1. The History of Psych
We can trace the roots of western Psych back to ancient Greece
The Philosopher Socrates is our first written record of Introspective Psych
Socrates suggested that we can learn a lot about ourselves by examining our thoughts and feelings
Modern Psychologist call this type of learn introspection “Looking with in”

2. Plato one Socrates students carried on his ideas and passed them on to one of his students Aristotle
Aristotle outlined the laws of Associationism which are still at the heart of learning theory
He said that people use experiences in the past to relate to experiences in the present
Aristototle also argued that human behavior was governed by certain rules

3. One his major laws is that people are motivated to seek pleasure and to avoid pain
A final Greek who added to our understanding of Psych was Hypocrites
Hypocrites was one of the first people to argue that mental (and physical) problems where caused by treatable illness and not given out as a punishment by the Gods

4. Modern Psych
The Middle Ages where a very backwards time for Psych and most ailments where cause by demons and devils
The Scientific Revolution however brought new life into the study of Psych
Most historian point to 1879 however as the birth of modern Psych
In 1879 Wilhelm Wundt established a laboratory in Germany to study Psych

5. Structuralism
Wundt establish the Psych theory and school know as Structuralism
Structuralist where concerned with discovering the basic elements of consciousness
Wundt broke consciousness down in to two categories Objective Sensations and Subjective feelings

6. Structuralism Objective sensations Sight Sound Taste Touch
Subjective Feelings
Emotions
Mental Imaging

7. Structuralist
Wundt and the Structuralist believed the mind worked by combining these two elements
Structuralist (very much like Socrates) relied exclusively on introspection
Structuralist where concerned with discovering the elements or Structures of the Psychological process

8. Functionalism
Structuralist where the predominate psych theory for almost a decade until a Psychologist named William James decided that consciousness could not be broken down as the structuralist believed
James focused on the the relationship between experience and behavior
James founded the Psych School of Functionalism

9. Functionalism
Functionalist where concerned with how mental process helped organisms adapt to their environments
Functionalist also stressed the application of their findings to everyday situations
Functionalist focus on the purposes (functions) of behaviors and mental process

10. Functionalism
Functionalist argue that successful behavior are adapted and if repeated often enough become habits
These behaviors them can be preformed with little or no concentration on the act
Unsuccessful behaviors are abandoned

11. Behaviorism
The Behaviorism school of psych was started by John B. Watson
Watson felt that it was impossible to study what was going on inside the mind of someone else and argued that for psych to become an accepted science it most limit its self to measurable events
Or behaviors, thus the behaviorism school

12. Behaviorism
Another important figure in the behaviorism school of psych was B.F. Skinner
Skinner developed the concept of reinforcement in learning theory
Skinner showed that animals who where rewarded for certain behaviors where more likely to repeat those behaviors

13. Gestalt Psychology
The Gestalt school of psych was founded by two German psychologist (Wertheimer and Koffka) who where interested in the way in which context affected how people perceive events
Gestalt means shape or form and is based on the idea that perception is more than the sum of their parts, perception gives meaning to the parts

14. Gestalt Psychology
The Gestalt school rejects Structuralism which looks at experience as individual parts
The Gestalt school reject Behaviorism’s focus on observable events and rejects its idea that learning is mechanical
Instead the Gestalt school says that learning is involved active and purposeful and focus on insight learning

15. Psychoanalysis
In the late 1800’s an Austrian psychologist named Sigmund Freud founded the school of Psychoanalysis
Freud’s school focused on the role of the unconscious mind and how early childhood conflicts impact our daily life
While Freud’s theories are debated his impact on modern psychology has been massive