-
The French philosopher; René Descartes
Known for his saying, 'I think, therefore I am.' René Descartes agreed with the Greek philosophers that the mind and the body were two different things, however he theorised that they interacted through pineal gland in the brain. The pineal gland allowed the mind and brain to interact and produce thoughts, emotions and whatever we are aware of at any point in time, including our own existence. Descartes also believed that our mind can affect our body and vice versa. -
Scientific roots
In the nineteenth cenutry, scientists were making progress in answering the questions about human behaviour and mental processes that the philosophers could not answer. There were philosophers who were very doubtful that the scientific methods used were relevant to the study of mental processes. They believed that the mind wasn't a physical object and could not be directly observed, measured or manipulated scientifically. -
The German physiologist; Hermann van Helmholtz (PART 1)
Physiologists specialised in the structure and function of living things, mostly humans. In the nineteenth century, physiologists began studying the brain and other psychologically relevant structures in the human body. Hermann von Helmholtz developed a method for measuring the speed of nerve impulses by testing with frogs and adapted his method to enable the study to humans instead. -
The German physiologist; Hermann van Helmholtz (PART 2)
The results allowed him to estimate how long it took a nerve impulse to travel to the brain. These results greatly impressed the scientists in the nineteenth century because at that time, it was believed that mental processes occured instantly. The scientists assumed that the nervous system processes underlying mental events must be instanteous since everything is so closely synchronised. However with the results that Helmholtz gathered, he proved that it wasn't true. -
The German physiologist; Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhem Wundt was a German physiologist who was trained in medicine and was interested in the scientific study of human consciousness. This was unbelievable and could hardly be investigated because at that time, consciousness could not be directly observed. Wundt tried to understand and explain consciousness by breaking it down into parts such as thoughts, feelings, sights, sounds and other sensations that people may be aware of. -
The German physiologist; Wilhelm Wundt PART 2
His perspective, theories, scientific research findings and articles on the structure of consciousness led to the term, structuralism. Structuralism focused on the structure of consciousness, the basic parts that make up consciousness and how the parts are organised and interrelate. -
The American psychologist; William James
William James (1842 -1910) was influential in establishing psychology in America. James graduated as a medical doctor, he then became a a lecturer in medicine at Havard University. The term functionalism focuses on studying the functions or purpose that mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environment. -
The Austrian doctor; Sigmund Freud
In the twentieth century, a new perspective in psychology that focused on the unconscious experience challenged in the theories and methods of both structualism and functionalism, pyschoanalysis, developed by Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis focuses on the roles of unconscious conflicts and motivations in understanding and explaining behaviour and mental processes. -
The American psychologist; John Broadus Watson PART 1
Watson has made a big impact on the subject of psychology itself which is still evident today. He introduced the behavioural part in psychology. Watson had rejected the theories made by Wundt about consciousness and Freud's theories of unconsciousness. He thought that psychology should focus on the scientific study of observable behaviour that could be objectively measured and confirmed by the other researchers. -
The American psychologist; John Broadus Watson PART 2
He's approach and perspective to studying psychology became to be known as behaviourism. Behaviourism involves understanding and explaining how behaviour is learned and moulded by experience. People who studied behaviourism believe that almost everything a person does is influenced by rewards and punishments. -
The American clinical psychologist; Carl Rogers
Humanism is also called humanistic psychology. It is an approach to understanding and explaining behaviour and mental processes that focuses on the uniqueness of each individual person and the positive qualities and potential of all human beings to fulfil their lives. Carl Rogers was one of the founders and leaders of humanism. Rogers trained in psychoanalysis but later rejected the idea of it. -
Greek Philosophers - 2000 years ago (BC)
More than 2000 years ago, the Greek philosopher, Socrates and his followers, Plato and Aristotle wrote about the human thoughts ranging from feelings and behaviour to human nature in general. They theorised about memory, sleep, dreams, the senses, pleasure, pain, imagination desire, whether humans were born good or evil and numerous aspects of the human mind. These philosophers debated the many questions that psychologist still debate today.
