The Origins of Psychology

Anjali Reddy 6/7/2022

For decades, many have studied the intricacies of the human brain, and what causes different disorders. As a whole, psychology is a relatively new science, with most major discoveries being made in the past 150 years, while its origins can be traced back to ancient civilizations, including Greece and Rome. From what seems like a far cry from the modern therapists’ offices like today, let’s take a look at the origins of modern psychology.

In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt opened the first Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany. In this lab, he studied the different ways in which the mind reacts to sensations and feelings, and how these became a mental image as a whole. This early way of studying the brain became known as structuralism, involving the method of introspection to attempt to create a map of the elements of consciousness. Introspection involves asking research participants to describe exactly what they experience as they work on mental tasks, such as viewing colors, reading a page in a book, or performing a math problem. , and it was significant because it was the first time the study of the brain was separate from the study of philosophy, which is what the majority of ancient Greek psychologists focused on.

In the early part of the 20th century, the second major thought pattern in psychology came into existence. In psychology, functionalism was a broad school of thought originating in the United States during the late 19th century that attempted to counter the German school of structuralism led by Edward B. Titchener and Wilhelm Wundt. It focused more on rational, measurable thought over the trial-and-error experiments used by structuralists. The research groups were primarily concerned with the capability of the mind than with the process of thought, showing how this movement was more interested in the applications and practical uses of their research.

Now let’s get into the four main prevailing schools of thought in modern psychology, with the first one being behaviorism. Behaviorist psychologists believe that all behavior can be explained by environmental forces rather than by internal conflict. Behaviorism is focused on observable behavior that can be tested.

The second we will look into is the humanistic school of thought which instead focused on individual free will, personal growth and the concept of self-actualization. This is used very commonly in today’s therapists offices, where psychologists focus on the clients’ improvement and wellbeing by using active listening techniques. Thirdly, many psychologists follow the cognitive school of thought. In this, psychologists mainly focus on studying mental processes such as how people think, understand, remember and learn. Cognitive psychology surfaced during the 1950s, partly as a response to behaviorism. Critics of behaviorism noted that it failed to account for how unseen mental processes impacted behavior.

The last perspective we will go into is the psychoanalytic perspective. This was one of the earlier perspectives in psychology, and it was pioneered by Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysts focus on the influences of the unconscious mind on behavior. Additionally, Freud split up the mind into 3 different sections with different levels of consciousness: id, ego, and superego. According to Freud, the id is the instinctual, primitive part of the brain that strives to satisfy basic aggressive drives. The superego works as a moral compass, reflecting societal standards, and the ego mediates the two.

Nowadays, many psychologists utilize a mixture of these approaches, and certain types are better for different psychological issues. For example, the humanistic approach is better suited for a patient suffering from depression, while the behaviorist approach is used to cure specific phobias. All in all, each of these approaches has contributed greatly to the study of the brain and mental illnesses, and it’s important to look at each one to gain a better understanding of psychology as a whole.

** As always, If you find yourself self harming or have friends/family struggling and are talking about possible suicide reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or call 911 to get them or you immediate help.

Work Cited:

Cherry, Kendra. “The 7 Major Schools of Thought in Psychology.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 17 Aug. 2020, https://www.verywellmind.com/psychology-schools-of-thought-2795247.

“Functionalism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/science/functionalism-psychology.

Mcleod, Saul. “Id, Ego, and Superego.” Id, Ego, and Superego | Simply Psychology, 2021, https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html#:~:text=According%20to%20Freud's%20psychoanalytic%20theory,id%20and%20the%20super%2Dego.

Mcleod, Saul. “What Is Psychology?” What Is Psychology? | Simply Psychology, https://www.simplypsychology.org/whatispsychology.html#:~:text=Psychology%20is%20really%20a%20very,%2C%20400%20%E2%80%93%20500%20years%20BC.

Mcleod, Saul. “Wilhelm Wundt.” Wilhelm Wundt - Father of Psychology | Simply Psychology, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.simplypsychology.org/wundt.html.

Stangor, Charles, and Jennifer Walinga. “1.2 The Evolution of Psychology: History, Approaches, and Questions.” Introduction to Psychology 1st Canadian Edition, BCcampus, 17 Oct. 2014, https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/1-2-the-evolution-of-psychology-history-approaches-and-questions/.