assignment for general psychology
General psychology
Section A
1. 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 outlook.
The following are some of the major schools of thought that have influenced our knowledge and understanding of psychology:
Structuralism and Functionalism
Structuralism is generally thought of as the first school of thought in psychology. This outlook focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components and used techniques such as introspection to analyze the inner processes of the human mind. Major thinkers associated with structuralism include Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener.
Functionalism formed as a reaction to the theories of the structuralist school of thought and was heavily influenced by the work of William James , John Dewey , Angell, Harvey Carr, and James Rowland . Functionalism is not associated with a single dominant theorist. Functionalist thinkers were interested in the role that mental processes play.
Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt psychology is a school of psychology based upon the idea that we experience things as unified wholes. This approach to psychology began in Germany and Austria during the late 19th century in response to the molecular approach of structuralism.
Behaviorism
Behaviorism became a dominant school of thought during the 1950s. 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
Section A
1. 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 outlook.
The following are some of the major schools of thought that have influenced our knowledge and understanding of psychology:
Structuralism and Functionalism
Structuralism is generally thought of as the first school of thought in psychology. This outlook focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components and used techniques such as introspection to analyze the inner processes of the human mind. Major thinkers associated with structuralism include Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener.
Functionalism formed as a reaction to the theories of the structuralist school of thought and was heavily influenced by the work of William James , John Dewey , Angell, Harvey Carr, and James Rowland . Functionalism is not associated with a single dominant theorist. Functionalist thinkers were interested in the role that mental processes play.
Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt psychology is a school of psychology based upon the idea that we experience things as unified wholes. This approach to psychology began in Germany and Austria during the late 19th century in response to the molecular approach of structuralism.
Behaviorism
Behaviorism became a dominant school of thought during the 1950s. 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