Roots of Psychology

1. “A History of Psychology”
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2. Another Greek philosopher Aristotle, raised many questions
about behavior.
One of Aristotle´s work was the “Peri Psyches”, which
means about the mind.
It is said that this book was written more than 2000 years
ago, it describes how people are motivated to seek pleasure
and to avoid pain, Peri Psyches also explores topics such as
sensation, perception, thought, intelligence, needs, motives,
feelings, emotions and memory.

3. The ancient greeks also theorized about psychological problems
such as confusion and strange behavior, they attributed these
disorders to supernatural forces, they believed that the gods
punished people for their wrongdoing by causing them confusion
and madness.
However a Greek physician Hippocrates (c.460-c. 377B.C.),
suggested that such problems were caused by abnormalities in
the brain, this idea that biological factors can affect our thoughts,
feelings and behavior influenced thinking about psychology ever
since.

4. The Middle Ages
• During the middle ages, most Europeans believed that
problems such as agitation and confusion were signs of
demonic possession.
• Several tests were use to determine whether a person
was possessed or not.
• For example: The water-float test, people were thrown
into deep water, if they manage to stay above the water,
they were executed and treated as possesed, if not, they
drowned, and were treated as pure souls.

5. “The Birth of a Modern Science”
• Psychology was born as a modern science, when
psychologists opened psychological laboraties.
• In these laboratories, phsychologists studied behavior
and mental processes, most historians point out to the
year 1879 as the beginning of psychology as a modern
laboratory science.
One of these psychologists was Wilhelm Wundt
(1832-1920), Wilhelm Wundt created the first
psychology lab, and establish psychology
as a science.

6. Wilhem Wundt
Wilhem Wundt and his students,
founded a field of psychology that
came to be known as
“Structuralism”, they were
concerned with studying the basic
elements of consciousness. Wunt
broke down the content of
consciousness into two categories:
Objective sensations and Subjective feelings.
Objective sensations such as sight and taste were
assumed to reflect the outside world. Subjective feelings
were thought to include emotional responses and
mental images.

7. Objective Sensations
Subjective Feelings

8. William James
A decade after Wundt established his
laboratory, William James (1842-1910),
thought that consciousness experience
cannot be broken down as structuralists
believed, he said that experience is a
continous stream of consciousness.
William James was one of the founders of the school of
Functionalism, they were concerned with how mental
processes help organisms adapt to their environment. They
believed behaviors were adaptive because they were
successful, less adaptive behaviors were dropped or
discontinued. If a behavior was successful, after lots of practice
it can become a habit (automatic behavior).

9. John B. Watson
Behaviorism: John B. Watson
(1878-1958)
Behaviorists believe behavior can be
studied in a methodical and
recognizable manner with no
consideration of internal mental states.
Watson believed that it was unscientific
to study consciousness as a private
event , he asserted that if psychology
was to be a natural science, it must be
observable and measured. As a
founder of the school of behaviorism,
Watson defined psychology as the
scientific study of observable behavior.

10. B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) he added to the
behaviorist tradition reinforcement. Skinner
showed that when an animal is reinforced, or
rewarded, for perfoming an action, it is more
likely to perform the action in the future.
According to Skinner people learn the same
way animals do. Like animals people behave
in certain ways because they have been
reinforced for doing so.

11. The Gestalt School
The psychology of Gestalt which means shape
or form in German, is based on the idea that
perceptions are more than the sums of their
parts, rather they are wholes that give shape or
meaning.

12. Sigmund Freud and the School of
Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), was one of
the most famous of the early
psychologists. The school of thought that
he founded was called “Psychoanalysis”,
it emphasizes the importance of
unconscious motives and internal conflicts
and how they can influence behavior.
Freud´s theory, more than others has
become a part of popular culture, for
example when you are trying to interpret a
slip of the tongue, or when you try to figure
out a dream.

13. • Structuralists, functionalists, behaviorists and
Gestalt psychologists all conducted their research in a
laboratory. However Freud gained his understanding of
human behavior through consultations with patients.
• Freud´s theory which is sometimes called
“Psychodynamic Thinking”, assumed that most of
what exists in a person´s mind is unconscious and
makes us deal with conflicting impulses, urges and
wishes.
According to Freud, we are constantly trying to satisfy
these desires, even though some of them might seem
inappropriate or unacceptable in our society.
Freud attempted to help people gain insight into their
unconscious conflicts and find socially acceptable ways
of expressing their wishes and meeting their needs.

14. Section Review
 What are the roots of psychology
 What does “Know Thyself” means?
 What is “Peri Psyches” about?
 Which Greek physician said that psychological problems
were caused by abnormalities of the brain?
 According to the middle ages, what was the cause of
psychological problems?

15.  When was psychology a modern science?
 What is structuralism about?
 What is functionalism about?
 What do behaviorists believed?
 What is the Gestalt School about?
 What is the school of Psychodynamic about?