Roots of Psychology
Roots of psychology can be traced to philosophy and physiology/biology over 2000 years
ago in ancient Greece. As a result of examining organisms, physician/philosopher/
physiologist Hippocrates thought the mind or soul resided in the brain, but was not com-
posed of physical substance (mind-body dualism). Philosopher Plato (circa 350 B.C.), who
also believed in dualism, used self-examination of inner ideas and experiences to conclude
that who we are and what we know are innate (inborn). On the other hand, Plato’s student
Aristotle believed that the mind/soul results from our anatomy and physiological processes
(monism), that reality is best studied by observation, and that who we are and what we
know are acquired from experience. About 2000 years later (circa 1650), similar ideas
persisted with Rene Descartes and John Locke. Descartes defended mind-body dualism
(Cogito ergo sum—“I think, therefore I am”) and that what we know is innate. On the other
hand, empirical philosopher 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, “a blank slate” (tabula rasa). The debate about the
extent to which our behavior is inborn or learned through experience is called the nature-
nurture controversy.Schools of Psychology
By the late 1800s, psychology was beginning to emerge as a separate scientific
discipline. Biologist Charles Darwin applied the law of natural selection to human beings,
forwarding the idea that human behavior and thinking are subject to scientific inquiry.
Physiologists Ernst Weber and Gustav Fechner showed how physical events are related
to sensation and perception. Hermann von Helmholtz measured the speed at which
nerve impulses travel. Should their studies be considered under the heading of biology or
psychology?Structuralism
Schools of psychology aren’t schools the way we think of them, but early perspectives
or approaches.
Wilhelm Wundt is generally credited as the founder of scientific psychology because in
1879 he set up a laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, specifically for research in psychology,
dedicated to the scientific study of the immediate conscious experiences of sensation. Using
careful methodology, he trained his associates and observers to objectively analyze their sen-
sory experiences systematically through introspection (inward looking). He required that
results be replicated, which means tested repeatedly under different conditions to produce
similar results.
Wundt focused on the structure of the mind and identification of the basic elements of
consciousness (sensations, feelings, and images) using trained introspection. G. Stanley
Hall set up a psychology lab employing introspection at Johns Hopkins University, helped
found the American Psychological Association, and became its first president. Edward
Titchener brought introspection to his own lab at Cornell University, analyzed conscious-
ness into its basic elements, and investigated how these elements are related. Wundt, Hall,
and Titchener were members of the School of Structuralism.44 ❯ STEP 4. Review the Knowledge You Need to Score HighTIP“Knowing defi-
nitions is half
the battle for a 5
[on the AP
exam].”—Jen,
AP student