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French Philosopher Rene Descartes - 2000 years later
Rene Descartes proposed that the human mind and body are separate, but interact through the brain. He is probably best known for his saying, 'I think, therefore I am' In his version of a theory called dualism, he agrees that the mind and the body are two different things. The mind being a non-physical, spiritual entity, whereas the body is a physical fleshy structure. but they come in contact through the pineal gland located in the brain. -
Hermann von Helmholtz - Beginning of Scientific study of Psychology
German physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz conducted scientific research to accurately estimate the speed of nerve impulses in the human body. He recorded the reaction time after the stimulus had been applied, he found that people take longer to respond when there toe was stimulated than when their theigh was stimulated. the difference between the reaction times allowed him to estimate how long it took a nerve impulse to travel to the brain. -
Structuralism - Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology research laborartory and the apporach to psychology called structuralism. Wilhelm Wundt is known today as the founding figure of modern psychology. -
Functionalism- William James
Williams James 1842-1910 his primary interest in this approach is in the function of mental processes, including consciousness. While not the creation of any single scholar, William James was clearly its most famous advocate.The methods of psychology: Mental acts can be studied through introspection, the use of instruments to record and measure; and objective manifestations of mind, through the study of its creations and products, and through the study of anatomy and physiology. -
Behaviourism - John B. Watson
John B. Watson (1878-1958) was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism.Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. The prediction and control of behavior. Behaviourisim invovles understanding and explaining how behaviour is learned and moulded by experience. -
Humanism- Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers (1902-1987) believed for a person to "grow", they need an environment that provides them with genuineness (openness and self-disclosure), acceptance (being seen with unconditional positive regard), and empathy (being listened to and understood).
Without these, relationships and healthy personalities will not develop as they should. -
Psychoanalysis - Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud (1856 -1939) was an Austrian neurologist who became known as the founding father of psychoanalysis.Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining “insight”. -
Greek Philosophers - 2000 years ago - theories
The Ancient Greek philosphers Socrates (470- 399 BC), Plato (428 - 337 BC) and Aristotle (384 -322 BC) debated many questions about behaviour and mental processes that psychologists continute to debate today. For example, the Greek philosphers called the mind-body problem. Involving the relationship between the mind and the body., the problem invovles more about knowing whether the mind and body are seperate or one, and if they are separate does the mind control the body or body controls mind.
