Different types of psychology


Psychology history

Early  developmentsuch as beliefs, desires, or goals could be
studied scientifically. In his paper
The first use of the term "psychology" is"Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It"
often attributed to the German scholastic(1913), Watson argued that psychology "is a
philosopher Rudolf Goeckel (Latinized Rudolphpurely objective [emphasis added]
Goclenius), published in 1590.[1] More thanexperimental branch of natural science," that
six decades earlier, however, the Croatian"introspection forms no essential part of its
humanist Marko Marulić used themethods", and that "the behaviorist
term in the title of a work which wasrecognizes no dividing line between man and
subsequently lost.[2] This, of course, maybrute."
not have been the very first usage, but it is
the  earliest  documented  use  at  present.Behaviorism reigned as the dominant model in
psychology through the first half of the 20th
The term did not fall into popular usagecentury, largely due to the creation of
until the German idealist philosopher,conditioning theories as scientific models of
Christian Wolff (1679-1754) used it in hishuman behavior, and their successful
Psychologia empirica and Psychologiaapplication in the workplace and in fields
rationalis (1732-1734). This distinctionsuch  as  advertising.
between empirical and rational psychology was
picked up in Diderot's Encyclodedie and wasModern  era
popularized  in  France  by  Maine  de Biran.
However, it became increasingly clear that
The root of the word psychology (psyche) isalthough behaviorism had made some important
very roughly equivalent to "soul" in Greek,discoveries, it was deficient as a guiding
and psychology came to be considered a studytheory of human behavior. Noam Chomsky's
of the soul (in a religious sense of thisreview of Skinner's book Verbal Behavior
term) much later, in Christian times.(that aimed to explain language acquisition
Psychology as a medical discipline can bein a behaviorist framework) is considered one
seen in Thomas Willis' reference toof the major factors in the ending of
psychology (the "Doctrine of the Soul") inbehaviorism's reign. Chomsky demonstrated
terms of brain function, as part of his 1672that language could not purely be learned
anatomical treatise "De Anima Brutorum" ("Twofrom conditioning, as people could produce
Discourses on the Souls of Brutes"). Untilsentences unique in structure and meaning
about the end of the 19th century, psychologythat couldn't possibly be generated solely
was  regarded  as  a  branch  of  philosophy.through experience of natural language,
implying that there must be internal states
Early  modern  eraof mind that behaviorism rejected as
illusory. Similarly, work by Albert Bandura
In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920), known asshowed that children could learn by social
"the father of psychology", founded aobservation, without any change in overt
laboratory for the study of psychology atbehavior, and so must be accounted for by
Leipzig University in Germany. The Americaninternal  representations.
philosopher William James published his
seminal book, Principles of Psychology, inHumanistic psychology emerged in the 1950s
1890, laying the foundations for many of theand has continued as a reaction to positivist
questions that psychologists would focus onand scientific approaches to the mind. It
for years to come. Other important earlystresses a phenomenological view of human
contributors to the field include Hermannexperience and seeks to understand human
Ebbinghaus (1850–1909), abeings and their behavior by conducting
pioneer in the experimental study of memoryqualitative research. The humanistic approach
at the University of Berlin; and the Russianhas its roots in existentialist and
physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), whophenomenological philosophy and many humanist
investigated the learning process nowpsychologists completely reject a scientific
referred  to  as  classical  conditioning.approach, arguing that trying to turn human
experience into measurements strips it of all
Meanwhile, during the 1890s, the Austrianmeaning  and  relevance  to  lived existence.
physician Sigmund Freud, who was trained as a
neurologist and had no formal training inSome of the founding theorists behind this
experimental psychology, had developed aschool of thought were Abraham Maslow who
method of psychotherapy known asformulated a hierarchy of human needs, Carl
psychoanalysis. Freud's understanding of theRogers who created and developed
mind was largely based on interpretiveClient-centred therapy, and Fritz Perls who
methods and introspection, and was focused inhelped  create  and  develop Gestalt therapy.
particular on resolving mental distress and
psychopathology. Freud's theories became veryThe rise of computer technology also promoted
well-known, largely because they tackledthe metaphor of mental function as
subjects such as sexuality and repression asinformation processing. This, combined with a
general aspects of psychological development.scientific approach to studying the mind, as
These were largely considered taboo subjectswell as a belief in internal mental states,
at the time, and Freud provided a catalystled to the rise of cognitivism as the
for them to be openly discussed in politedominant  model  of  the  mind.
society. Although Freud's theories are only
of limited interest in modern academicLinks between brain and nervous system
psychology departments, his application offunction were also becoming common, partly
psychology to clinical work has been verydue to the experimental work of people such
influential.as Charles Sherrington and Donald Hebb, and
partly due to studies of people with brain
Partly in reaction to the subjective andinjury (see cognitive neuropsychology). With
introspective nature of Freudian psychology,the development of technologies for
and its focus on the recollection ofaccurately measuring brain function,
childhood experiences, during the earlyneuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience
decades of the 20th century behaviorismhave become some of the most active areas in
gained popularity as a guiding psychologicalcontemporary psychology. With the increasing
theory. Championed by psychologists such asinvolvement of other disciplines (such as
John B. Watson and Edward Thorndike (andphilosophy, computer science and
later, B.F. Skinner), behaviorism wasneuroscience) in the quest to understand the
grounded in studies of animal behavior.mind, the umbrella discipline of cognitive
Behaviorists argued that psychology should bescience has been created as a means of
a science of behavior, not the mind, andfocusing such efforts in a constructive way.
rejected the idea that internal mental states



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