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History of Psychology

• Psychology has a short, yet long-rooted history.
• Early psychology focused on the external display of human behavior or actions, rather than their mental processes.
• Aristotle categorized the mind into 3 parts: a nutritive, animalistic, and rational soul. He believed the mind was a function of the body.
• Descartes viewed the mind and the body as distinct entities, each occupying space.
• Pavlov and Watson established behavioral psychology.
• Watson believed only observable behaviors were reliable, proposing the concept of phobia and three basic emotions: love, anger, and fear. He applied behavioral principles to human beings.
• Pavlov first applied behavioral principles to animals and studied the relationship between the brain and behavior.
• Pavlov's significant contributions included a study on the function of nerves in dogs, saliva production, and the higher brain centers.
• Key principles from Pavlov's work include; reinforcement, extinction, generalization and discrimination.

Islamic Contributions to Psychology

• Al-Farabi divided the human mind (or spirit) into two parts: one for action and the other for perception.
• Ibn Sina classified the senses into exterior and interior.
• Al-Ghazali categorized mental events into cognitive and emotional aspects, detailing the relationship between stimuli and responses in emotions.
• Al-Ghazali's work recognized the impact of experiences and maturation on emotions.
• Ibn Khaldun is considered a founder of social and educational psychology.
• Ibn Rushd argued that the mind is affected by the body.
• Al-Kindi's work contributed to the physiological basis of emotions, explaining how physiological changes during emotion shape responses to urgent situations.
• Other contributions included understanding emotional responses in children. The influence of the environment on emotions, especially harmful stimuli.

Modern Psychology

• Pestalozzi used the longitudinal method, observing a child for 3.5 years.
• Terman also used the longitudinal method, studying gifted children over 18 years.
• Froebel founded kindergarten. He observed children's behavior in homes and classrooms, emphasizing education.
• Lindner categorized projective techniques (free association, story creation, completion, ordering, and expression).
• William James believed humans possess 32 instincts.
• Thorndike proposed humans have approximately 42 instincts.
• Maslow's theory explains the hierarchical nature of human needs.
• Freud believed unconscious defense mechanisms, such as repression, aim to reduce tension. He suggested humans have innate sexual and aggressive drives. He also divided the psyche into the id, ego, and superego.
• Arnold Gesell tracked child development from birth to ages 5 and 10.
• Piaget studied cognitive development in his daughter by observing and recording her daily behavior, proposing developmental stages.
• William McDougall linked drives and emotions, with emotional arousal being the core of an instinct or drive. He's the founder of the instinct theory and didn't suggest any search methods in his theory. He was influenced by Darwin's ideas. McDougall believed acquired behaviors could potentially be inherited (or that learned behaviors could be inherited) and that instincts included perception, emotion, and motivation. He identified about 14 basic human instincts.