History of Psychology

Avicenna

980

The first trace of biological psychology.
In his book The Canon Of Medicine, it shows treatment techniques using emotions and inner feelings.

Willhelm Wundt

1875

"Father of Psychology"
Opened World's first psychology lab at the University of Leipzeg.
Used introspection (examining own thoughts and feelings)

William James

1875

"Father of American Psychology"
Founded functionalism (consciousness existing as a more continuous and changing process)

Sigmund Freud

1886

Founder of Psychoanalysis.
Emphasized the unconscious mind.
Theory of Personality (believing early childhood experiences and unconscious impulses contributed to the development of adult personality and behavior).

Joseph Jastrow

1886

He is the first to receive a doctorate in psychology. Founder of Pyschophysics.

Edward Titchner

1892

• Student of WIllhelm Wundt
• Founded psychology's first school of thought
• Structuralism (human consciousness can be broken down into parts)

Ivan Pavlov

1903

Behaviorism (purely learning by observing)
Dog experiment becomes the first example of classical conditioning.
Rejected conscious and unconscious mind.

Max Wetheimer

1912

Phi phenomenon - perceiving a series of still images as the illusion of movement.

Lev Vygosky

1928

Founder of Sociocultural Theory (society causes individual developement) and Zone of Proximal Develpoment (the distance between the level of actual and potential development).

Gestalt Theory

1935

Response to structuralism.
Looks at the mind and behavior as a whole.
Instead of focusing on every small detail, our minds tend to perceive objects as part of a whole and of more complex systems.
Contributors: Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffha.

Wolfgang Kohler

1935

Summarized the Gestalt theory as "the whole is different than the sum of it's parts." He is known for research on problem-solving, criticisms of introspection, and opposition to behaviorism.

Carl Rogers

1954

One founder of the Humanistic Psychology.
He believed in the power of free will and self determination

Abraham Maslow

1954

Famous for "The Hierarchy of Needs" which suggested people were motivated by increasingly complex needs.

George A. Miller

1956

Founder of Cognitive Psychology. MRI and PET scans helped the ability to study the inner workings of the human bran.

Richard Dawkins

1976

Evolutionary Psychology. New ways of looking at aggression and other social phenomena. Believes evolution is the reasoning for the structure of the brain.

Jerome Bruner

1990

Helps formulate cultural psychology. Focuses on the behavioral influences with culture and relationships.