Psychology school of thought ppt

1. Emergence Of
Psychology
Lecture 2
Intro to Psychology-101
Instructor: Saba Saleem

2. School of Thoughts
The formal history of Psychology
can be described by school of
thoughts which guided
Psychologists in their actions.
Each school determined a subject
matter and the methods to be used
in investigating that particular
subject matter.

3. Cont..
 Group of people who share common
ideas/opinion related to any discipline, social
issue or subject belongs to a single specific
school of thought.

4. School of Thoughts
 There are five historical school of thoughts of
Psychology:
1. Structuralism (study of conscious
experience)
2. Functionalism (study of functions of
consciousness)
3. Behaviorism (study of observable behavior)
4. Psychoanalysis (study of unconscious
experiences)
5. Gestalt Psychology (study of whole)

5. 1: Structuralism:
 The science of psychology had its formal
beginning in 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt
(1832-1920), a German psychologist set up a
laboratory at the University of Leipzig to study
mind/mental activities. He studied the
conscious experience of mind through
introspection.
 Introspection: “looking inward”
 observation or examination of one's own
mental and emotional state, mental
processes, etc.

6.  Wilhelm Wundt also known as father of
psychology
 Wundt was the first person to believe that
consciousness could be studied through
experimentation.

7.  Earlier he devoted attention on studying
the building blocks of the mind. Later he
defined psychology as the study of
conscious experiences, he found the
system of psychology known as “
Structuralism”.
 Edward B. Titchener who first coined
the term to describe this school of
thought.

8. Cont.
 Structuralism: An early
approach to psychology which
focused on the fundamental
elements that form the foundation
of thinking , consciousness,
emotions , and other kinds of
mental states and activities.
 Its emphasize on studying the
most basic components or
structures of conscious
experiences / mental activities.

9. Introspection:
 Structuralism held that even our most
complex conscious experiences could
be broken down into components or
elemental structures, to identify these
structures of conscious thoughts a
procedure used that is called
“introspection”
 Structuralists held the belief that
 “ Whole is equal to the sum of the parts”

10.  Structuralists concluded that all conscious
experiences consisted of three elements:
Sensations, images and feelings
e.g. a person having a slice of cake, would not
simply define the type of food, this conscious
experience comprised of basic elements: taste,
smell, texture, color, shape etc.

11. Cont..
 Using introspection , Wundt presented his
trained subjects with a stimulus such as bright
green object and asked them to describe it in
their own words.
 He thought that we can understand the
structure of mind through the reports of
subjects. The subject might first report on the
colors they saw, then the smells and so on, to
create a total description of their conscious
experiences.

12. Cont..
 Wundt did not have the technologies at his
time. Therefore he had to rely on combination
of external stimuli and reports of internal
observations by the participants
 He believed that there were two sides of any
explanation of phenomenon
 External side: Measured in laboratory which
involve sensory processes (Physiological
response to an external stimuli e.g eye
registering a small, round, green object)

13. Cont..
 Psychological side: Measured by self report
of internal observations known as perception
(psychological interpretation of sensation)
 Strengths of Structuralism:
 Structuralism influenced experimental
psychology

14. Criticism on Structuralism
 By today’s scientific standards,
the experimental methods used to study
the structures of the mind were too
subjective—the use of introspection led
to a lack of reliability in results.
 Other critics argue that structuralism
was too concerned with internal
behavior, which is not directly
observable and cannot be accurately
measured.
.

15. 2:Functionalism:
 William James was the founder of this
School of thought. He was influenced by
Darwin’s work and he believed that
psychology should explain the functions
of consciousness as it influences
behavior.

16.  Functionalism concentrated on what the
mind does. They asked what the roles
behavior played in allowing people to
better adapt to their environments. They
examined the ways in which behavior
allows to satisfy their needs.

17. Cont..
 William James regarded consciousness is an
ever-changing stream or flow of images and
sensations not a set of lifeless blocks.
 Structuralism focus on “ what happens” when
we engage in mental activity whereas
functionalism focus on “ how it happens” and
“why” such as why behavior and mental
processes worked in a particular way.

18. Cont..
 Functionalist used not only introspection to
study behavior but also used tests, surveys
and experimental techniques to study
functions of psychology as science of
consciousness
 Psychologists of this school studies the topics
such as thinking, memory, learning,
motivation, intelligence. They were also
interested in applying psychological concepts
in schools, homes and business.

19. Criticism on Functionalism
 Functionalists did not explain the concepts of
unconsciousness, so they were criticized by
many psychologists
 They used introspective method which was
not scientific method
Strengths of Functionalism
 Influenced behaviorism and applied
psychology.
 Influenced the educational system

20. 3: Behaviorism:
 School of Psychology and theoretical
viewpoint that emphasizes the study of
observable behaviors
 John B Watson (1878-1958) became the
founder of this school of thought.
 He believed that Psychology should be the
science of overt behavior that can be
observed and studied through objective
measurements.

21. Cont..
He rejected the ideas of structuralists and
functionalists.
He maintained that the proper subject matter for
Psychology was Behavior and Behavior.
He shifted an emphasis from instincts to
learned behavior
According to him, environment was all important
and give the opportunity to raise children as he
wished
He emphasized that all human behavior was
learned

22. Cont..
 Watson used experimental
method to study behavior
 Behaviorists performed
many experiments on rats,
pigeons and concentrated
how behaviors are modified
by events in an
environment
 Watson realize he could
study the behavior of
animals even though he
couldn’t ask them
questions or know what
they are thinking

23.  He simply observe the relationship between
stimulus and animal’s responses.
 These observations were objective because they
did not involve introspection (subjective).
 Skinner: actions are controlled by rewards and
punishments.
 The school of behavior greatly influenced
Psychology

24. Criticism on Behaviorism:
 Behaviorists went to the extreme with their
ideas.
 They did not explain consciousness and sub
consciousness
 It disregards the activities of the mind

25. 4: Psychoanalysis:
 Sigmund Freud(1856-1939), an Austrian
physician was the founder of psychoanalytical
school.
 He specialized in the disorders of the nervous
system.
 He observed that some of his patients had
nothing physically wrong with them, even
though they had
symptoms of physical
illness (headaches, insomnia).

26. Cont..
 He suspected that mental conflicts lay behind
these symptoms_ conflicts that had been
pushed out of normal awareness and into a
part of mind called “ unconscious”.
 He believed that if unconscious conflicts
could be brought into patient’s
consciousness, they would lose their power
to control the patient’s life.
 He used psychoanalytic technique to uncover
unconscious conflicts of his patients.

27. Cont..
 Freud helped his patients to interpret and
understand their mental problems.
 He called his approach to treatment as
Psychoanalysis.
 Freud believed that early past experiences of
which a person is unaware significantly
influence his current behavior.
 He treated people with psychological
problems.

28. Criticism on Psychoanalysis:
 Freud did not fully explain consciousness and
human behavior.
 Psychoanalytical theory is not scientific
Strengths of Psychoanalysis:
 Psychoanalytic theory had its deep impact on
concept of personality and therapy
techniques in Psychology
 Its concepts provided understanding of
everyday phenomena such as prejudice and
aggression

29. 5: Gestalt Psychology:
 Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that
looks at the human mind and behavior as a
whole.
 Originating in the work of Max Wertheimer,
Gestalt psychology formed partially as a
response to the structuralism of Wilhelm
Wundt.
 The German word “Gestalt” means “whole”
and they believed that people are more than
the sum of their parts and that we can
understand the whole as one unit.

30. Cont..
 Gestalt’s Psychology’s goal was to study
perception, learning, problem solving or
personality as a whole.
 Gestalts psychologists believed that you must
looked at the whole of experience. Their
viewpoint was: “the whole is greater than the
sums of its parts”
 a form of psychology that considers behavior,
feelings, beliefs, etc. as part of a
greater whole, not as simple and separate
reactions.

31. Criticism on Gestalt Psychology:
 Gestaltists performed only in the area of
perception
 They did nothing about unconscious
processes which are three fourth of our
cognitive processes
 Their approaches were not purely scientfic

32. Psychology as the study of Individual
Differences:
 Individual psychology is a term used
specifically refer to the psychological method
or science founded by the Viennese
psychologist Alfred Adler.
 The term individual psychology commonly
known as differential psychology or the
psychology of individual differences ,which
study the ways in which individual people
differ in their behavior.

33. Cont.
 Adler was among the co-founders of the
psychoanalytic movement as a core member
of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society.
 The concept of 'individual psychology' was
formulated in the process in which Adler
broke away from the psychoanalytic school of
Sigmund Freud.

34. Cont.
 Adler called his theory Individual Psychology
because he felt that each person was unique
and no previous theory can be applied to all
people.
 He also emphasized the training of parents,
teachers, social workers and so on to allow a
child to exercise their power through
reasoned decision making while co-operating
with others.

35. Cont..
 Human beings always strive to overcome the
feelings of inferiority.
 The sole dynamic force behind people's
actions is the striving for success
or superiority.
 Psychologically unhealthy individuals strive
for personal superiority with little concern for
other people. Although they may appear to be
interested in other people, their basic
motivation is personal benefit.

36.  An inferiority complex is an acute feeling of
inferiority that can result in extreme shyness or
aggressiveness as compensation for these
feelings. While normal feelings of inferiority can
motivate a person, the inferiority complex
paralyzes them. People with an inferiority
complex believe they are worthless or that they
will always fail. They display low self-esteem
and prevent failure through avoidance.

37.  An inferiority complex is a belief that one
does not measure up to the standards he or
she has placed on themselves, or the
standards others placed on the individual.
You can clearly see this when children are
told over and over again that they are not
smart, not ambitious enough, “ You are stupid
and lazy. Most people grow up internalizing
these feelings about themselves and
believing it.

38.  A superiority complex is a psychological
defense mechanism that compensates for an
inferiority complex
 A grossly exaggerated feeling of being
superior to everyone, which Adler believed
was simply a defense mechanism in most
people who really feel inferior to others. Adler
said it was as if someone felt inferior because
he or she was too short and then went
through life walking on tip toes to seem taller.

39. Personality Types
Adler's Psychological Types
Ruling Type Leaning Type Avoiding Type Socially Useful Type
This type refers to
those who will push
others in order to
gain superiority.
They have a lot of
energy which
causes them to
push others out of
their way. This type
contains bullies,
sadist, alcoholics,
etc.
Those who fall under
this type are sensitive
and build a shell
around themselves.
They have low
energy levels. They
are dependent on
others to help them
with life difficulties.
When overwhelmed
they develop
phobias, obsessions,
anxiety, etc.
Such people survive
by avoiding life. They
have the lowest
energy levels. They
usually become
psychotic, living in
their own worlds.
A healthy
personalities. They
have the right amount
of energy and take
interest in others.