Schools of Thought in Psychology

Table of Content

Psychology is evolved from philosophy, science, medicine and theology. Psychology evolved out of a range of scientific disciplines and referred as philosophy or the idea of data. Psychology was a combination of physics, physiology and mental philosophy in the beginning. Egypt and Egyptian mystery system are the roots of form the psychology. Understanding and measuring the mind in human beings are the important elements in early psychology. After that, psychology was concentrated on measuring and understanding the behavior of the human. The field of the philosopher is take necessary action of observation interpretations of data. When the philosophers enlarged their data, they developed the strength of philosophy in the field. “Mental Philosophy” that was concerned with psychological principles of study was beneath the sphere of philosophy. “Natural Philosophy” taboo as a result of the various specialties of the philosophy were the areas of physics, chemistry and conjointly the natural sciences and “Moral Philosophy” is that the social sciences and moral considerations which related with. Psychology failed to form a freelance discipline break away philosophy till the late 19th century. The early philosopher scientists with the desire of know something, began the actions of search for the knowledge. Psychology was connected closely in early sciences and philosophy.

The history of psychology is using systematic modes for a development from a philosophical matter of life to a more scientific study. Wilhelm Wundt was founded the globe’s first psychological laboratory at the University of Leipzig in 1897. There’s been various definition of epistemological philosophy of psychology and psychology from a prescientific to scientific era. At that time, methods of experimentation and controlled observations stared to use by researchers to observe the human mind psychology. They started to obtain their own identity and disparate from philosophical roots. The development of psychology as a science can be seen in various factors of human behaviors development manifesting into various schools of thoughts. Scientific study was happen in several psychological laboratories. During the times, that is the debate over to explain and interpret the human behavior and human mind.

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Psychology from various perspectives

Psychology is the actions of study and conduct observation of the human mind and behavior, according the American Psychological Association. It is the study of the mind, how it works, and how it affects behavior. The term “behavior” refers to actions and responses that we are able to directly observe. The term “mind” refers to internal states and method like thoughts and feelings that can’t be seen directly which should be inferred from noticeable, measurable responses. The word “psychology” refers from the Greek words “psyche” its means the soul and “logos” and it is means to study or know about. Thus, psychology was defined as the study of the soul. Behavioral psychology is the study and observation of the connection between the human behavior and human mind. It is the theory of learning in accordance with the idea that all behaviors are received and relate through conditioning. Conditioning happens through interplay with the environment. The human responses to environmental stimuli form their actions. That is what the behaviorists believe with.

Scientific investigate the mind in Cognitive Psychology, its function as an information processor. Namely, cognitive psychology is interested in what is occurring within our minds that links input (stimulus) and output (response). It is included the study and observation of internal mental processes. The thing that go on inside the brain, including, language, perception, problem solving, thinking, memory, attention, and learning.

Psychoanalysis is described a set of techniques and theories psychological therapeutic that have their theories origin in the work of Sigmund Freud. The beliefs of all people are posse core idea at the center of psychoanalysis is unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories. People are able to experience catharsis and gain insight into their current state of mind, by bringing the content of the unconscious into conscious awareness. People are the able to relief from psychological disturbances and distress, through this type of process.

Epistemology refers to the theory of knowledge, assumptions about knowledge and ways to obtains knowledge. Belief often becomes knowledge while what was considered to be knowledge turns out to be belief. For example, it was hot outside while John was sitting inside and believing that he knew it was cold, then, on investigation, it would turn out that that which he had considered to be knowledge was in belief. Knowledge is ‘belief plus something else’. In addition to some mental act, a criterion of truth is associated with knowledge: perhaps knowledge is ‘true belief’. It has been said that to know something it is not sufficient that one should believe it and that it should be true one must, in addition, have good reason to believe it: knowledge is ‘justified true belief’. Textbook definitions frequently include among the tasks of epistemology the identifications of “sources” of knowledge, that is, ways in which knowledge can be acquired. This strongly suggests that epistemology is concerned with the psychological processes on knowledge acquisition, or more generally with belief acquisition. Such an interpretation is confirmed by the historical literature, which is replete with.

Differences between pre-scientific and scientific era

The differences between pre-scientific and scientific era of psychology is pre-science emphasis on theory of philosophy and Science era psychology refer to biology and medicine. In pre-scientific era, primitive peoples assumed that psychological problems were caused by the presence of evil spirits. The famous Greek physician Hippocrates thought that personality was made up of four temperaments: sanguine (cheerful and active), melancholic (sad), choleric (angry and aggressive), and phlegmatic (calm and passive). These temperaments were influenced by the presence of “humors,” or fluids, in the body. For instance, a sanguine person was thought to have more blood than other people. In that era, no paradigm has evolved and there are several schools of thought.

In India, Buddha questioned however sensations and perception combined to make ideas. In china, Confucius (551-479 B.C.) stressed the power of ideas and the importance of an educated mind. Hebrew Scriptures connected mind and feeling to the body. Socrates (469-399B.C.) and his student Plato (428-348B.C.) dedicated the mind was independent and separate from the body, the mind will persist to exist after death, and ideas were innate. Knowledge is born within us for examining one’s thoughts and feelings. Aristotle (384-322B.C.) suggested that the soul is combined with the body and the knowledge (ideas) are grows from experience and stored in our memories.

In science era, psychology has led an active life, developing gradually into a true science. Psychology can be proved by apply scientific theory. Psychological testing like neuroimaging (brain imaging) technology brain scanning to be used in reading improves a human brain works. The formal of psychology is generally set at 1879. In that year, the first laboratory devoted to the experimental study of psychological phenomena was established in Germany.

By Wilhelm Wundt at about the same time, the American William James set up his laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Kline, 1988, sees psychology as having several paradigms. In this era, it has produced a number of conceptual models – systems of interrelated ideas and concepts used to explain phenomena. Some of these models have been discarded. Each of the models provides a distinct perspective, emphasizing different factors. Psychologists also find that more approaches may useful in understanding behavior.
When psychological science was born, Wundt and Tichener studied the elements (atoms) of the mind by conduction experiments at Leipzig, Germany, in1879. He establishes the first psychology experimental lab to introspection and lab observations. With Edward Titchener developed structuralism conscious experience is broke into objective sensations and subjective feelings and the mind functions by combining the two. Influenced by Darwin, William James established the school of functionalism, which opposed structuralism. Consciousness works to assist individuals adapt to their environments. He wrote the first modern book of Psychology in 1890 – The Principles of Psychology. Sigmund Freud and his follow emphasis the importance of the psyche and its effects on human behavior. Watson (1913) and later Skinner emphasis the study of expressed behavior because the material of scientific discipline. Maslow and Rogers emphasis current environmental influences on our growth potential and they would like for love and acceptance. We define psychology today as the scientific study of behavior (what we do) and mental processed (inner thoughts and feelings).

Beneficial Psychology as science

Psychology is usually defined as the scientific study of human behavior and mental process. It takes the scientific approach to understanding human behavior. The major feature of science in psychology is changed from human thought to behavior to cognitive processes. Watson account for human behavior in terms of classical conditioning. Hypothesis testing making and testing specific predictions deduced from the theory. They use of empirical methods to collect data relevant to the theory. Scientific discovery begins with unbiased observations. From the resulting data and sense data generalized statements of fact will emerge. The essential feature of scientific activity is that the use of empirical strategies. Science discovers the objective truth about the world. Science involves the steady accumulation of knowledge.

Consumer psychology is the study of people’s buy habits. People buy habits considered a behaviors, it is including thoughts, actions, and feelings. All these are caused by external stimuli. Consumer psychology can helping develop advertising strategies to make products more appealing. Psychologists can use social psychological theories (for example weapons of influence) to make people want to buy a product more.

Organizational psychology through scientific study helping companies to screen and recruit new employers. Psychologists use psychological principles and research methods to improve employer and employee relationships, proving company training programs etc.
Forensic psychology is the intersection between psychology and justice system, it help witnesses overcome traumatic event, help find the criminal, eyewitness memory, lie detection, interview strategies to help solve crimes etc. It is because psychologists study human memory too, and we know that human memory too, and we know that human memory is quite constructive and not always accurate. Forensic psychologists also help to deal with police stress and trauma and help provide rehab for criminals.
Health psychology helps in a medical setting, can help with things like therapy in the hospital, psycho-oncology, palliative care units.
Educational psychologists concerned about the scientific study of human learning for helping in schools to help children with learning disabilities, provide counseling. The study of child development involves educators and pediatrician, research into deviant behavior involves sociologists and criminologists. The central location of educational science among the life sciences, medical sciences, social and human sciences is underlined by the fact that psychology is perhaps the only discipline whose members apply habitually to all or any 3 Canadian granting agencies – NSERC, SSHRC, and MRC. Being a discipline that spans the cognitive sciences, neurosciences, health sciences, social sciences, and human sciences, psychology is thus uniquely positioned to examine the full continuum of human behavior and to come up with systematic information and data pertaining to the health and well-being of Canadians and on Canada’s ability to make property employment and economic process.

Psychology is extremely broad, merging into sociology anthropology at one end of its spectrum and into neuropharmacology and neuro-anatomy at the other. Neuronal regeneration after stroke or areas of the brain involved in memory processed. Some universities have been organized “psychology as a life science” and “psychology as a social science” into separate departments. Such a separation is counterproductive in our view individual differences in genetic inheritance and brain structure are obviously important for cognitive, development, and personality psychologists.

These are samples of “psychology science” projects:

  • Health and well-being. Many major health problems facing Canadians are ultimately attributable to problems with behavior. For example, substance abuse disorders, compulsive gambling, and obesity have behavioral components that must be understood in order to develop better treatment and prevention strategies. Further, disorders historically thought of strictly physical in nature square measure progressively understood as “bio-behavioral” in nature. For example, poor exercise and diet, both with large behavioral components, are now recognized as significant factors in developing coronary heart disease. As understanding of complex relationships between behavior and health increases, psychology will be recognized as having a large role to play in conceptualizing physical health and illness.
  • Studies of animal learning. Research on animal learning is of interest in its title and additionally for clues to human learning. Bennett Galef has shown that rats learn from others in their colony to prefer certain foods and avoid poisoned bait, and Sara Shettleworth has investigated memory for cached food in birds. Some species of birds will hide many seeds and recover them months later – a remarkable example of a extremely evolved adaptation ability. ‘Bird brains” square measure provably superior to human brains, in some respects at least.

Scientific research is usually classified as being either basic or applied. Basic research in psychology is conducted primarily for the sake of achieving a more detailed and accurate understanding of human behavior, without necessarily trying to address any particular practical problem. Applied analysis is conducted primarily to handle some sensible drawback. Research on the effects of cell phone use on driving, for example, applied research on the effect of cell phone use on driving could produce new insights into basic processes of perception, attention, and action.

The most impressive psychology school of thoughts

There area unit many faculties of thought that developed throughout the first years of the 20th century. Psychoanalysis developed from the study and treatment of mental patients suffering from psychological disorders. The strategies used were mentation, dream analysis, and projective techniques. This movement started in national capital below the leadership of Sigmund Freud, and Austrian medical man specializing in diseases of the system nervous. Through his clinical follow, psychoanalyst developed a really completely different approach to psychological science. After graduating from school of medicine, psychoanalyst treated patients World Health Organization gave the impression to suffer from bound ailments however had nothing physically wrong with them. These patients weren’t consciously faking their symptoms, and infrequently the symptoms would disappear through mental state, or even just by talking. On the basis of these observations, Freud formulated a theory of personality and form of psychotherapy known as psychoanalysis. It became one of the influential school of Western thought of the 20th century. Psychoanalysis is liable for the eye given to unconscious motivation and kid development.

The most attention-grabbing reality regarding psychoanalyst is however his theory on analysis helps treat numerous folks with issues like stress, anxiety, and temperament disorders. There is conjointly the actual fact that his system differed greatly in content and methodology from the normal psychology at the time (Schultz & Schultz, 2011). A lot of times people are scared of change or they do not like change but that is what believe makes Freud’s work stand out the most. Even though he failed to collect information from controlled experiments or use, statistics to investigate his results his work was still scientific. Through are acceptance and popularity of psychoanalysis, it is apparent that psychoanalysis.

Freud’s influence on the field has been deep and lasting, particularly his ideas about the unconscious. He opened whole new frontiers in psychological science and planned one among the foremost comprehensive theories of temperament ever written, complete with explanations of how the unconscious mind works and how temperament develops within the early years of life. Freud’s develop the event of the primary kind psychotherapy – one that has been changed and utilized by uncounted therapists throughout the history of psychological science. Today, most psychologists agree that individuals are often deeply influence by unconscious forces, which folks typically have a restricted awareness of why they suppose, feel, and behave as they do.

Conclusion

All the discussed schools of thought in psychology have disappeared today but they have greatly influenced psychology. Such as Darwin (1900 to 2000) the subject matter was humans and animals have a lot in common. The goal were led to comparative psychology and researchers making inferences about human behaviors such as learning, memory, emotions and even social interactions based on observations and experiments with animals. It also led to research on individual differences. Psychology of modern times has taken a turn towards eclecticism by selecting the best from each school and working in collaboration with other scientists.

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