The History of Psychology

The History of Psychology From Ancients to the 20th Century

From Ancient Times… • Cultures throughout history have speculated on the nature of the mind, soul, spirit, etc • Philosophy of the Mind • nature of the mind • mental events • mental functions • mental properties • consciousness • their relationship to the physical body, particularly the brain

The Story of the Cave • Plato: believed that We all exist in a deep in a cave, where the only thing which we can see is the shadow of figures behind us • True Knowledge: thought & reason • Aristotle :knowledge from our senses • Philosophers explore nature vs. nurture • Are we born? • Are we made?

…to the Middle Ages • Muslim physicians: developed practices to treat patients suffering from a variety of "diseases of the mind“ • First insane asylums: Baghdad in 705 • "if the nafs [psyche] gets sick, the body may also find no joy in life and may eventually develop a physical illness.“ • Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi

Beginnings of Western psychology • Early psychology was regarded as the study of the soul • Associated with Christian & Enlightenment Traditions • Studied the effects of ____ to cure various physical and mental ills • Hypnosis • Gravity • Animal Magnetism • Brain structures

Modern Psychology: From Speculation to Science • Prior to 1879 • Physiology and philosophy scholars studying questions about the mind • Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) University of Leipzig, Germany • Campaigned to make psychology an independent discipline • Established the first laboratory for the study of psychology in 1879

Wilhelm Wundt’s International Influence • Leipzig, the place to study psychology • Graduates of Wundt’s program set up new labs across Europe and North America • G.Stanley Hall (1846-1924), Johns Hopkins University • Established the first psychology laboratory in the U.S. in 1883 • Between 1883 and 1893, 24 new laboratories in North America

Fig. 1.1– Early research laboratories in North America. This map highlights the location and year of founding for the first 24 psychological research labs established in North American colleges and universities. As the color coding shows, a great many of these labs were founded by the students of Wilhelm Wundt, G. Stanley Hall, and William James. (Based on Garvery, 1929; Hilgard, 1987

The Battle of the “Schools” in the U.S.: Structuralism vs. Functionalism • Two intellectual schools of thought regarding the science of psychology • Structuralism – led by Edward Titchener • Focused on analyzing consciousness into basic elements • Introspection – careful, systematic observations of one’s own conscious experience • Functionalism – led by William James • Focused on investigating the function or purpose of consciousness • Led to investigation of mental testing, developmental patterns, and sex differences • May have attracted the first women into the field of psychology

Fig. 1.2– Women pioneers in the history of psychology. Women have long made major contributions to the development of psychology (Milar, 2000; Russo & Denmark, 1987), and today nearly half of all psychologists are female. As in other fields, however, women have often been overlooked in histories of psychology (Furumoto & Scarborough, 1986). The three psychologists profiled here demonstrate that women have been making significant contributions to psychology almost from its beginning-despite formidable barriers to pursuing their academic careers.

Who Won the Battle? • Most historians give the edge to James and the functionalists • Today, psychologists are not really categorized as structuralists or functionalists • Applied psychology and Behaviorism - descendants of functionalism • Behaviorism - early 1900’s • The next major school of thought to influence the development of psychology

The History of Psychology