2. Psychology as the study of Conscious
Experiences
The science of psychology had its formal beginning in
1879 when Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920), a German
psychologist set up a laboratory at the University of
Leipzig to study mind/mental activities. He studied
the conscious experience of mind through
introspection.
3. Cont.
Earlier he devoted attention on studying the building
blocks of the mind. Later he defined psychology as
the study of conscious experiences, he found the
system of psychology known as “ Structuralism”.
4. Psychology as the study of Conscious
Experiences
Formally defining psychology as the study of
Conscious experience ,he developed a model that
came to be known as Structuralism.
Structuralism: An early approach to psychology
which focused on the fundamental elements that
form the foundation of thinking , consciousness,
emotions , and other kinds of mental states and
activities.
5. Using introspection , Wundt presented his trained
subjects with a stimulus such as bright green object
and asked them to describe it in their own words.
He thought that we can understand the structure of
mind through the reports of subjects.
6. Functionalism:
William James was the founder of this School of
thought. He was influenced by Darwin’s work and he
believed that psychology should explain the functions
of consciousness as it influences behavior.
Functionalist used not only introspection to study
behavior but also used tests, surveys and
experimental techniques to study functions of
psychology as science of consciousness.
7. Psychology as the study of unconscious
processes
Sigmund Freud(1856-1939), an Austrian physician was
the founder of psychoanalytical school.
He specialized in the disorders of the nervous system.
He observed that some of his patients had nothing
physically wrong with them, even though they had
symptoms of physical illness
8. Psychology as the study of unconscious
processes
( headaches, exhaustion, insomnia and so forth). He
suspected that mental conflicts lay behind these
symptoms_ conflicts that had been pushed out of
normal awareness and into a part of mind called “
unconscious”.
He believed that if unconscious conflicts could be
brought into patient’s consciousness , they would
9. Psychology as the study of unconscious
processes
lose their power to control the patient’s life.
He used psychoanalytic technique to uncover
unconscious conflicts of his patients.
Freud helped his patients to interpret and understand
their mental problems.
He called his approach to treatment as
Psychoanalysis.
10. Psychology as the study of unconscious
processes
Freud believed that early past experiences of which a
person is unaware significantly influence his current
behavior.
He treated people with psychological problems.
Criticism:
Freud laid strong emphasis on sex and aggression but
did not fully explain consciousness and human
behavior.
11. Psychology as the study of Individual
Differences:
Individual psychology is a term used specifically to
refer to the psychological method or science founded
by the Viennese psychologist Alfred Adler.
The term individual psychology can also be used more
generally to refer to what is more commonly known
as differential psychology or the psychology of
individual differences ,which study the ways in which
individual people differ in their behavior.
12. Cont.
Adler was among the co-founders of the
psychoanalytic movement as a core member of the
Vienna Psychoanalytic Society.
The concept of 'individual psychology' was
formulated in the process in which Adler broke away
from the psychoanalytic school of Sigmund Freud.
13. Cont.
Adler called his theory Individual Psychology
because he felt that each person was unique and no
previous theory can be applied to all people.
He also emphasized the training of parents, teachers,
social workers and so on to allow a child to exercise
their power through reasoned decision making whilst
co-operating with others.
14. Psychology as the study of Observable
Behavior:
In 1913, another American psychologist John Watson
(1878-1958) because the founder of the School of
thought known as Behaviorism.
He believed that psychology should be the Science of
Overt Behavior. He rejected the ideas of structuralists
and Functionalists.
15. Cont.
He called psychology as the Science of overt behavior
that can be observed and studied through objective
measurement.
He believed that psychology should be hard science,
like physics and chemistry.
