Attributes of Early Modern Psychology

 

Psychology in the early 20^th century was a relatively new discipline independent of philosophy that dealt with matters of the mind (Laureate online education, 2016). In its youth, it was evolving fundamentally in two ways, academically and therapeutically (Laureate online education , 2016).

Psychology as a science was greatly influenced by the German psychologist, Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920). Wundt was the founder of what is now known as structuralism in psychology (Laureate online education , 2016 ). Structuralism was concerned with analyzing mental processes, establishing relationships between those processes, and establishing psychological laws. Structuralism relied on psychological experiments and introspection (Chung & Hyland, Wundt's experimental psychology, 2011), however, one of Wundt’s disciples, Edward Titchner (1867-1927), rejected introspection as it was non-scientific (Chung & Hyland, Wundt and his students, 2011). Despite Titchner’s efforts in trying to make structuralism more scientific, and structuralism’s influence on experimental psychology, it was incapable of being classified as a science because it was too reductionist (Laureate online education , 2016 ).

Parallel to structuralism, the psychological approach of functionalism was being developed. William James (1842-1910) is the founder of functionalism, which inquired about the functions and purpose of behavior and mental processes (Chung & Hyland, James' approach to applied psychology, 2011). Functionalists relied on introspection, experimentation, and what they called the comparative method (Lang, 1994). Functionalism was criticized for using non-objective approaches such as introspection; it also used teleological arguments and imprecise ideas (Laureate online education , 2016 ). Despite its criticism, a lot of its principles were assimilated into behaviorism.

 Another academic approach that had an impact of psychology as a science was Gestalt psychology.

 Kurt Koffka (1886-1941), one of the founders of Gestalt school of thought stated: “When we perceive a set of stimuli, our mind forms a global whole, form, shape or pattern” (Koffka, 1935). Gestalt focused on the study of perception and also analyzed thought (Laureate online education, 2016). Another famous Gestalt psychologist was Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1967), he was known for experimenting with chimpanzees and his contribution to the understanding of learning (Ruiz & Sánchez, 2014). Even though Gestalt as a discipline is no longer prevalent, many of its concepts have been adopted on social and cognitive psychology (Laureate online education, 2016).

On the therapeutic side of psychology, psychoanalysis was developed by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) independently of experimental psychology (Laureate online education , 2016). Freud has two mental structures to explain mental processes; the first contained pre-consciousness, unconsciousness, and consciousness, and another composed of the ego, super ego and it (Twenge & Campbell, 2017). Psychoanalysis also resulted in neo-analytic theories, which were modified psychoanalytic theories (Twenge & Campbell, 2017). Despite psychoanalysis’s prevalence in modern arts and culture, it’s no longer part of western academic psychology because of its mythical elements such as the id and ego, questionable effects of its therapy, and its inability to predict behavior (Laureate online education , 2016).

Another movement on the therapeutic side of psychology was Humanistic psychology, which prevailed  in the 1950’s and 1960’s in response to dehumanizing and reductionist perspectives in psychology (Laureate online education , 2016). It’s most notable figures were Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) who created the hierarchy of needs (Maslow & Lowry, 1999) and Carl Rogers (1902-1987) who developed the growth based psychotherapy model (KIRSCHENBAUM, 2007). It was critiqued for having concept that are hard to scientifically research, however it had a lasting influence on the importance of therapist’s attitudes.

References

Chung, M. C., & Hyland, M. E. (2011). James' approach to applied psychology. In History and philosophy of psychology (p. 98). West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons.

Chung, M. C., & Hyland, M. E. (2011). The gestalt movement. In History and Philosophy of Psychology (pp. 131-136). West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons.

Chung, M. C., & Hyland, M. E. (2011). Wundt and his students. In History and Philosophy of Psychology (pp. 57-60). West Sussex : John Wiley and Sons.

Chung, M. C., & Hyland, M. E. (2011). Wundt's experimental psychology. In History and Philosophy of Psychology (pp. 49-51). West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons.

KIRSCHENBAUM, H. (2007). The life and work of Carl Rogers. Ross-on-Wye : PCCS Books.

Koffka, K. (1935). Principles of gestalt psychology. New York: Harcourt Brace.

Lang, P. J. (1994). The varieties of emotional experience: A meditation on James-Lange theory. Psychological Review, 101;211.

Laureate online education . (2016 , November 2016). Week 5: conceptual and historical paradigms in psychology: a critical analysis. part 1. structuralism and functionalism. Mind, Brain and Behavior . Netherlands: Laureate Online Education B.V.

Laureate online education . (2016, November 10 ). Week 5: conceptual and historical paradigms in psychology: a critical analysis. part 1. humanistic psychology. Mind, Brain and Behavior . Netherlands: Laureate Online Education B.V.

Laureate online education . (2016, November 10). Week 5: conceptual and historical paradigms in psychology: a critical analysis. part 1. psychoanalysis. Mind, Brain and Behavior . Netherlands: Laureate Online Education B.V.

Laureate online education. (2016, December 20). Week 2: the scientific status of psychology. Mind, Brain and Behavior. Netherlands: Laureate Online Education B.V.

Laureate online education. (2016, November 10). Week 5: conceptual and historical paradigms in psychology: a critical analysis. part 1. gestalt psychology. Mind, Brain and Behavior. Netherlands: Laureate Online Education B.V.

Maslow, A., & Lowry, R. (1999). Toward a psychology of being. New York: Wiley.

Ruiz, G., & Sánchez, N. (2014). Wolfgang Köhler's The Mentality of Apes and the animal psychology of his time. The Spanish Journal of Psychology.

Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2017). Psychodynamic approaches. In Personality Psychology: Understanding Yourself and Others (pp. 142-176). New York: Pearson.