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