1. A Brief History of Psychology

2. I. Roots from Ancient Greece A.Plato= Know Thyself *We can learn about ourselves through introspection- “look within” B.Aristotle (one of Plato’s students) wrote first psychology book called “Peri Psyches” (about the mind) C.Greeks began to realize that bizarre (abnormal) behavior could be attributed to psychological disorders, not supernatural forces

3. II. Psychology in Middle Ages (Europe) A.During the middle ages, most Europeans believed that psychological problems were signs of being possessed by demons B.*Water-Float Tests -jail -executions

4. III. The Birth of Modern Science (Psychology) A.The scientific approach to psychology as a social science began in the 1800s B.People believed that ideas about behavior and mental processes should be theorized and supported by evidence C.Wilhelm Wundt (1879) = start of modern psychology

5. IV. Theorists (Main Ideas) A.Wilhelm Wundt: Structuralism -study of conscious experiences -objective sensations: sight and taste -subjective feelings: emotional responses and mental images B.William James: Functionalism *concerned with how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environments *Why do peole do what they do? *actions need to become adaptive and must be repeated in order to become a habit

6. C.John Watson: Behaviorism -can only study conscious behavior scientifically -each person’s behavior is created because of the environment of which they are exposed to D.B.F. Skinner: Reinforcement -If a person is reinforced for performing an action, he/she is more likely to do that action again in the future

7. E.Wolfgang Kohler: Gestalt, Form Psychology -context in which something occurs affects the way it is perceived F.Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalysis -unconscious motives and internal conflicts motivate our behavior *need for sex, aggression, superiority *90% of our behavior is controlled by our subconscious needs and urges