1. Charlene jane Agnas Prof:Adalid
301ED June 21, 2013
PSYCHOLOGY
B.F . SKINNER
B.F. Skinner described his Pennsylvania childhood as "warm and stable." As a boy, he
enjoyed building and inventing things; a skill he would later use in his own psychological
experiments. He received a B.A. in English literature in 1926 from Hamilton College, and
spent some time as a struggling writer before discovering the writings of Watson and
Pavlov. Inspired by these works, Skinner decided to abandon his career as a novelist and
entered the pontributions of Psychology
Contributions of Psychology:
Skinner was a prolific author, publishing nearly 200 articles and more than 20 books. In a 2002
survey of psychologists, he was identified as the most influential 20th-century psychologist.
While behaviorism is no longer a dominant school of thought, he work in operant conditioning
remains vital today. Mental health professionals often utilize operant techniques when working
with clients, teachers frequently use reinforcement and punishment to shape behavior in the
classroom, and animal trainers rely heavily on these techniques to train dogs and other animals.
SIGMUND FREUD
Contributions of Psychology:
When people think of psychology, many tend to think of Freud. His work supported the belief
that not all mental illnesses have physiological causes and he also offered evidence that cultural
differences have an impact on psychology and behavior. His work and writings contributed to
our understanding of personality, clinical psychology, human development, and abnormal
psychology.
ALBERT BANDURA
Contributions of Psychology:
Bandura's work is considered part of the cognitive revolution in psychology that began in the late
1960s. His social learning theory stressed the importance of observational learning, imitation,
and modeling. "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people
had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do," Bandura
explained in his 1977 book Social Learning Theory.
JEAN PIAGET
2. Contributions of Psychology:
Jean Piaget's work had a profound influence on psychology, especially our understanding
children's intellectual development. His research contributed to the growth of developmental
psychology, cognitive psychology, genetic epistemology, and education reform. Albert Einstein
once described Piaget's observations on children's intellectual growth and thought processes as a
discovery "so simple that only a genius could have thought of it."
CARL ROGERS
Contributions of Psychology:
Carl Rogers placed emphasis on human potential, which had an enormous influence on both
psychology and education. He became one of the major humanist thinkers and an eponymous
influence in therapy with his "Rogerian therapy." As described by his daughter Natalie Rogers,
he was "a model for compassion and democratic ideals in his own life, and in his work as an
educator, writer, and therapist."
WILLIAM JAMES
Contributions of Psychology:
Psychologist and philosopher William James is often referred to as the father of American
psychology. His 1200-page text, The Principles of Psychology, became a classic on the subject
and his teachings and writings helped establish psychology as a science. In addition, James
contributed to functionalism, pragmatism, and influenced many students of psychology during
his 35-year teaching career.
ERIK ERIKSON
Contributions of Psychology:
Erik Erikson's stage theory of psychosocial development helped create interest and research on
human development through the lifespan. An ego psychologist who studied with Anna Freud,
Erikson expanded psychoanalytic theory by exploring development throughout the life, including
events of childhood, adulthood, and old age.
IVAN PAVLOV
3. Contributions of Psyc Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist whose research on conditioned
reflexes influenced the rise of behaviorism in psychology. Pavlov's experimental methods helped
move psychology away from introspection and subjective assessments to objective measurement
of behaviorhology.
KURT LEWIN
Contributions of Psychology:
Lewin is known as the father of modern social psychology because of his pioneering work that
utilized scientific methods and experimentation to look as social behavior. Lewin was a seminal
theorist whose enduring impact on psychology makes him one of the preeminent psychologists
of the 20th-century.
2.)
Abnormal psychology is the area that looks at psychopathology and abnormal behavior.
The term covers a broad range of disorders, from depression to obsession-compulsion to
sexual deviation and many more. Counselors, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists
often work directly in this field.
Behavioral psychology, also known as behaviorism, is a theory of learning based upon
the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. While this branch of
psychology dominated the field during the first part of the twentieth century, it became
less prominent during the 1950s. However, behavioral techniques remain a mainstay in
therapy, education and many other areas.
Biopshycology the branch of psychology focused on the study of how the braininfluences
behavior is often known as biopsychology, although it has also been called physiological
psychology, behavioral neuroscience and psychobiology.
Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology that focuses on internal states, such
as motivation, problem solving, decision-making, thinking and attention. This area of
psychology has continued to grow since it emerged in the 1960s.
Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of
animal behavior. The study of animal behavior can lead to a deeper and broader
understanding of human psychology.
Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that looks at how cultural factors
influence human behavior. The International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology
(IACCP) was established in 1972, and this branch of psychology has continued to grow
and develop since that time. Today, increasing numbers of psychologists investigate how
behavior differs among various cultures throughout the world.
4. Developmental psychology
This branch of psychology looks at development throughout the lifespan, from childhood to
adulthood. The scientific study of human development seeks to understand and explain how and
why people change throughout life. This includes all aspects of human growth, including
physical, emotional, intellectual, social, perceptual and personality development.
Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with schools, teaching
psychology, educational issues and student concerns. Educational psychologists often
study how students learn or work directly with students, parents, teachers and
administrators to improve student outcomes.
Experimental psychology is the branch of psychology that utilizes scientific methods to
research the brain and behavior. Many of these techniques are also used by other areas in
psychology to conduct research on everything from childhood development to social
issues.
Forensic psychology is a specialty area that deals with issues related to psychology and
the law. Forensic psychologists perform a wide variety of duties, including providing
testimony in court cases, assessing children in suspected child abuse cases, preparing
children to give testimony and evaluating the mental competence of criminal suspects.
Health psychology is a specialty area that focuses on how biology, psychology, behavior
and social factors influence health and illness. Other terms including medical psychology
and behavioral medicine are sometimes used interchangeably with the term health
psychology. The field of health psychology is focused on promoting health as well as the
prevention and treatment of disease and illness.
PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY
This branch of psychology is focused on the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behavior that
make a person unique. Some of the best-known theories in psychology have arisen from this
field, including Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality and Erikson's theory of
psychosocial development.
Social psychology seeks to explain and understand social behavior and looks at diverse
topics including group behavior, social interactions, leadership, nonverbal
communication and social influences on decision-making.
3.)
Structuralism and Functionalism
Early Schools of Thought
In 1906, Mary Whiton Calkins published an article inPsychological Review asking for a
reconciliation between these two schools of thought. Structuralism and functionalism were not so
different, she argued, since both are principally concerned with the conscious self. Despite this,
each side continued to cast aspersions. William James wrote that structuralism had "plenty of
5. school, but no thought" (James, 1904), while Wilhelm Wundt dismissed functionalism as
"literature."
When psychology was first established as a science separate from biology and philosophy, the
debate over how to describe and explain the human mind and behavior began. Structuralism
emerged as the first school of thought and some of the ideas associated with the structuralist
school were advocated by the founder of the first psychology lab, Wilhelm Wundt. One of
Wundt's students, an man named Edward B. Tichener, would later go on to formally establish
and name structuralism, although he broke away from many of Wundt's ideas.
Structuralism
Structuralism was the first school of psychology and focused on breaking down mental processes
into the most basic components. Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of
consciousness using a method known as introspection. Wilhelm Wundt.founder of the first
psychology lab. was an advocate of this position and is often considered the founder of
structuralism, despite the fact that it was his student, Edward B. Titchener who first coined the
term to describe this school of thought.
While Wundt's work helped to establish psychology as a separate science and contributed
methods to experimental psychology and Titchener's development of structuralism helped
establish the very first "school" of psychology, the structuralism did not last long beyond
Titchener's death.
Functionalism formed as a reaction to the theories of the structuralist school of thought
and was heavily influenced by the work of William James. Major functionalist thinkers
included John Dewey and Harvey Carr. Instead of focusing on the mental processes
themselves, functionalist thinkers were instead interested in the role that these processes
play.
BEHAVIORISM became a dominant school of thought during the 1950s. It was based
upon the work of thinkers such as:
John B. Watson
Ivan Pavlov
B. F. Skinner
Psychoanalysis is a school of psychology founded by Sigmund Freud. This school of
thought emphasizes the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior.
Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three elements: the id, the ego and the
superego. The id is composed of primal urges, while the ego is the component of personality
charged with dealing with reality. The superego is the part of personality that holds all of the
ideals and values we internalize from our parents and culture. Freud believed that the interaction
of these three elements was what led to all of the complex human behaviors.
6. Freud's school of thought was enormously influential, but also generated a great deal of
controversy. This controversy existed not only in his time, but also in modern discussions of
Freud's theories. Other major psychoanalytic thinkers include:
Anna Freud
Carl Jung
Erik Erikson.
Humanistic Psychology developed as a response to psychoanalysis and behaviorism.
Humanistic psychology instead focused on individual free will, personal growth and the
concept of self-actualization. While early schools of thought were largely centered on
abnormal human behavior, humanistic psychology differed considerably in its emphasis
on helping people achieve and fulfill their potential.
Major humanist thinkers include:
Abraham Maslow
Carl Rogers.
Humanistic psychology remains quite popular today and has had a major influence on other areas
of psychology including positive psychology. This particular branch of psychology is centered
on helping people living happier, more fulfilling lives.
Gestalt Psychology is a school of psychology based upon the idea that we experience
things as unified wholes. This approach to psychology began in Germany and Austria
during the late 19th century in response to the molecular approach of structuralism.
Instead of breaking down thoughts and behavior to their smallest elements, the gestalt
psychologists believed that you must look at the whole of experience. According to the
gestalt thinkers, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Cognitive Psychology
is the school of psychology that studies mental processes including how people think, perceive,
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.
Cognitive psychology began to emerge during the 1950s, partly as a response to behaviorism.
Critics of behaviorism noted that it failed to account for how internal processes impacted
behavior. This period of time is sometimes referred to as the "cognitive revolution" as a wealth
of research on topics such as information processing, language, memory and perception began to
emerge.
One of the most influential theories from this school of thought was the stages of cognitive
development theory proposed by Jean Piaget.