History of Psychology: Ancient Greece

Study Notes

Founders of Psychology

Stanley Hall founded the American Psychological Association, established a psychology lab at Johns Hopkins University, and became its first president.
Edward Titchener brought introspection to his Cornell University lab, analyzed consciousness into its basic elements, and investigated how they are related.

Early Psychology Approaches

Structuralism included Wundt, Hall, and Titchener, focusing on analyzing consciousness into its basic elements.
Functionalism applied psychological findings to practical situations and studied how mental operations adapt to the environment (stream of consciousness).
Behaviorism and applied psychology followed functionalism.

Behavioral Psychology

Ivan Pavlov's experiments on stimulus–response learning paved the way for behaviorism, which dominated psychology in America from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Behaviorists examine the ABCs of behavior: Antecedent environmental conditions, Behavior, and Consequences.

Other Psychology Approaches

Psychoanalytic theory explains mental disorders, personality, and motivation through unconscious internal conflicts, free will, and personal growth.
Evolutionary psychologists explain behavior patterns as adaptations naturally selected because they increase reproductive success.

Domains of Psychology

Clinical psychologists treat people with temporary psychological crises and chronic psychiatric disorders.
Counseling psychologists help people adapt to change or make changes in their lifestyle.
Health/positive psychologists concentrate on biological, psychological, and social factors involved in health and illness.
Industrial/organizational psychologists aim to improve productivity and the quality of work life.

Roots of Psychology

The roots of psychology can be traced to philosophy and physiology/biology over 2, 000 years ago in ancient Greece.
Hippocrates thought the mind or soul resided in the brain but was not composed of physical substance (mind-body dualism).
Plato believed in dualism and used self-examination to conclude that who we are and what we know are innate.
Aristotle believed that the mind/soul results from our anatomy and physiological processes (monism).
Descartes defended mind-body dualism and that what we know is innate.
Locke believed that mind and body interact symmetrically (monism), knowledge comes from observation, and what we know comes from experience since we are born without knowledge.

Description

Explore the roots of psychology in ancient Greece, where philosophers and physicians like Hippocrates and Plato laid the foundation for modern psychology. Learn about their ideas on mind-body dualism, innate knowledge, and self-examination. Discover how their contributions shaped the development of psychology.