...Origins of Psychology Abstract “Psychology has a long past but only a short history.” This simple almost satirical statement by Hermann Ebbinghaus is key to understanding the history and underpinnings of modern psychology. From a flawed seventh century B.C. experiment by the King of Egypt to Socrates, Plato, Hume, Liebniz, and others, psychology has a very long past but only a short scientific history. Philosophical Background In the seventh century B.C., the King of Egypt conducted what many, including psychology historian Morton Hunt, consider to be the first psychology experiment. Though flawed and rudimentary, the king tested his idea that thoughts and language came from the mind. Although unscientific, the idea of the minds overall ability to do more was put to the test. Socrates (460-399 B.C.) often considered and referred to as a father of philosophy, stated “One thing only I know and that is I know nothing.” This realization came when he concluded that philosophy can only begin when one learns to doubt, particularly the thoughts and ideals that each individual holds dear and sacred. In short, real philosophy cannot start until one’s mind begins to examine itself. Again the mind is central and paramount. To modern psychology he gave the Socratic Method of questioning, which demanded definitions...
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...The foundations of psychology were set upon the discovery of the relationship between biology and philosophy. The birth of psychology is a direct result of these two studies combining to make an intriguing study of human behaviors, emotions and reactions. Psychology became equally important to other studies when it became apparent that it reflected both biological aspects as well as aspects of philosophy. Combined, these two studies allowed the discovery that people exhibit behaviors and emotions for many reasons. Human’s exhibit behaviors(s) in reaction to environmental factors, taught behavior, natural instinct, as well as an array of other scenarios trigger such behaviors. “Humans are complex creatures whose psychological experience lies at the intersection of biology and culture”(Kowalski & Westen, 2005). Psychology was (in some perspectives) stumbled upon in very early biological studies. It was observed that patients with head trauma injuries were test subjects to the identification of the correlation between the human brain and physical responses. This discovery opened the door to the study of human psychology. The finding that the human brain interacted with the body in producing reactions and actions led to an entirely new world of study filled with fascinating aspects, now known as psychology. The foundation of psychology is built largely upon philosophy and was rooted from such philosophers such as Aristotle and Descartes...
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...Background of psychology Psychology has brief history as a scientific discipline though it has been studied since ancient time under the faculty of philosophy. The word psychology was derived from Greek word 'psyche' and 'logos' literal meaning of which was 'soul' and 'study' respectively. The definition of psychology had ever been in the process of change since then. The development of psychology can broadly be traced into four periods: Ancient Greek period, per-modern period, modern period and current status 1. Greek period: Greek philosophers had contributed much for the development of psychology. Some of the key contributors were Socrates was interested in studying the reincarnation of soul. Soul or mind was considered as the representation of individuals. Plato, a bright student of Socrates expanded Socrates concepts in philosophy about life and soul. It was Aristotle who wrote first book in psychology called Para Psyche; about the mind or soul. In the book, he introduced the basic ideas in psychology today, like law of association. However, the notion of psychology was primarily related to study of soul or mind at that stage. Later on it was found that physical existence of soul was doubtful. Also, there was controversy in defining soul and mind among the philosopher. The contributors of the period never focused on the behavior of individual. That is why the attention was diverted from the study of soul or mind 2. Pre-modern period it was during 1800's that psychology was established...
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...Psychology as a whole has stemmed from a number of different areas of study from Physics to Biology, but the first psychological foundations are rooted in philosophy, which to this day propels psychological inquiry in areas such as language acquisition, consciousness and even vision among many others. While the great philosophical distinction between mind and body in western thought can be traced to the Greeks, it is to the influential work of René Descartes, French mathematician, philosopher and physiologist, that we owe the first systematic account of the mind and body relationship. As the 19th century progressed, the problem of the relationship of mind to brain became ever more pressing. The word psychology comes from two Greek words: Psyche and Logos. The term ‘psychology’ used early on described the study of the spirit. It was in the 18th century when psychology gained its literal meaning: The study of behavior. In studies today psychology is defined as the scientific and systematic study of human and animal behavior. The term psychology has a long history but the psychology as an independent discipline is fairly new. Psychology started, and had a long history, as a topic within the fields of philosophy and physiology. It then became an independent field of its own through the work of the German, Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of experimental psychology and structuralism. Wundt stressed the use of scientific methods in psychology, particularly...
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...PSYCOLOGY Wilhelm Wundt is the man most commonly identified as the father of psychology. Why Wundt? Other people such as Hermann von Helmholtz, Gustav Fechner, and ErnstWeber were involved in early scientific psychology research, so why are they not credited as father of psychology? Because Wundt's formation of the world's first experimental psychology lab is usually noted at the official start of psychology as a separate and distinct science. By establishing a lab that utilized scientific methods to study the human mind and behavior, Wundt took psychology from a mixture of philosophy and biology and made it a unique field of study. Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (16 August 1832 – 31 August 1920) was a German physician, physiologist, philosopher, and professor, known today as one of the founding figures of modern psychology. Wundt, who noted psychology as a science apart from biology and philosophy, was the first person to ever call himself a Psychologist. He is widely regarded as the "father of experimental psychology".[4][5] In 1879, Wundt founded the first formal laboratory for psychological research at the University of Leipzig. This marked psychology as an independent field of study *Introduction of Psycology Psychology is the scientific study of behavior, cognition, and emotion. Psychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledge to various spheres of...
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...Women in Psychology Paper PSY/310- History and Systems of Psychology September 16, 2012 Laura Rolen Like women, members of minority groups have been on the outside looking in for most of psychology’s history. Unlike the case for women, however, significant gains for blacks and most other minorities were not made in the years following World War II, and minorities continue to be underrepresented in psychology (Goodwin & Wiley & Sons inc., Chapter 15, 2008). In this paper I will be discussing Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930), Calkins was an American philosopher and she was the first of her generation of women to enter into psychology. Calkins was born on March 30, 1963 in Hartford, Connecticut she was the eldest of five children who were born to Charlotte Whiton Calkins (mother) and Wolcott Calkins (father). Calkins father was a Presbyterian minister her and her siblings lived and grew up in Buffalo New York, and at the age of 17-years-old her and her family moved to Newton, Massachusetts. Calkins started taking college classes at Smith College in 1882 where she was a...
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...Running head: SOCIAL INFLUENCE Social Influence Monique C. Robertson Allied American University Author Note This paper was prepared for PSY 308: Social Psychology, Mod 1 Homework Assignment taught by Greg (Omer) Whitman. Directions: Please compose answers to the questions below. Each response to a question or sub-question should be at least one paragraph in length, which should consist of five to seven sentences. 1. What does social psychology have in common with folk wisdom and philosophy? How does social psychology differ from both folk wisdom and philosophy? Social psychology, folk wisdom and philosophy all deal with people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; they stay influenced by what other people think. Social psychology differs from both folk wisdom and philosophy in a multiplicity of ways. Social psychology is an experimentation-based science, which tests guesses, assumptions, and ideas about human social behavior. Folk wisdom is common sense or the opinions and insights of philosophers, novelists, and otherwise in the ways of us human beings. Whereas philosophy is the insight about human nature by philosophers or intellectuals. 2. Compare the self-esteem approach and the social cognition approach in terms of the motivations assumed to underlie human behavior. The self-esteem approach is "The reason people view the world the way they do can often be traced to this underlying need to maintain a favorable image of themselves. Given the choice between...
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...What next for Psychology? The word Psychology, derived from two Greek words, ‘Psyche’ (Ψυχή, breath or the soul) and ‘logos’ (study) (Clark, 2014), is the field of scientific study devoted to the functions of the human brain and human behaviour (Clark, 2014). From the philosophical debates of ancient Greek scholars (Psychology Network, 2014), to the sophisticated scientific study performed by specialists in the field today (Queens University, 2014), humankind has sought to discover and unravel the secrets of the human brain. This long journey through the millennia has seen a dramatic evolution in the nature of psychology (Origins, 2014), however, it was not until the nineteenth century that a truly scientific discipline was born (Thomas, 2014). Wilhelm Wundt (1832 – 1920) (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014), set up the first psychology laboratory, situated within the department of philosophy, at the University of Leipzig in 1876 (Thomas, 2014). The facility was devoted to physiological experimentation through scientific methodology, and it was also where the theory of introspection, which posited that reflection and interpretation of lived experiences could help to develop a model of consciousness, was developed. (Thomas, 2014). Since this time, psychology as a ‘scientific’ specialty has grown into a discipline with many branches, with each of these branches being devoted to a particular aspect or paradigm (Ritchie & Grenier, 2002) This essay will present a concise account...
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...Many people wonder what psychology really is. Is it a philosophy or just another branch of science that has been studied for many years? Psychology is the study of an organism’s mind and its function. People who study psychology are known as psychologists. Psychologists are thought as specialists who work with mentally ill patients who try to up- lift their self- esteem and encourage them to have a positive outlook on life. In reality, psychologists not only care for mental patients but also test and collect data based on performed experiments. The results and data of these experiments are then used to form psychological theories, which explain the individuals’ thoughts, emotions and behavior, and how they were provoked. Therefore, psychologists are able to help their patients in a psychological manner using theories and philosophies in relation to their problems. Based on research, psychology is centered on observations and theories about the different physical and mental responses of an organism. Science, in comparison, is a concept in which various observations are made from research and experiments done throughout centuries. These observations are then recorded into scientific history, which make up the study of different traits and unique characteristics in living things. The main goal of science is to create reasonable theories to describe the realities of life. Scientists create theories that have been factually proven, and thus, are reliable. According to science,...
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...UNIT 1: THE DEFINITION AND HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY QUESTION #1.1: What is the definition of psychology? Psychology is best defined as the "scientific study of behavior in humans and animals." Behavior is what people and animals do: e.g., what a person says about last night's dream, and how long it takes a rat to run a maze. You might think that psychology was the "study of the mind" due to the fact that the prefix psyche is Greek for mind, soul, spirit, and the suffix ology refers to the study of something. Almost a hundred years ago, John Watson decided that psychology should be a science: not just a vague and introspective reflection on our own thoughts and feelings. Watson urged that psychology be defined as the scientific study of behavior. Since about 1920, most university psychologists have accepted Watson's definition. So, think of psychologists as scientists who study behavior. Introspection was the first technique for studying the mind There are some terms related to psychology that are frequently confused with it. Psychiatry is a branch of medicine specializing with mental disorders. Psychiatrists are medical doctors, and have been through medical school, an internship, residency training, and board certification as specialized physicians. The letters M.D. usually appear at the end of the name. The letters at the end of the name of a psychologist may be 1 Ph.D., Ed.D., or Psy.D., and so it may be appropriate to address a psychologist as...
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...Khalia Mone’t Brenson, @02577445 Introduction to Philosophy, Dr. Verharen Fall 2009 What are the differences between the philosophies of sociology and psychology toward mental illness? Table of Contents I. Introduction P.1 II. What is Philosophy? P.2-14 i. An Introduction to Philosophyby George S. Fullerton ii. Principles of Philosophyby Rene Descartes iii. The Gift of Fire by Richard Mitchell iv. I and Thou by Martin Buber v. Philosophy: Who needs it? by Ayn Rand III. Sociology P.15-19 i. The philosophy of sociology ii. Sociology towards mental illness IV. Psychology P...
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...Mary Whiton Calkins Natalie Scrivens Katrina Ramos The field of psychology is one that seems to be dominated with the presence of men especially in the 18th and 19th century. The world was not focused on equal rights for women. Psychology did however have women who contributed greatly to the study and focus of theories and ideas that we still use today. In this paper I will discuss the life of Mary Whiton Calkins, theoretical prospective, and contributions to the field of psychology. Mary Whiton Calkins was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1863. She was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and was the oldest of five children. Mary had a very close relationship with her family. She was especially close with her mother. Mary was very much the strong and independent type. She moved to Newton, Massachusetts at the age of 17. Her family built her a house and she would remain in that house throughout her life. Mary’s father was very adamant about her education. He knew that without him overseeing and designing and education plan that Mary would not get the education that she needed to be successful in a male dominated world. Her father made sure that she got the best education possible and he gave her education privately. Mary’s father’s dedication and supervision of her education would reap great benefits for her. All of his instruction allowed her to enter Smith College in 1882 with an advanced standing as a sophomore. Mary would however face a crushing...
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...TermPaperWarehouse.com - Free Term Papers, Essays and Research Documents The Research Paper Factory JoinSearchBrowseSaved Papers Home Page » Philosophy and Psychology Summary- Read Only Participants In: Philosophy and Psychology Summary- Read Only Participants A Case for Participation in Online Courses Tim Colgate Grand Canyon University: UNV 501 6/25/2012 A Case for Participation in Online Courses Online computer courses/degrees are becoming more frequent as technology improves and the availability of technology is greater. This article “Read-only participants: a case for student communication in online classes” (Nagel, Blignaut, Cronje 2007) analyzes data from several studies and suggests that active participation, as opposed to non-active participation, is directly correlated to student achievement. Read-Only Participants The term Read-only participants refers to online students who log into a specific classroom website, read the material provided or student post’s but do not get actively involved in the discussion. Buedouin (2002) suggested that read-only participants can learn and succeed in an online setting without participating (Nagel, Blinaught, & Cronje, 2007). However research by: Nagel, Blinaught, & Cronje (2007); Klemm (1998); Rovai & Barnum (2003); Swan, Shea, Frederickson, Pickett, & Pelz (2000), indicate that participation is essential to be a successful online student. Read-only students also have the tendency to create...
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...Define psychology: Psychology involves the study of human and behavior, experiences and the mind. Psychology can be implemented using slews of techniques and is analyzed from different positions. Psychology has had a dynamic history; it has evolved over decades and has grown into a dependable science. More former understandings of the philosophies and ideas played a prominent role by outlining contemporary concepts. “Psychology has a long past, but only a short history.”(Ebbinhuas, 1973) Wilhem Wundt’s’ work was the blueprint of modern psychology in 1879; he instituted the laboratory dedicated to psychology in Leipzig, Germany. Wundt had a particular interest about human behavior, emotions. His techniques had special emphasis on experimental evidence that endorsed explanatory theory. Today psychology is thought of as the scientific study of human behavior and mental process. However, this was not always the case. The soul of man was the leading interest of philosophers’, followed by the mind and conscious experience, and finally observable behavior. Problems arouse with the affiliation of body and soul. It remained unsolved by philosophers because it was founded on delusive dualism and involved a separate study of physical and spiritual development. Afterwards, the spiritual panorama was supplanted by a broader word “mind”. Modern psychology is disinterested in the study of mind, rather, the mental processes have deputized mind. The “mind approach” in psychology was rejected...
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...Biopsychology: Biopsychology is a field of psychology that analyzes how the brain and neurotransmitters influence our behaviors, thoughts and feelings. This field can be thought of as a combination of basic psychology and neuroscience. Clinical Psychology: Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness, abnormal behavior and psychiatric problems. Cognitive Psychology: Cognitive psychology is the branch 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. Comparative Psychology: Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of animal behavior. Modern research on animal behavior began with the work of Charles Darwin and Georges Romanes and has continued to grow into a multidisciplinary subject. Today, biologists, psychologists, anthropologists, ecologists, geneticists and many others contribute to the study of animal behavior. Counseling Psychology: Counseling psychology focuses on providing therapeutic treatments to clients who experience a wide variety of symptoms. It is also one of the largest specialty areas within psychology. The Society of Counseling Psychology describes the field as " a psychological specialty [that] facilitates personal and interpersonal...
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