Introduction to Psychology Schools of Thought

Introduction to Psychology

• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior of individuals and their mental processes.

Schools of Psychology

Structuralist School of Psychology

• Founded by Wilhelm Wundt, the first psychology lab.
• Focus: Reducing mental processes down into their most basic elements.
• Techniques used: Introspection, experimental self-observation.
• Method: Trained observers examined their inner responses, thinking as carefully and objectively as possible.

Behaviorist School of Psychology

• Emerged in the 1950s.
• Based on the work of: John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and B.F. Skinner.
• Key principle: All behavior can be explained by environmental causes rather than internal forces.
• Focus: Observable behavior.

Behavioral Theories

Classical Conditioning

• A type of learning that involves associating a previously neutral stimulus with a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response.
• Example: Pairing the sound of a bell with the presentation of food.

Operant Conditioning

• A type of learning that involves using rewards and punishments to create an association between the behavior and the consequences of that behavior.

Learn about the different schools of psychology that represent major theories in the field of psychological science, starting from the emergence of psychology as a science separate from biology and philosophy. Understand the debate over describing and explaining human mind and behavior.