Major Schools of Thought in Psychology.pptx

1. Major Schools of Thought in Psychology
• When psychology first emerged as a science separate from biology
and philosophy, the debate over how to describe and explain the
human mind and behavior began. The different schools of psychology
represent the major theories within psychology. The first school of
thought, structuralism, was advocated by the founder of the first
psychology lab, Wilhelm Wundt. Almost immediately, other theories
began to emerge and vie for dominance in psychology. In the past,
psychologists often identified themselves exclusively with one single
school of thought. Today, most psychologists have an eclectic outlook
on psychology. They often draw on ideas and theories from different
schools rather than holding to any singular perspective. The following
are some of the major schools of thought that have influenced our
knowledge and understanding of psychology

2. Structuralism:
• Founder E.B Titchener (Wundt’s student)
• Structuralism is widely regarded as the first school of thought in
psychology. It concerned with discovering structure of mind. This outlook
focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic
components and was established in Germany by Wilhelm Wundt, and
mainly associated with Edward B. Titchener. Although structuralism
represented the emergence of psychology as a field separate from
philosophy, the structural school lost considerable influence when
Titchener died.
• Structuralism looked to examine the adult mind in terms of analyzing the
basic elements of thoughts and sensations, and afterward to discover the
manner by which these segments fit together in complex structures. It
focuses on structure rather than function of perceptual abilities it also
focuses on different brain elements and their capabilities.

3. • In short, Structuralism sought to analyze the adult mind (defined as
the sum total of experience from birth to the present) in terms of the
simplest definable components and then to find the way in which these
components fit together in complex forms.
• Wundt's theory was developed and promoted by his one-time
student, Edward Titchener (1898), who described his system as
Structuralism, or the analysis of the basic elements that constitute the
mind. The structuralists used techniques such as “introspection” to
analyze the inner processes of the human mind.

4. Introspection: Structuralism's Main Technique:
• (The examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional
processes)
• Introspection is the process by which a person looks inward at their
own mental processes to gain insight into how they work. It is the self-
observation of one's own consciousness. Introspection examples include
practices of journaling, meditation, and self-monitoring. Additionally,
introspection can look like sitting alone and reflecting on one's thoughts
and feelings or discussing them with a counselor. Through these
practices, people can observe and notice their thoughts. In psychology,
the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental
state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's
soul. Introspection is closely related to human self-reflection and self-
discovery and is contrasted with external observation.

5. Functionalism:
• Founder is Willium james (U.s)
• Functionalism formed as a reaction to the theories of the structuralists
school of thought and was heavily influenced by the work of James. It
concerned with the discovering the function of mind. It functioned on the
mind's functions and adaptations. Functionalism emphasize function
rather than structure of human consciousness. How an organisms use its
perceptual abilities to function in an environment.
• Unlike some of the other well-known schools of thought in psychology,
functionalism is not associated with a single dominant theorist. Instead,
there are some different functionalist thinkers associated with this outlook
including John Dewey, James Rowland Angell, and Harvey Carr. Major
functionalist thinkers included John Dewey and Harvey Carr.
• Instead of focusing on the mental processes themselves, functionalist
thinkers were instead interested in the role that these processes play.

6. Structuralism vs
Functionalism

7. Behaviorism:
• John.B Watson(trained as a functionalist but revolted)
• Behaviorism became a dominant school of thought during the 1950,s.
It was based upon the work of thinkers such as:
• John B. Watson Ivan Pavlov
• B. F. Skinner
• Behaviorism suggests that all behavior can be explained by
environmental causes rather than by internal forces. Behaviorism is
focused on observable behavior.
• Theories of learning including classical conditioning and operant
conditioning were the focus of a great deal of research.

8. Classical conditioning Operant
conditioning

9. Classical conditioning:
• Classical conditioning is a type of learning that happens unconsciously. In
simple terms, two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned
response in a person or animal.
• When you learn through classical conditioning, an automatic conditioned
response is paired with a specific stimulus. This creates a behavior.
• The most famous example of classical conditioning was Pavlov's
experiment with dogs, who salivated in response to a bell tone .The father
of classical conditioning: Ivan Pavlov.
• CLASSICAL (oldest thing that is valid up to day).
• CONDITIONING (combination of two unrelated things and it help in
learning).
• Classical conditioning can be occurred between two unrelated things.
Classical conditioning is learning through association.

10. • Learning through association:
• Classical conditioning is a state in which two terms either they are
related or unrelated are linked together to produce a new learned
responded in a person or animal.
• When they did experiment on digestion fortunately the result of their
experiment matched with psychological view. Then Watson use their
experiment and introduce school of thought name “behaviorism”.
• Their experiment is one of the oldest one but still valid up to day.
Pavlov got Nobel Prize in 1904.

11. Experiment:
• In the experiment bell and the food is two unrelated things. So the
dog related those two things the bell and the food.
• Pavlov showed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the
sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same
time that they were given food.
• First the dogs were presented with the food, they salivated. The food
was the unconditioned stimulus and salivation was an unconditioned
(innate) response. Then Pavlov sounded the bell (neutral stimulus)
before giving the food.
• After a few pairings the dogs salivated when they heard the bell even
when no food was given. The bell had become the conditioned stimulus
and salivation had become the conditioned response.

12. • The dogs had learnt to associate the bell with the food and the sound
of the bell and salivation was triggered by the sound of the bell.
• Pavlov showed that classical conditioning leads to learning by
association.
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) Unconditioned response (UCR) Natural
stimulus (NS) Conditioning response (CR) Conditioning stimulus (CS)

13. Operant conditioning:
• (Also called instrumental conditioning)
• is a method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for
behavior.
• Is a type of associative learning process through which the strength of
a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment. It is also a
procedure that is used to bring about such learning. Through operant
conditioning, an association is made
• between a behavior and a consequence (whether negative or
positive) for that behavior.
• B.F Skinner work on Thorndike Law of effect and work more. Operant
linked with law of effect.

14. LAW OF EFFECTS:
• states that "responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular
situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and
responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to
occur again in that situation.“
• An example of Thorndike's Law of Effect is awarding good grades,
stars, and social acceptance to students for acceptable schoolwork.
When students receive praise at home from their parents, acceptance
from their peers, and rewards for stars earned, they get positive
reinforcement. Students will increase their learning behavior under
these conditions.
• Operant conditioning based on two things: Reinforcement (increase
behavior) Punishment (decrease behavior).

15. REINFORCEMENT (Increase behavior):
• Reinforcement is an Operant Conditioning term that refers to a
process by which the likelihood of a behavior occurring is increased
either by giving a pleasant stimulus (positive reinforcement) or
removing an unpleasant stimulus (negative reinforcement). The term
reinforcement refers to anything that increases the probability that a
response will occur. Reinforcement will increase or strengthen the
response (Repeated the good work and increase the behavior). A
conditioned reinforcer example is if you want a child to clean their
room, for instance, you may reinforce this behavior by giving them an
allowance every time that they do.
Positive reinforcement (add something) Negative reinforcement
(remove something)

16. Positive reinforcement:
• (a desirable stimulus is introduced to encourage certain behavior).
• Is the act of rewarding a positive behavior in order to encourage it to
happen again in the future. Positive reinforcement involves the addition
of a reinforcing stimulus following a behavior that makes it more likely
that the behavior will occur again in the future. When a favorable
outcome, event, or reward occurs after an action, that particular
response or behavior will be strengthened.
• Sometimes positive reinforcement occurs quite naturally.
• For example, such as giving a piece of candy to a child after they clean
their room.

17. Negative reinforcement:
• (an undesirable stimulus is removed to encourage the behavior).
• Negative reinforcement encourages specific behaviors by removing or
avoiding negative consequences or stimuli. In negative reinforcement, a
response or behavior is strengthened by stopping, removing, or
avoiding a negative outcome or aversive stimulus.
• For example, To remove the bad smell from her body, Erin takes a
shower or a teacher taking away homework because the class was so
well behaved.

18. Punishment:
• Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant or
aversive on a person or animal in response to an unwanted,
disobedient or morally wrong behavior.
• Two types of punishment; Positive punishment Negative punishment
Positive punishment:
• (Add aversive stimulus to decrease bad behavior).
• Positive punishment is a form of behavior modification. In this case,
the word “positive” doesn’t refer to something pleasant. Positive
punishment is the part of punishment, which also focuses on
decreasing the rate of any specific undesired behavior from an
individual.
• For example receiving a fine for absentees.

19. Negative punishment:
• (Remove stimulus to decrease bad behavior)
• Negative punishment is the part of punishment, which also focuses
on decreasing the rate of any specific undesired behavior from an
individual by removal of
• Certain favorite item or stimulus from the individual’s life.
• E.G when a child misbehaves, a parent can take away a favorite toy. In
this case, a stimulus (the toy) is removed in order to decrease the
behavior.

20. Cognitivism:
• (Jean Piaget)
• Cognitive psychology is the school of psychology that studies mental processes
including how people think, perceive, remember and learn. Cognition refers to
thinking and memory processes, and cognitive development refers to long-term
changes in these processes. Cognitive psychology began to emerge during the
1950s, partly as a response to behaviorism. Critics of behaviorism noted that it
failed to account for how internal processes impacted behavior.
• One of the most influential theories of this school of thought was the stages of
cognitive development theory proposed by Jean Piaget. Piaget believed that
learning was proceeded by the interplay of assimilation (adjusting new
experiences to fit prior concepts) and accommodation (adjusting concepts to fit
new experiences). The to-and-fro of these two processes leads not only to
short-term learning, but also to long-term developmental change. The long-
term developments are really the main focus of Piaget’s cognitive theory.

21. Gestalt psychology:
• (Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Koffka, Max Werthiemer) Gestalt means
organized whole.
• Gestalt theory emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than
its parts. The word Gestalt is used in modern German to mean the way
a thing has been “placed,” or “put together.” This approach to
psychology began in Germany and Austria during the late 19th century
in response to the molecular approach of structuralism.
• Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human
mind and behavior as a whole. When trying to make sense of the world
around us, Gestalt psychology suggests that we do not simply focus on
every small component. Instead, our minds tend to perceive objects as
part of a greater whole and as elements of more complex systems.
According to the Gestalt thinkers, the whole is greater than the sum of
its parts.

22. Gestalt principles
• Similarity principles: similar object counted as the same group.
• Simplicity principles: A stimulus will be organized into as good a figure
as possible. When learners are presented with visuals, there is an
unconscious effort to simplify what is perceived into what the
viewer can understand.
• Proximity principles: The law of proximity states that items placed
near each other appear to be a group. The brain tends to group objects
that are close to each other.
• This school of psychology played a major role in the modern
development of the study of human sensation and perception.
• Continuation principles: Continuation is the eye's instinctive action to
follow a direction Nerived from the visual field.

23. • Figure and ground principles: Negative or empty spaces will likewise
be organized and group, For example, two different foreground.co
viewer perceive different things from the same illustration.
• Closure principles: Patterns or objects that continue in one direction,
even if interrupted by another pattern, are perceived as being
continuous. Our minds will tend to close gaps and complete
unfinished forms.
• Common fate principles: Humans perceive visual elements that move
in the same speed and/or direction as parts of a single stimulus. A
common example of t this is a flock of birds.

24. Psychoanalytic
• (Sigmund Freud)
• This school of thought emphasized the influence of the unconscious
mind on behavior. The role of unconscious motivation (usually
aggressive and sexual in nature) and early childhood experiences in
determining behavior and thoughts. Freud suggested that the instinct
to pursue pleasure, which he described as sexual in nature, lies at the
root of human development. Freud believed that the human mind was
composed of three elements: the id, ego and superego.
• The central principle of the psychoanalytic school of thought is that
human behavior is driven by the unconscious. The analysis is
concentrated on the methods and treatments that psychoanalysis uses
to treat patient.

25. Freud’s Model of the Human
Mind

26. According to freud human mind has three part.
• Conscious mind: consciousness is best understood as having an awareness
of something, being able to call it to mind, it would seem simple enough to
qualify only those events we can recall as the activities of the human mind.
• Unconscious mind: The unconscious mind is where all of our memories
and past experiences reside. These are those memories that have been
repressed through trauma and those that have simply been consciously
forgotten and no longer important to us (automatic thoughts). It’s from
these memories and experiences that our beliefs, habits, and behaviors are
formed.
• Subconscious mind: Your subconscious is the storage point for any recent
memories needed for quick recall, such as what your telephone number is
or the name of a person you just met. It also holds current information that
you use every day, such as your current recurring thoughts, behavior
patterns, habits, and feelings.

27. • Major psychoanalytic thinkers are: Anna Freud, Carl Jung, Erikson.
• Freud’s personality three elements:
• Id, Ego, Super ego
• ID: Entirely unconscious (Instincts).
• EGO: Conscious rational (Reality).
• SUPER EGO: Concerned with the Sense of both right and wrong/ both
conscious and unconscious (Morality).

28. Humanism:
• (Abraham Maslow)
• Humanism is a philosophy that stresses the importance of human
factors rather than looking at religious, divine, or spiritual matters.
• Humanistic psychology is a response to psychoanalysis and
behaviorism and focuses on individual free will, personal growth, and
self-actualization. This school of thought is focused on helping people
achieve and fulfill their potential. It had a huge influence on positive
psychology that centers on helping people live happier and more
fulfilling lives.
• Humanism is rooted in the idea that people have an ethical
responsibility to lead lives that are personally fulfilling while at the
same time contributing to the greater for all people.

29. • Humanism stresses the importance of human values and dignity. It
proposes that people can resolve problems through the use of science
and reason. Rather than looking to religious traditions, humanism
instead focuses on helping people live well, achieve personal growth,
and make the world a better place.
• Major humanist thinkers include Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.
• Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" exemplifies this approach: A
system of needs, such as food, love and self-esteem, will determine a
person's behavior; meeting these needs leads to a sense of self-
satisfaction and solves psychological problems.
• Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of needs":