Origin of Psychology

By definition, psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behaviour in a given context (according to the Oxford English Dictionary). The discipline of psychology has its roots in the study of philosophy, which is an arguably less scientific, but more ancient study of human knowledge and how we live our lives. Let’s take a look at the history, origin and development of psychology to see how it has evolved and become the modern, scientific discipline that it is today. We will also examine several major approaches to psychology.

Origin of the word ‘psychology’

The English word ‘psychology’ comes from two Latin words, psyche, and logos. Psyche originally meant ‘breath’, but was later used as a word for the soul, which was then broadened to include ‘mind’. Logos, on the other hand, began as the word for ‘word’, which then expanded to mean ‘discourse’ and ‘science’. Together, these words roughly translate to ‘science/study of the mind’.

Origin of psychology in philosophy

Psychology originated in the ancient study of philosophy, the discipline of great historical minds such as Plato and Aristotle. Early philosophers spent their time theorizing about how the world works, why we are here, and why people behave in the ways that they do. This practice, however, would not be considered scientific by today’s standards, as there were no controlled experiments or observations to test the claims of philosophers. At this point in history, the basis of some psychological schools of thought was present, but these were far from the scientific methods that we are familiar with these days.

Dualism and the origin of psychology

Renowned French philosopher René Descartes stated that contrary to popular belief at the time, the mind and body were two separate entities that make up how we experience human life. This belief in the separation of mind and body is known as dualism. It laid the foundation for the study of the mind, separate from natural sciences like biology and medicine. Descartes’ work on dualism later suggested that the mind was non-physical, a state of consciousness and self-awareness that is not purely biological. This became and remained the model within the fields of biology and medicine for around three centuries. Separating the concepts of mind and body made it clear that a study of the mind on its own was needed.

Wilhelm Wundt and introspection

The first psychological laboratory was opened by German philosopher Wilhelm Wundt, who in the mid-1800s used introspection to understand his participants’ thought processes. He was the first to introduce a scientific method for studying thought. This method was called ‘introspection’. Participants observed their own thoughts and feelings and reported back on them. Although in modern psychology we would consider this method unscientific because of subjective bias, it was very innovative for the time. Wundt’s work showed that psychology had the potential to become a valid scientific discipline.

Why was introspection considered scientific?

Although it appears to be an unscientific method by today’s standards, introspection introduced the foundations for modern methods of psychological inquiry. Wundt’s ‘introspections’ were conducted in highly controlled environments. In addition, the process participants were asked to follow was the same each time, helping to produce more accurate results.

Structuralism and the origin of psychology

The very first psychological approach (much like some modern ones: eg, Cognitive or Behavioral approaches) was called structuralism. Structuralism formed a foundation on which early psychologists based their work. Edward Titchener (a student of Wilhelm Wundt) was a structuralist psychologist who assumed that human consciousness could be broken down into smaller parts, and used Wundt’s process of introspection to understand these parts. We can see remnants of this approach in theories such as the multi-store model of memory by Atkinson and Shiffrin [cross-link to relevant article], which also suggests the existence of smaller parts of consciousness.

Other early approaches to psychology

Let us now examine the two other early approaches to psychology that followed structuralism: functionalism and psychoanalysis.

Functionalism

Functionalist psychologists, in contrast to the structuralist school of thought that was popular at the time, focused on the purpose of human thoughts and behavior, rather than the elements of consciousness themselves. This approach was popular in America and stemmed from the work of Charles Darwin, the famous evolutionist, and renowned psychologist William James, who is sometimes referred to as the father of psychology in America. This approach laid the groundwork for more modern approaches such as behavior and impacted the way we approach education and applied psychology today. Functionalism is sometimes described as the opposite of Structuralism, due not only to its focus on the purpose of our thoughts but also because it presents the mind as an entity to be studied holistically, rather than split into smaller parts.

Psychoanalysis

Early psychologist Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis to understand and treat mental disorders. He was a therapist who often studied women suffering from ‘hysteria’, which would likely be diagnosed as anxiety, depression or conversion disorder in a modern clinic. Freud claimed that, through dream analysis and allowing his clients to speak freely about their lives and feelings, he could uncover unconscious ‘repressed’ memories from early childhood trauma that were causing the symptoms of hysteria. The discipline assumed that we all have an unconscious ‘layer’ to our minds that controls most of our thoughts and behaviours. Psychoanalytic theories tend to be controversial and Their scientific validity is often questioned Because it is hard to prove or disprove the existence of an unconscious part of the brain.