Definition and History of Psychology

Introduction:

This paper is about the definition of Psychology and the history. It will include the three major stages of psychology, as well as the psychological theories and the main leaders of each theory. In the conclusion I will expand my discussion by stating and explaining my opinion to two of the theories talked about in this paper.

Body:

The word psychology means the science of behavior and mental processes. It also explains how we perceive, learn, remember, solve problems, communicate, feel, and relate to other people, from birth to death, intimate relationships and in groups. Psychologists also rely on the scientific method, an approach to knowledge that relies on collecting data, generating a theory to explain the data, producing testable hypothesis based on the theory, and testing those hypotheses empirically, when seeking to answer questions.

In the late twentieth century, psychology expanded dramatically. There were discoveries of new research, technologies, new fields of inquiry, and new approaches to studying behavior and mental processes. These new discoveries led to greater specialization, more collaboration with other sciences, and the academic equivalent of an identity crisis.

The three psychological theories are:

1. Voluntarism and Structuralism by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Bradford Titchener - Wundt tried to explain immediate experience and to develop ways to study it scientifically, though he also believed that some mental processes could not be studied through scientific experiments. He also explained that attention is actively controlled by intensions and motives, which gave rise to his use of the term voluntarism in describing his view of psychology; it is this that sets human attention apart from attention in other organisms. Attention controls other psychological processes, such as perceptions, thoughts, and memories.

Titchener's ideas were different than Wundt's in many ways. He stated that psychologists should analyze complex experiences in terms of their highest components. For example, when people look at a banana they immediately think, "Here is a fruit, something to eat." But this perception is based on associations with past experience; Titchener looked for the most fundamental elements, or "atoms," of thoughts. He also broke consciousness down into three basic elements: physical sensations (what we see), feelings (such as liking or disliking things), and images (memories of other things). He saw psychology's role as identifying elements and showing how they can be combined and integrated-an approach called structuralism.

2. Functionalism by William James - William James was the first to challenge structuralism. As a young man, he earned a degree in psychology and studied philosophy on his own, unable to decide which one interested him the most. He then found a link between psychology and philosophy. James developed a functionalist theory of mental processes and behavior that raised questions about learning, the complexities of mental life, the impact of experience on the brain, and humankind's place in the natural world. It was also clear to him that consciousness evolved because it performs an adaptive function. If we could not recognize an item, we would have to figure it out what it was every time we saw it. Mental association allows us to benefit from previous experience. James suggested that when we repeat something, our nervous systems are changed so that each repetition is easier that the last.

3. Psychodynamic Psychology by Sigmund Freud - Sigmund Freud is one of the best well known psychologists and the most controversial. He was fascinated by the central nervous system. His work with patients convinced him that many nervous ailments are psychological rather that physiological in origin.