HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY

History of Psychology

History of Psychology

Brief History of Psychology

Psychology has lived for a long time, yet its history of being a research is somewhat Brief. It originates in the study of philosophy, and people have had to deal with psychological questions for a long time. Yet it was only recognized as a science in 1979 when Wilhelm Wundt established the first laboratory for the scientific study of psychology, in Leipzig, Germany.

Wundt described psychology as a science by giving the following comparison: "Once you have found the basic building blocks of which the world is made, you have the science of chemistry and physics. Once you have found the building blocks of the conscious experience and the laws that bind them together, you have the science of conscious experience." His theory was called Structuralism.

J.B.Watson disproved Wundt's theory however. He claimed that the science of psychology must be based on public observable events and the conscious experience was private, hence useless. Watson's method was the following: individuals or a group should be exposed to physical events (stimuli) and the reaction can be observed. This was a complete science of behavior that could be constructed without reference to the conscious experience. Watson's specific behaviorist theory could be seen as one of the building blocks for psychology.

Later came another psychologist called Tolman, who viewed things more broadly. He believed that it was necessary to postulate mental processes to explain learnt behavior. There was much disagreement between Watson and Tolman although Tolman's theory could recognized as a harbinger of modern psychology.

Definition of Psychology

It is perhaps wiser to give a definition of psychology. It may be defined as the science of behavior, as long as it is clear that this includes a wide range of activities such as, for example, going to the cinema, studying very hard for a test, etc.

It is the science of human behavior and, to a smaller degree, animal behavior. Animal behavior is mostly used to predict and/or understand human behavior.

Misconceptions about Psychology

There are several reasons why people have misconceptions about psychology. Ironically, a scientific psychological study could be made as to why these misconceptions exist.

One reason could be described with the term "wishful thinking". The attacks on scientific psychology could be connected to a general ideological movement against science. There is a fear of what research might lead to, like a kind of social change for example. People want to go back to the way it was in the past, simpler and more straightforward. With science they always have to fear the future. It might lead to segregation, for example.

Another reason for people debating on whether psychology is a science or not is the way psychologist's methods differ from the methods used by other scientists. Take the chemists methods for example. One can see what a chemist does as he prepares mixtures because, as a result of the combination of different fluids in test tubes, color alterations or other chemical changes may ...