior determines what did what. Every process of change is triggered by an efficient cause. When eyes see things, then it’s because light from the things strikes the eyes and causes the eyes to see. Efficient causes determine what did what. The final cause influencing human behavior is why formal causes do what they do, and efficient causes do whatever they do. Formal cause explains the reason for existence as a way of influencing human behavior. Why do people exist? Aristotle theory explains that they are in place to make people and to be happy since they are rational. For Aristotle, the main reasoning idea is not solely centralized on what is most distinctive about humanity in comparison to other beings, but human behavior is driven by what the humans were meant to achieve at their best (Solmsen,1955). Aristotle believed in the golden mean, a balance of action existing between the motivation caused by pleasure and pain, allowing people to work towards attaining greater happiness as opposed to simply yielding to pleasure motivations. Meaning that as humans we do not just act but do so to accomplish something in the end- happiness. Aristotle contributed numerous basic concepts relating to behavior and learning that reappeared many centuries afterward influencing the development of Psychology. Some of the ideas include Aristotles psyche that distinguishes inanimate from animate and his exposition of the theory of four causes and his concepts concerning the dynamics involved in memory. On Memory Aristotle wrote a lot of literature on the study of behavior and learning concerning how people have the ability to recall things. Aristotle suggested that the observance or recollection of one thing would influence facilitation of the recollection of another thing according to three fundamental values: similarity, contrast, and contiguity (Solmsen, 1955). According Aristotle concept contiguity, one knowledge will tend to raise to mind another knowledge if the two ideas have been experienced in the past together. The similarity principle insinuates that one knowledge will facilitate recalling of another one to the extent of the similarities between the two ideas. These principles have been used in practical psychology (memory recovery in the event of memory loss triggered by some accidents or traumatic experiences) and have been associated with keys to learning in the process of association. Personality approach influenced Aristotle’s contribution to the history of psychology. Aristotle gave emphasis to reality portraying it as concrete and individual. He distressed Plato’s assertion of abstract theoretical universalism. Aristotle substituted the soul concept of Plato’s ideology for a single conscious being an indication that he relied on a personalistic approach to psychology John b Watson (early physiological and experimental psychology) According to John Watson, a behaviorist, and an experimental psychologist, Human behavior is learned, therefore all behavior can be untrained, and new one learned to replace it (Watson, 1913). Experimental psychology covers primarily studying human behavior experimentally using observation and measuring some of its aspects to be able to condition it. Thus, if a behavior becomes unacceptable, then it can be unlearned. Watson’s viewpoint is that the origin of human behavior is not explainable using the observable response to stimuli. Watson believed in nature, and all human differences resulted from learning. The environment is the key factor that leads to development or change in human behavior. Watson’s works did not explicitly target the explaining of the development of cultural standards in relation to behavior of humans, instead his focus was explaining in a general sense what causes and leads to development of human behavior. Because of his experimental studies on human behavior he founded the movement of behaviorism as a field in psychology. Watson’s contributions were many, branding him as the most influential 20th century Psychologist while at Hopkins University, he started formulating his idea of behaviorism. He believed that an individual learns emotions and behavior similarly just as they learn to speak or walk. Watson’s thinking was influenced the belief that a child was born in a blank state. In other words, infants are born without an integral intelligence but their knowledge is gained from perceptions and experiences. He extended his study in conditioning in humans, focusing on the study of infants. Watson’s most significant contribution to psychology is perhaps the most controversial study known today in experimental psychology of the Little Albert research experiment that he conducted in 1920. Watson concentrated his research on the emotion of fear. He held that fear was felt and innate that could be conditioned, a child could be conditioned to fear another distinct stimulus that was normally associated with fear. The child Watson used in his experiment was Albert, nine months old baby as at the time of experimentation. Watson instigated the conditioning phase, presenting Albert with various stimuli that included a white rat, dog, a burning newspaper, and rabbit. Initially, Albert demonstrated no fear to the stimuli presented. To condition Albert fear, Watson presented the baby with the stimuli and striking steel bar using a hammer. The Albert study is amongst the most influential experiments of the 20th century to shade light on anxieties and phobias. Hence, it provided an opportunity for counter condition in process to help treat anxiety disorders using psychology and other psychotherapies procedures that have helped in overcoming incapacitating fears that result from traumatic experiences in life. A naturalistic and personalistic approach to psychology rationalizes Watson’s contribution to psychology. Watson’s ideas at some point were rejected by prevailing zeitgeist of the early 20th century, but the naturalistic perspective gradually prepared the psychology field to adopt his contributions and further his research ideologies concerning human behavior. B.F Skinner (Applied psychology and behaviorism) Behaviorism constitutes the psychology of behavior and constitutes three broad categories that include methodological, psychological and analytical behaviorism. The section, therefore, examines methodological approach with the following underlying assumptions. There is no mind and all we do is related to behavior, reactions cab be observed and measured while learning is a change of behavior as result of experience. It as well assumes that responses are not innate but due to experience and finally, learners can take an active role in their environment. The theory states that psychology should be of concern to the organism as that of human and inhuman while, not the mental states or events (Skinner, 1977). According to the theory, making allusion out of animals’ minds as to beliefs and desires does not make psychology understand the origin of human behavior. Methodological behaviorism, therefore, observes that mental thoughts are private being and cannot be used in the empirical study of science. The development of psychology is well articulated within the theory. Those earlier perceptions as to comparisons of using animals to understand human behavior are clearly put into perspectives generating new ways of thinking regarding humans. Skinner is motivated by naturalistic approach to psychology. He disputes the notion of animals’ comparisons to understand human behavior and rather views them as unique in the society. The idea of no influence of the external influence on humans, therefore, cancels the possibility of personality approach in his theory. Sigmund Freud (psychoanalytic movement) According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, human behavior was caused by the result of the interactive relations of the three component parts of the human mind: that is the id, the ego, and the superego. Sigmund’s structural theory emphasized the significant role of played by the unconscious psychological interaction (conflict) in determining personality and behavior. Dynamic coordination of the three basic parts helps carry human beings through psychosexual stages during development: genital, latency, phallic, oral, and anal (Freud & Strachey, 1964). Each stage of psychosexual development requires mastery for proper development and transition into the next stage. According to the Freudian idea, the human personality is structured into three distinctive parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the most primitive part, functioning unconsciously, operating on the pleasure principles, and seeks instant gratification. The ego is considered less primitive, functions in partial consciousness, operates with reason on principles of reality and regulates the id by the satisfaction of urges when appropriate. The superego is the least primitive modern structure, functions consciously, operates on the principles of morality and regulates the id on the basis of social learning and aspects of morality. Freudian belief is founded on a constant conflict of the three basic structures. The most significant contribution Sigmund Freud made to psychology development is the conception of the unconscious. In the 19th century, the most dominant trend in psychology was positivism, the claim that individuals could accumulate knowledge concerning themselves and the world, and exert a rational control over both parameters (Freud & Strachey, 1964). Freud, contrarily, proposed that such claims were delusions; that were driven by thinking and usually acted for reasons not relating to conscious thinking. Irrespective of the viewpoints of Freud’s theories, there exists no question that he enormously impacted psychology with his ideas. His proposals supported the principle that not all mental disorders are physiologically caused, and he provided evidence that cultural variations have an influence on behavior and psychology. His studies contributed to the psychological understanding of clinical psychology, personality, abnormal psychology and human development. Sigmund’s contribution to psychology can be attributed to naturalistic approach since the prevailing zeitgeist at the time was more receptive to his way of thinking. This is evident in his disagreement with his students like Adler Alfred. Even though they had a difference in opinions concerning some aspects of their theories, alder still borrowed a lot of concepts from Sigmund to explore with his ideas on psychoanalysis. Carl Rogers on humanistic approach (Contemporary movements) Due to the inefficient of earlier psychology that had shown inconsistency with the current learning, there was emergent of contemporary issues regarding the reading. Failures indicated by behaviorists’ theories to address the particular questions motivated by desire and perceptions to develop new ideas for the study (Kahn, 1985). Therefore, new ways of examining human behavior aroused. One such tool was the work by Carl Rogers, who developed the humanistic approach theory to explain behavior. The thinker assumed all the assumptions of the Abraham Maslow to explain his idea. Assumed that motivation involves the entire person, it is composite and is only made possible due to several motivating factors. The theory further assumes that individuals are recurrently inspired and can arrange their needs in pecking order. Rogers argues that for a healthy relationship to existing and personal development, an individual requires an environment that provides genuine and empathy. He observes that every person is capable of achieving their desired goals in life, and if they do so, they achieve self-actualization. Human beings are unique; they are useful and creative and will do otherwise when their external restraint and the poor self-supersede their valuing process (Kahn, 1985). However, Carl believed that for self-actualization to be attained, a person’s ideal self and self-image must be congruent, and those who achieve that are said to e fully functioning. These individuals showed features like creativity, different experiences and trusted their lives. Carl argues that personal development is construed within self-worth, self-concept and the ideal self of an individual. Persons want to feel the experience and behave as to what conforms to the self-image and what reflect on what we want to be. Those individuals with high self-worth are confidence, ready to face challenges, unhappiness at times and are open to people. In this regard, Carl views individuals to be considered in a positive way that constitutes the unconditional and conditional positive regard. In absolute regard individuals are loved and accepted or what he or she is while, for conditional, a person’s acceptance depends upon the norm expected say by parents. Rogers has played a key role in the development of psychology. It gashes from the general psychology that maintained human emotions such as feeling that affects behavior. How individual feels about themselves is critical to psychological development that forms the self-worth. Carl rejected the psychoanalysis and behaviorism and said we are the best expert for our lives as we behave as we observe the situation providing a new dimension of psychology. Carl uses both the personality and naturalistic approaches his theory. He indicates that an individual expects to be observed in positive way, require genuine and sympathy to acquire a good relationship that shows an external environment showing personality approach (Kahn, 1985). A person of good self-worth, while their ideal is conforming to the images, shows motivation from within justifying the presence of naturalistic approach in his theory. Personalistic approach to history of psychology The personalistic approach to the development of psychology focuses on specific contributions and achievements of specific individuals to psychology. Their contributions are associated with either their charisma or will indirect contribution to its development. Charles Darwin was the prime mover of psychological concepts in the early days. A lot of modern psychological developments would not have been realized if not for Darwin’s contribution to the development of the evolutionary theory. The evolutionary psychology started with Charles Darwin when he proposed that humans possess a social instincts, this evolved by means of natural selection. Darwins contributions and ideas inspired other psychologists like Sigmund Feud and William James, who later branched to other areas of psychology. The later psychologist focused more on proximate explanations of human behavior and behaviorism. Naturalistic history of psychology The naturalistic approach proposes that the changes and progress in psychology are attributed to the prevailing zeitgeist, making the society more receptive some ideas than others. In other words, the prevailing times makes the person or makes possible the acceptance and recognition of the ideas proposed by the person (Robinson, 1995). Historically, Charles Darwin was the founder of the evolutionary psychology theory. The approach suggests that if Charles Darwin had died without proposing his theory then it is likely that another person would have developed a theory of evolution (Robinson, 1995). Implying that the prevailing zeitgeist climate at the time was receptive to such a way of thinking g as a means of explaining the originality of human species References Robinson, D. N. (1995). An intellectual history of psychology. Univ of Wisconsin Press. Freud, S., & Strachey, J. E. (1964). The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud. Kahn, E. (1985). Heinz Kohut and Carl Rogers: A timely comparison. American Psychologist, 40(8), 893. Skinner, B. F. (1977). Herrnstein and the evolution of behaviorism. Solmsen, F. (1955). Antecedents of Aristotles psychology and scale of beings. American Journal of Philology, 148-164. Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological review, 20(2), 158. Read More