Chapter 1 History of Psychology

2. Psychology is the scientific
study of the mind and behavior.

3. 3
• The goal of understanding human thought and
behavior originated in the study of philosophy
• Later became a science with the application of
empirical methods.

4. 4
• Experimental psychology begins
• Experimental psychology began in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt
established the first psychology laboratory
• The purpose of the laboratory was to identify the basic parts, or
structures, of the conscious mind
• Reaction time experiments
• Introspection methods

5. 5

6. 6
• Structuralism: Components of the conscious mind
• Structuralism: An early school of psychology that explored the
structures of the mind through introspection

7. 7

8. 8
• Functionalism: Purpose of the conscious mind
• Functionalism: An early school of psychology concerned with the
adaptive purpose, or function, of mind and behavior

9. 9
• Psychoanalytic theory: Unconscious conflicts
• Sigmund Freud founded psychoanalytic theory
• Freud’s goals: To understand how unconscious thoughts cause
psychological disorders

10. 10
• In the early twentieth century, psychologists shifted away
from studying the conscious and unconscious
experiences of the mind

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• Gestalt psychology: Experiencing the “whole”
• Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Kohler
• Gestalt theory: The idea that the whole of personal experience is
different from simply the sum of its parts
Psychologists Explore Behavior
and Mental Activity (1)

12. 12

13. • Behaviorism: Stimuli and
responses
• John B. Watson
• Behaviorism: A psychological
approach that emphasizes the role
of environmental forces in
producing behavior

14. 14

15. 15
• Humanistic
psychology: Focus
on positives
• Humanistic
psychology: A
school of psychology
that investigates how
people grow to
become happier and
more fulfilled and
focuses on people’s
basic goodness
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is shown
above

16. 16
• Cognitive psychology: Mental activity
• Cognitive psychology: The study of how people think, learn, and
remember
• Cognitive neuroscience is the interaction of
• Cognitive psychologists
• Computer scientists
• Philosophers
• Brain researchers
PSYCHOLOGISTS EXPLORE BEHAVIOR
AND MENTAL ACTIVITY

17. PSYCHOLOGISTS EXPLORE BEHAVIOR
AND MENTAL ACTIVITY
• Multicultural Psychology
• Also known as cross-cultural psychology
• Study of how culture influences individual
and social psychology