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Positive psychology
Cognitive psychology
Humanistic psychology
Behaviourism
Psychoanalysis
Functionalism
Structuralism
A Brief History of Psychology
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Transcript

A Brief History of Psychology

Structuralism

Functionalism

Psychoanalysis

Behaviourism

Humanistic psychology

Cognitive psychology

Positive psychology

Wundt’s structuralism was the earliest school of thought. It began with his first experiments in the early 20th century and is credited for being highly influential in the emerging field.

Probably one of the most well-known schools of psychological thought, Sigmund Freud introduced psychoanalysis, which focused on how the unconscious mind impacts human behaviour.

The early psychologist and philosopher William James is associated and accredited with a school of thought known as functionalism. This area of psychology focused its attention on the purpose of human consciousness and behaviour.

John B. Watson is credited with founding behaviourism, which turned attention from the internal influences of the mind towards behaviours in real-time.

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow are credited with introducing the humanistic approach, which focused on the importance of personal growth and what Rogers and Maslow called ‘self-actualisation’. This is the process of achieving the best version of who you're meant to be.

In the late 1960s, Ulric Neisser helped make cognitive psychology the most prominent school of thought, which focused on the investigation of mental processes such as thinking, decision making, language, and memory.

The most recent school of thought is positive psychology, which was founded by Martin Seligman. He felt that many other schools of thought emphasised studying negative emotions and experiences, rather than the positive side of the human mind and its impact on our behaviour. Throughout the years, each school of thought has contributed further to our understanding of psychology. Many contemporary researchers blend different schools of thought, believing that there isn’t one entirely ‘correct’ way of thinking about psychology.