History of Psycology

Ancient Greece- Hippocrates

460

(460-377 B.C.)
Hippocrates suggested that problems such as confussions and bizzare behavior are caused by abnormalities with the brain. He is the first person to come up with an idea like this. This idea influenced thinking in psycology for the next 2000 years.

The Middle Ages

500

(500-1500 A.D.)
During the Middle Ages, it was believed that if your were confused or had any mentel issues that you were possesed by demons. "Tests" were done to see if a certian person were possesed. Many of the people died during the tests which meant that they were pure but if you lived, you were possesed by the devil and were executed after.

Modern Science

Aug 25, 1500

(1500-1800 AD)
Psycologists began studing mental processes and behavior using methods similar to those Lavoisier used to study chemistry. Scentists began studying the view that the sun revolves around the Earth but suggested that the Earth revolves around the sun instead. They also studied the laws of gravity during this time.

Wilhelm Wundt

Aug 25, 1832

(1832-1920)
Wilhelm and his students founded a field of experiemental psychology that became known as structuralism. Structuralists were concerned with disovering the basic elements of consciosness. He broke the the elements of consciousness into two parts: objectives sensations and subjective feelings.

William James

Aug 25, 1842

(1842-1910)
William was one of the founders of the school of functionalism. Functionalists were concerned with how mental processes help organisms adapt to their enviornment. James maintained that experience is a continous "stream of consciousness."

Sigmund Fraud

Aug 25, 1856

(1856-1939)
Sigmund Fraud, a Vinnese physician, founded the school of thought called psychoanalysis. It emphasizs the importance of unconscious motives. It also studies internal conflicts in determining human behavior.

John B. Watson

Aug 25, 1878

(1878-1958)
John was the founder of the school of behaviorism. He defined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior. He asserted that psychology was a natural science.

B.F. Skinner

Aug 25, 1904

(1904-1990)
Skinner believes that people learn the same way that animals do. People, like animals, learn to behave in certian ways because they have been reinforced for doing so.

The Gestalt School

Aug 25, 1920

In the 1920's, German psychologists, Max Wertheimer, Kirt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler, founded the school of Gestalt psychology. The school is based on the idea that perceptions are more than the sums of their parts. The psychology of Gestalt means shape or form in German.

Plato

Mar 2, 2022

(428-348 or 347 B.C.)
Plato was a student of Socrates in Ancient Greece. Plato recorded his teacher's advide, "Know Thyself". It has become a moto for psycological study ever since.

Ancient Greece- Aristotle

Mar 2, 2022

(384-322 B.C.)
Aristotle outlined the laws od associaions. These laws are still talked about today. He shows us how experiences can remind us of similar experiences from the past.