PSY300 Foundations of Psychology
Foundations of Psychology
PSY 300
Foundations of Psychology
Psychology is a fairly new field of science. It is divided into major schools of thought, since one paradigm cannot be supported across all fields. However, they can all agree that something biological is related to behavior whether it is genetics or a part of the nervous system.
Major Schools of Thought in Psychology Over the years, psychology has been splintered into seven different schools, including schools that no longer exist. Each school focused on a different aspect of behavior and had different ways of testing their theories. According to Thomas Kuhn, “the social sciences and psychology differ from the older natural sciences in that they lack an accepted paradigm upon which most members of the scientific community agree. Instead, these young sciences are still splintered into several schools” (Kowalski & Westen, 2011, Chapter 1).
Structuralism Perspective A German psychologist, Wilhelm Wundt, focused his research on “the nature of consciousness itself” (Stangor, 2012, p. 17). According to Stangor (2012), Wundt founded the structuralism perspective, “a school of psychology whose goal was to identify the basic elements (or “structures”) of psychological experience” (p. 17). Structuralists used introspection to create maps of elements of consciousness (Stangor, 2012, p. 17). One of the known structuralists is Edward Bradford Titchener, who was a student of Wundt. In Titchener’s research, he and his students “claimed to have identified more than 40,000 sensations, including those relating to vision, hearing, and taste” (Stangor, 2012, p. 17).
An important aspect of structuralism is it was very scientific. It “marked the beginning of psychology as a science because it demonstrated that mental events could be quantified” (Stangor, 2012, p. 17). They also discovered the limitations to introspection. The structualist were also the “first to realize the importance
PSY 300
Foundations of Psychology
Psychology is a fairly new field of science. It is divided into major schools of thought, since one paradigm cannot be supported across all fields. However, they can all agree that something biological is related to behavior whether it is genetics or a part of the nervous system.
Major Schools of Thought in Psychology Over the years, psychology has been splintered into seven different schools, including schools that no longer exist. Each school focused on a different aspect of behavior and had different ways of testing their theories. According to Thomas Kuhn, “the social sciences and psychology differ from the older natural sciences in that they lack an accepted paradigm upon which most members of the scientific community agree. Instead, these young sciences are still splintered into several schools” (Kowalski & Westen, 2011, Chapter 1).
Structuralism Perspective A German psychologist, Wilhelm Wundt, focused his research on “the nature of consciousness itself” (Stangor, 2012, p. 17). According to Stangor (2012), Wundt founded the structuralism perspective, “a school of psychology whose goal was to identify the basic elements (or “structures”) of psychological experience” (p. 17). Structuralists used introspection to create maps of elements of consciousness (Stangor, 2012, p. 17). One of the known structuralists is Edward Bradford Titchener, who was a student of Wundt. In Titchener’s research, he and his students “claimed to have identified more than 40,000 sensations, including those relating to vision, hearing, and taste” (Stangor, 2012, p. 17).
An important aspect of structuralism is it was very scientific. It “marked the beginning of psychology as a science because it demonstrated that mental events could be quantified” (Stangor, 2012, p. 17). They also discovered the limitations to introspection. The structualist were also the “first to realize the importance
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