Major Schools of Thought in Psychology Essay

When psychological science was first established as a science recount from biology and philosophy, the debate over how to describe and explain the human sagacity and behavior began. The first trail of sight, structuralism, was advocated by the founder of the first psychology lab, Wilhelm Wundt. Almost immediately, other theories began to emerge and vie for dominance in psychology. The sideline are some of the major schools of thought that have influenced our knowledge and sympathy of psychologyStructuralism vs. Functionalism1) Structuralism was the first school of psychology, and focused on severance down mental processes into the most basic components. Major structuralist thinkers embroil Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchner.2) Functionalism formed as a reaction to the theories of the structuralist school of thought and was intemperately influenced by the work of William James. This school focused on the functions of human behaviors and not their structure. Major functionalist t hinkers included John Dewey and Harvey Carr. Evolutionary psychology is founded on the situation that the function of wholly psychological phenomena in human evolution is a necessary perspective to their understanding.Gestalt Psychology3) Gestalt psychology is based upon the idea that we know things as unified wholes. This approach to psychology began in Germany and Austria during the late nineteenth century in response to the molecular approach of structuralism. Rather that breaking down thoughts and behavior to their smallest element, the gestalt psychologists believed that you must look at the whole of experience. gibe to the gestalt thinkers, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Max Wertheimer is often credited as the founder of this movement.PsychoanalysisSigmund Freud was the found of 4) Psychodynamic approach. This school of thought emphasizes the influence of the unconscious mind mind on behavior. Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three eleme nts the id, the ego, and the superego. separate major psychodynamic thinkers include Anna Freud, Carl Jung, and Erik Erikson.Behaviorism5) Behaviorism became the dominant school of thought during the 1950s. Based upon the work of thinkers such as John Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and B. F. Skinner, behaviorism holds that all behavior can be explained by environmental causes, rather than by internal forces. Behaviorism is focused on observable behavior. Theories of learning including mere conditioning and operant conditioning were the focus of a great complete of research.Humanistic Psychology6) Humanistic psychology developed as a response to psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Humanistic psychology instead focused on individual free will, personal growth, and self-actualization. Major humanist thinkers included Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.cognitive Psychology7) Cognitive psychology is the leg of psychology that studies mental processes including how state think, perceive, problem solve , remember, and learn. As part of the larger field of cognitive science, this branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics. One of the most influential theories from this school of thought was the stages of cognitive development theory proposed by Jean Piaget. afterward work in this field was pioneered by names like Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck.