Historical and Contemporary Approaches to Spychology

By ElianaSofia
  • William James teaches first Spychology class at Harvard University.

    William James teaches first Spychology class at Harvard University.

    James believed that instead of focusing on the structure of the mind, we should focus on the functions of the mind. He believed the function of the mind was to help species survive. He was a Functionalist.
  • Wilhelm Wundt officially starts his Labratory of Spychology

    Wilhelm Wundt officially starts his Labratory of Spychology

    Wundt is acknowleged for for establishing spychology as a seperate field of study. He was a structuralist, this meant he was ineterested in the basic elements of human experiences.
  • Francis Galton Publishes his book "Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development."

    Francis Galton Publishes his book "Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development."

    Galton believed that genius was a hereditary trait and that greatness ran in families. However, he failed to take into account their environment or economic advantages. His book was regarded as the first study of humans individual differences.
  • Sigmund Freud develops a new technique known as free association.

    Sigmund Freud develops a new technique known as free association.

    Free association was a method to study the unconsious minds, where a patient could say anythimng that came to their minds. A spycholoanalyst, a person who studies these unconcious behaviors, would observe and interpret the associations of the patient.

  • Cognitive Spychology benefits due to the work of Noam Chomsky, Jean Piaget, and Leon Festinger

    Cognivists (Spychologists who study how humans process and store information) beleive that behavior is affected by many variables, such as perceptions, memories, and expectations.

  • Humanists start describing human nature as self directed and evolving.

    Humanists (Spychologists that believe that each person has their own freedom in their future), like Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Rollo May believe that humans are not controlled by external events.