Ancient Psychology and Modern Psychology: Wundt and Freud - Dissertation Example

Ancient psychology and modern psychology: A Comparative and contrastive study of Wundt and Freud Introduction Psychology is the science of consciousness and as Judd points out any one who seeks to explore the various forms of consciousness which appear either in his own experience or in the mental lives of others is in his degree a psychologist (Judd, 1907, p. 1). The word “psychology’ has its origin from the Greeks and the term refers to the Science of soul. The armchair philosophers were interested in the nature of soul. Democritus, the first Greek philosopher, argued that everything is composed of indivisible, unitary material called atoms in constant motion. People are constituted of soul atoms and body atoms. The nature of soul was not defined in definite terms. Therefore, his views were opposed by other contemporary philosophers and hence the definition of psychology as a science of soul was given up. The philosophers evolved another definition of psychology as the ‘science of mind’. The definition remained in vogue for a long time but the same controversy arose on the nature of mind, and ultimately this definition was too discarded by philosophers. Another word which requires explanation is behavior. Psychology has often been defined as the science of behavior. The word behavior is popularized by J.B Watson, an American psychologist, who defined behavior as an action which can be seen and observed in an objective way. The meaning of behavior includes external and internal stimulation. Behavior is observed and also measured in an objective way (Zimmer, 1999). Many cultures throughout history have hypothesized on the nature of mental process of mind, soul, and spirit etc. In ancient days psychologists have conscious experiences so that they never depended on visual and auditory processes. The early philosophers of Greek establish themselves in bitter intellectual arguments for the establishment of truth. The ancient psychological research took place as result of their insufficient techniques and hard work. The 21st century has moved ahead in psychological understanding and one’s information of human manners has grown in several ways. There are several hypothesis and practices of psychotherapy nowadays and increasing numbers of people are inflowing psychotherapy to cure and transform their lives. Even then there are so many people living with dissatisfaction and broken relationships. In spite of the immense scientific investigation into human character and its effect on current psychology, numerous people now lack a sound sense of path in their life. Today many people live in isolation. Psychology has worked hard to realize and take care of characters that negatively influence people nearby them. Its hypothesis and conclusions have been executed in relational, personal, and educational field, yet our community remains declining. Therefore, it is essential for the psychiatric therapists and spiritual practitioners to work mutually to endow with an integrative approach to develop psychological and divine improvement. At the same time psychology has contributed a lot to the understanding of human character (Mijares, 2002, p. 1). For the first time in history, the teachings of the wisdom and divine customs and the well-known prophets are available now without difficulties to those who search for them. Throughout this millennium, spiritual teachers from different parts of the globe have come to U.S to share their wisdom. This information coupled with the innovations of psychology, will assist cure person, families, societies and humanity as we research more extremely into this new century. After 100 years of partition and hostility, psychology and belief are finally entering into a meaningful discourse where as psychology is a science that addresses mental, emotional, somatic and relational dynamics, spirituality illuminates the inherent mystery life itself (Mijares, 2002, p. 2). History of educational psychology is as old as the process of education on earth. A large number of eminent scholars and scientists have contributed to the development of psychology from time to time. The development of psychology can be traced back from the time of Greek philosophers in the west. Democritus was the first philosopher who emphasized the influence of the home on the developing personality of the child. In 4th B.C Plato and Aristotle developed a system of education and its relation to psychological principles. They wrote on various aspects of education for different kinds of people, education of character, the profession of teaching, and methods of teaching, nature of learning, the influence of home in education etc. Aristotle presented his psychological views more systematically and comprehensively in his writings. He believed in faculty theory of mind and emphasized the intellectual process. The doctrines of Aristotle were modified by scholars. Aquinas in 13th century attempted to modify Aristotelian teaching to suit the needs of his time. Descartes also supported the ideas of Aristotle regarding the nature of true knowledge (McLenaghan, 2001). Rousseau attempted to base education on the principles of human development. He prepared a detailed scheme of education in his famous book Emile. John Locke, critically examined the doctrine of faculty psychology current in his time. Though he did not completely discard the faculties but argued that faculties were not real things in the soul that performed the actions indicated by their different names. He persisted that at birth, the human mind was not prepared and ready to function, but potentially sensitive to impressions from the external world through the senses. Learning through experiences came to be known as empiricism (John Locke (1632-1704), 2009). The other significant development was the doctrine of faculty psychology. According to the doctrine of faculties, mind was considered as three interdependent sets of powers: (1) understanding, reasoning, (2) the will (3) desires, appetites, feelings, and emotions. Pestalozzi, though continued believing faculty theory, is said to be first educator who tried psychological education and revolutionized the teacher training program by placing an emphasis upon education as a process of drawing out of the individual. He evolved a method of learning and developed laws of human development. His main contribution is the impetus and direction which he gave to teacher training program. Faculty psychology had great influence in USA. It gave birth to a theory of education popularly known as formal discipline theory of education. It emphasized the form of subject matter and its disciplining value of the mind. The pioneer work in the development psychology was done by Herbart and Froebel. They developed an approach to education based on principles of psychology. Herbart stressed the importance of interest and apperception. He considered human personality as dynamic and individually structured system of forces. Froebel developed new methods of teaching for infants popularly known as “kindergarten” which emphasizes the significance of early experiences in education (Hughes, 1897, p. 37-38). Whelm Wundt The beginning of scientific educational psychology starts from the latter half of 18th century .scientific educational psychology, in the beginning of the present century, drew the attention of a number of psychologists who devoted their research to special areas within psychology which had impacts on education as well as human life. The Systems of Psychology Behaviorism, and Psychoanalysis were developed in the beginning of the present century. These systems explained human behavior and learning from different angles and had influenced theory and practice of education. Whelm Wundt is known as one of the founding fathers of psychology. Whelm Wundt is not an inventor of psychology but he made psychology a true science. Wilhelm Maxmillan Wundt was born in Germany on August 16, 1832. He completed his primary studies at boarding school and at the age of 19 he went to university for higher studies. In 1857 he was selected as a lecturer at Heidelberg University and held classes on physiology. He was worked under well known psychologist Helmholtz at the period of 1858 to 1864 as an assistant. He got a wonderful experience during this period and had done various researches with him (Wilhelm Wundt and Introspection). He setup a laboratory at Leipzig to conduct research on senses. This laboratory grew up from one room to another which was filled with Wundt’s different research equipments. In 1881 Wundt started teaching courses on psychological psychology. At the same year he began a magazine called “Philosophische Studien.” These improvements drove to the establishment of psychology as a science. Wundt wrote his autobiography before his death in 1920. The massive quantity of writing and his frequently altered opinions made it difficult for the critics to criticize him; his opinions had frequently been altered by the time the critics prepared to present their disapproval (Wilhelm Wundt, Father of Psychology Page 2). Wundt had lot of students and helped them for studies in sensation and perception and he was being the administrator for 186 doctoral dissertations. One of Wundt’s most important techniques used to probe psychological phenomenon was self-examination. Throughout making experience, the concentration of his study of psychology, Wundt was clever to avoid communicating the connection between the soul and body, by this manner distancing himself from philosophical thoughts concerning the mind. According to Wundt, no one could observe an experience better than the person having the experience and the method of introspection was therefore the key in his study of psychology. The concept of introspection was not invented by Wundt but his experimental control of its use was original (Wilhelm Wundt, Father of Psychology Page 2). Introspection was used frequently in combination with actions of response, time and word relations. One investigation found that out of 180 scientific research reports on research from the years of 1883 to 1903 only four reports enclosed merely introspection. There were strict rules that were followed when introspection was used in order to avoid so called false introspections (Wilhelm Wundt, Father of Psychology Page 5). Historically introspection is the oldest method which was formerly used in philosophy, and then in physiology to collect data about the conscious experiences of the subject. Introspection means self-observation. It may also be called as looking within oneself to experience one’s own mental state. This method was developed by structuralists in physiology who defined physiology as the study of conscious experiences of the individual. For them it was a process of examining one’s own mental process of thought, feelings and motives. The individual introspects, observes, analyses and reports his own feelings. Merits of introspection: introspection is an important method of collecting data that has been used from the beginning of psychology as a separate subject. Introspection is the easiest method and readily available to the individual. Individual can any times introspect about his mental state without incurring any expenditure. According to Wundt, in introspection are concerned with the nature of experience itself and with the laws of mental process. The observer in introspection is direct towards the answering of questions of theoretical importance for the advancement of our systematic knowledge of the laws and conditions of mental process. Introspection has its historical importance. It generated research which resulted gradually in the development of more objective methods. Introspection is still used in all experimental studies. Wundt’s Principles of Physiological Psychology is considered fundamentally important text in the field of psychology. Though generally accepted as significant in the birth and development of psychology, his influence in psychology nowadays is a topic of debate among specialists. Though Wundt wrote widely on a different types of topics, includes philosophy, physiology, physics and psychology, the vastness of his writing makes it difficulty to make out a single, coherent type of thought. Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud considered as the father of modern psychology. He was born in part of the Czech Republic on 6 May 1856. Due to the financial crisis of 1857, Freud’s parents moved to Leipzig before settling Vienna. Freud was an outstanding student and completed his graduation from Matura in 1873 with honors. After planning to study law, Freud joined the medical faculty at University of Vienna to study under Prof. Karl Claus (Storr, 2001, P. 3). Freud has been influential in two interrelated but different ways. He concurrently developed a hypothesis of how the human mind is structured and works internally, and formulated a theory of how human behavior and state of affairs are resulted from this specific theoretical understanding. This led him to favor guaranteed clinical procedures for attempting to facilitate heal psychopathology. He theorized that formation of personality is beginning from the person’s childhood experiences. Freud’s theories: The most significant contribution Freud made to Western thought were his arguments concerning the significance of the cataleptic mind in understanding conscious thought and behavior. Freud was the first psychologist who placed great importance on instincts as the determinant of human behavior. He proposed two instincts: (a) Eros, the love and the self preservation, (b) Thanatos, the death instinct, as the ultimate cause of all human activity. Psychic Structure: According to Freud, it is the libido or the sexual energy that dominates the behavior of an individual. When he revised his theory which includes two groups of instincts, the libido was defined as the energy of all the life instincts. The sexual libido is regarded as the source of primary driving force of the personality. The dynamics of personality is seen as largely governed by the need of gratify the libido (Sarnoff, 1962, P. 69). He divides the psychic structure into three: Id, Ego and the super ego: The id: It is inborn. It s main function is the discharge of psychic energy which when pent up produces tension through the personality system. The id operates on animal level. It cannot differentiate between good and bad and operates on pleasure principle. The primary process thinking explains id behavior as resulting from pent-up tensions, which Freud described as frustration. The primary process attempts to discharge tensions by bringing into consciousness memories associated with the source of frustration (Sarnoff, 1992, p. 109). The ego: The id knows only the subjective reality of the mind. The second concept of Freud is the ego, which distinguishes between subjective reality and things in the external environment. It operates on the principle of reality. The ego is called the executive of personality. It obeys the reality principle and operates by means of secondary process. The pleasure principle is only concerned with whether an experience is painful or pleasant; the principle of reality is concerned with whether it is true or false. The ego formulates a plan for the satisfaction of the need and executes it, keeping into consideration the reality principle. It often integrates the conflicting demands of id, the super ego and the external world. The ego is an organized portion of the id which has been modified by the contact of external reality and experience. Ti comes into existence to forward the aims of the id. It brings a compromise between the instinctual urges of the id and demands and forces of external environment (Sarnoff, 1992, p. 174). Explaining the relationship between ego and the id, Freud said “ Imagine that the relationship between a horse (id) and its rider (ego). While the rider usually determines the direction of the horse, there are those times when it is the horse who leads the rider” (Berzoff, Flanagan & Hertz, 2007, p. 64). The super ego: It is the agency, which internalizes the parental influences and ideals of society through early childhood experiences. It represents the ideal rather than the real and strives for perfection. It works in accordance with the moral standards authorized by the agents of society. Dynamics of personality According to Freud, the human organism is a complex energy system, which derives its energy from food it consumes. The energy created by biological factors may be transformed to psychic energy. Three parts of psychic structure id, ego, and super ego are in constant conflict. The dynamic of personality involves a continuous interaction and clash between id impulses seeking release and inhibition imposed by the super ego. The individual is in quest for immediate gratification of impulses, seeks pleasure and avoids pain in order to reduce tension. The drive for immediate satisfaction of instinctual demands leads to early clash between the individual and his environment. Conflicts develop when the parents or other member of mental mechanisms to it and the demands of the id and the super ego. The ego, in order to adjust in the social environment, utilizes a number of mental mechanisms to it and the demands of the id and the super ego which reduce tensions of the individual (Sarnoff, 1992, p. 12-18). The development of personality Freud organized his personality theory around psycho-sexual stages of development. Body pleasure or erogenous zones shift from one part of the body to the other as the child advances in age such as mouth, anus and genitals. There are four distinctive stages of psycho- sexual development: oral, anal, phallic, and genital through which the child moves. According to Freud, the person’s experiences at each stage leave some characteristic impressions and imprints that influence his future personality development. The specific sex experiences at any of the stage either in the form of over-indulgence or deprivation may produce fixation, which means an arrest of sexual impulses at any early stage of psychosexual development (Sarnoff, 1992). Evaluation of Freud’s theory Freud’s theory of personality has revolutionized theory and practice of psychology and made major contribution to understand personality mechanisms. It has greatly influenced all social sciences as regards their approach to human behavior. Many researchers have been conducted to test the theory of psychoanalysis. The advantages and weaknesses of the theory are as follows: Advantages: it is a comprehensive theory of human behavior which includes all aspects of personality and its complexities. It is a holistic approach to understand human personality. It does not divide the personality into specific traits. It gives more emphasis to functioning of the individual as a whole. It gives more freedom to the individual to respond in the form of free association. The theory recognizes the importance of unconscious motivation in the development of behavior patterns. It has investigated and discovered underlying phenomena of personality by means of extensive observation of patients. His theory of casual determination and emphasis on early childhood experiences as the important factors have been accepted by behaviorists as an important contribution to psychology (Sarnoff, 1992, P. 10-13). Weaknesses: There are psychologists who do not agree on the basic concepts and methodology used by Freud. Many research scholars have conducted studies on psycho-analytic approach to personality and point out the weakness of the theory in their studies. Some of the common weaknesses are as follows: Some psychologists have criticized the theory on the basis of methodical procedure. The data of psycho-analysis consisted of the reports of the patients without verification from other sources. No systematic procedure followed by him in data collection and its recording. He never validated his hypotheses against any criterion. The method of analysis by reconstructing the patient’s history on the basis of what the patient says is a source of information that cannot be relied upon for scientific study of behavior. Psycho-analysis is an interpretation of behavior. It is not an explanation of behavior. He has laid more emphasis on sex as an explanation of human behavior which has been discarded by psychologists. Freud used a number of concepts in his theory which have not been defined clearly. They are ambiguous in their meanings. The language of the theory is so vague that researchers seldom agree on the meaning of a term. For example, repression and libido have been used for different concept at different times by Freud. There is a lack of quantification and statistical analysis of the data. He never quantified his findings. It is purely a descriptive theory. Quantitative estimates of relationship among various concepts are never made. The theory is confusing and difficult to test. One important and major weakness of the theory is the lack of predictability. The theory does not provide any systematic procedure to predict the behavior of the individual under different circumstances. The theory has not been substantiated by scientifically respectable procedure for investigating human behavior. Objective verification of the data is practically impossible. The claim of Freud to study subjective phenomena by objective methods seems to be baseless. The theory gives importance to internal organization of behavior and past experiences in the development of personality. It decreases the importance of the present experiences and social environment to which the individual must adjust. Freud’s theory is based on the concept of instincts which has been discarded now. Freud’s conception that psychoneurosis involves sex instincts and is the result of fixation and regression in the action of libido has been proved wrong by the cases of neurosis in soldiers in first World War. Conclusions: History of psychology is always linked with German philosopher Wilhelm Wundt who founded the Science of psychology at the University of Leipzig in 1879. One realizes that Wundt was the most PR-savvy of a huge cluster of theorists who really invented the new-fangled science of psychology, and there are many who accept him as the inventor of modern psychology. As far as I concerned Wundt was a philosopher. His modern science taught us about the human nature through analyzable and quantifiable method, an approach popularized as Empirical Positivism. This approach is making us no wonder because he was an Analytic philosopher. According to Giobbi, one needs to “understand the paradigm shifts of modern psychology: from Wundt’ Voluntarism, to Titchner’s Structuralism to the American approaches of, and Behaviorism, up to and including the modern paradigms of Cognitive, and Neuropsyhology as direct descendents of the Analytic Philosophy movement. All of the paradigms cited have in common a dedication to measurement, logic, mathematical interpretation, and experience (empiricism)” (Giobbi, 2006). At the same period Wundt was publishing the first article on the modern ‘Scientific Psychology’ a Viennese doctor; Sigmund Freud was publishing his book called ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’. Sigmund Freud has analytically set forth the seeds of what would be converted into an incredible and influencing theory of the human state based on religion, culture, mythology, and anthropology. Sigmund Freud had a great influence of Schopenhauer who can be effortlessly mistaken for Freud’s. At the spirit of bizarre relationship of the association of psychology rests a basic diversity in approach: Analytic Philosophy against Continental Philosophy. The former a structural, mathematical, logical and no nonsense approach to human state, the final a vague, deconstructed and approximately poetic approach to the identical questions (Giobbi, 2006). In the summer, a great happiness period of 1897, Freud took on his most gallant step – psychoanalysis of his personal unconsciousness. It is very difficult to imagine how important this accomplishment was, that trouble being the destiny of most revolutionary exploits. His “Project for a scientific psychology” describing about neurophysiologic theory based on transmits of power by the neurons in the head in order to explain unconscious mechanism. He gave up the project when he came to realize that there was a complicated psychological process over and neuronal activity. His psychoanalytic theory classified in to several groups. Modern psychoanalysis , intersubjective psychoanalysis, relational psychoanalysis, interpersonal psychoanalysis, Lacanian psychoanalysis, self psychology, object relations theory, conflict theory, ego psychology, structural theory and topographic theory. Sigmund Freud and Whelm Wundt both have contributed to the vast knowledge and experience of modern psychology. Freud’s and Wundt’s self analysis has to be pointed out of the various method of introspection which were developed in the late 19th millennium. I have disputed here that few of the important elements which typify the metaphorical exposition of Freud’s own dreams in “The interpretation of Dreams” were already copied in the present of introspective hypnotism which preponderate in German-speaking nations in the 1890s. The oratory of acknowledgment employed by Whelm Wundt in their thesis on auto-hypnotic states placed the character of the weak or failing medical specialist on stage. Since the middle of the 20th century, psychology had undergone innovative changes in how psychiatrist analyzes patients, how psychiatrists heal them and how they assess whether a treatment works The end of the 19th and the mid of 20 the millennium had surpassed so many revolutions in human psychology with the help of genius like Freud, Wundt, Jung, Erickson etc. References Berzoff, J, Flanagan, LM & Hertz, P. (2007). Inside out and outside in: psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts. 2nd edn: Rowman & Littlefield. Judd, Charles Hubbard. (1907). Psychology: General Introduction. Charles Scribners Sons: New York. Mijares, S. G. (2002). Modern Psychology and Ancient Wisdom: Psychological Healing Practices from the Worlds Religious Traditions. Illustrated Edition: Haworth Press. Sarnoff, Irving. (1962). Personality Dynamics and Development. John Wiley & Sons: New York. Storr, Anthony. (2001). Freud: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press: Oxford, England. Wilhelm Wundt and Introspection: the cultural contribution of the father of psychology. Retrieved 18 June 2009, from wilhelmwundt.com: http://www.wilhelmwundt.com/ Wilhelm Wundt, Father of Psychology Page 2. Retrieved 18 June 2009, from wilhelmwundt.com: http://www.wilhelmwundt.com/wilhelm-wundt-psyhology2.php Wilhelm Wundt, Father of Psychology Page 5. Retrieved 18 June 2009, from wilhelmwundt.com: http://www.wilhelmwundt.com/wilhelm-wundt-psyhology5.php Zimmer, Gene. (1999). Behaviorism in Watsons Own Words. Retrieved 18 June 2009, from sntp.net: http://www.sntp.net/behaviorism.htm McLenaghan, Colleen. (2001). Careers in Educational Psychology. Retrieved 18 June 2009, from: http://www.wcupa.edu/_ACADEMICS/sch_cas.psy/Career_Paths/Educational/Career04.htm John Locke (1632-1704). (2009). The Internet Encyclopedia of Psychology. Retrieved 18 June 2009, from: http://www.iep.utm.edu/l/locke.htm#Ideas%20in%20General Giobbi, M.T. (2006, Jan). Wundt, Freud, Psychology, & Psychoanalysis: The Story of Strange Bedfellows. Retrieved 18 June 2009, from: http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:bf-1dQ6vCqYJ:www.mtgiobbi.com/The%2520Story%2520of%2520Strange%2520Bedfellows.doc+similarities+of+Wundt+and+Freud&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in Hughes, James L. (1897). Froebels Educational Laws for All Teachers. D. Appleton: New York. Read More