The document discusses the different schools of psychology, including structuralism, functionalism, psychodynamic, behaviorism, cognitive, and social-cultural approaches. Structuralism uses introspection to study the basic elements of psychological experience. Functionalism examines why humans develop certain psychological traits. Psychodynamic focuses on the role of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences. Behaviorism limits study to observable behavior. Cognitive psychology analyzes mental processes like thinking and memory. Social-cultural psychology considers how social and cultural factors influence thought and behavior. Psychologists may prefer different schools depending on their field of work.

1. Psychology
The Different Schools of Psychology
GSTU210 SP14 May 14, 2014

2. What is Psychology:
The science or study of the mind and
behavior,
The way a person or group thinks.

3. Different Schools of Psychology:
• Structuralism :Uses the method of introspection to identify the basic elements or
“structures” of psychological experience Wilhelm Wundt, Edward B. Titchener
• Functionalism: Attempts to understand why animals and humans have developed
the particular psychological aspects that they currently possess William James
• Psychodynamic: Focuses on the role of our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and
memories and our early childhood experiences in determining behavior Sigmund
Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erik Erickson
• Behaviorism: Based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively study the
mind, and therefore that psychologists should limit their attention to the study of
behavior itself John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner
• Cognitive: The study of mental processes, including perception, thinking, memory,
and judgments Hermann Ebbinghaus, Sir Frederic Bartlett, Jean Piaget
• Social-cultural: The study of how the social situations and the cultures in which
people find themselves influence thinking and behavior Fritz Heider, Leon
Festinger, Stanley Schachter

4. How are the Schools of Psychology
used:
• Each psychologist has a personal preference
• Some schools are more beneficial in different
fields of psychology.

5. Example of how Schools of Psychology
are used:
• A educational psychologist may use
structuralism in the school.
• A professional working with adults and
children with special needs may use
behavioral when depicting why a client is
acting a certain way.