SCHOOLS

1. The Beginnings of Psychology: Philosophy and Physiology

1.1. While psychology did not emerge as a separate discipline until the late 1800s, its earliest history can be traced back to the
time of the early Greeks.
1.2. During the 17th-century, the French philosopher Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that the
mind and body were two entities that interact to form the human experience.
1.3. Many other issues still debated by psychologists today, such as the relative contributions of nature vs nurture, are rooted in
these early philosophical traditions.
1.4. While early philosophers relied on methods such as observation and logic, today’s psychologists utilize scientific
methodologies to study and draw conclusions about human thought and behaviour.
1.5. Physiology also contributed to psychology’s eventual emergence as a scientific discipline. Early physiological research on
the brain and behaviour had a dramatic impact on psychology, ultimately contributing to applying scientific methodologies
to the study of human thought and behaviour.

2. Psychology Emerges as a Separate Discipline

2.1. During the mid-1800s, a German physiologist named Wilhelm Wundt was using scientific research methods to investigate
reaction times.
2.2. His book published in 1874, "Principles of Physiological Psychology," outlined many of the major connections between the
science of physiology and the study of human thought and behaviour.
2.3. He later opened the world’s first psychology lab in 1879 at the University of Leipzig. This event is generally considered the
official start of psychology as a separate and distinct scientific discipline.
2.4. He perceived the subject as the study of human consciousness and sought to apply experimental methods to studying
internal mental processes.
2.5. While his use of a process known as introspection is seen as unreliable and unscientific today, his early work in psychology
helped set the stage for future experimental methods.
2.6. An estimated 17,000 students attended Wundt’s psychology lectures, and hundreds more pursued degrees in psychology
and studied in his psychology lab. While his influence dwindled as the field matured, his impact on psychology is
unquestionable.

3. Structuralism Becomes Psychology’s First School of Thought

 3.1. Edward B. Titchener, one of Wundt’s most famous students, would go on to found psychology’s first major school of
thought.
3.2. According to the structuralists, human consciousness could be broken down into smaller parts. Using a process known as
introspection, trained subjects would attempt to break down their responses and reactions to the most basic sensation and
perceptions.
3.3. While structuralism is notable for its emphasis on scientific research, its methods were unreliable, limiting, and subjective.
When Titchener died in 1927, structuralism essentially died with him.

4. The Functionalism of William James

4.1. Psychology flourished in America during the mid- to late-1800s. William James emerged as one of the major American
psychologists during this period and publishing his classic textbook, "The Principles of Psychology," established him as
the father of American psychology. His book soon became the standard text in psychology and his ideas eventually served
as the basis for a new school of thought known as functionalism.
4.2. The focus of functionalism was about how behaviour actually works to help people live in their environment. Functionalists
utilized methods such as direct observation to study the human mind and behaviour.
4.3. Both of these early schools of thought emphasized human consciousness, but their conceptions of it were significantly
different.
4.4. While the structuralists sought to break down mental processes into their smallest parts, the functionalists believed that
consciousness existed as a more continuous and changing process.
4.5. While functionalism quickly faded a separate school of thought, it would go on to influence later psychologists and theories
of human thought and behaviour.

5. The Emergence of Psychoanalysis

5.1. Up to this point, early psychology stressed conscious human experience. An Austrian physician named Sigmund
Freud changed the face of psychology in a dramatic way, proposing a theory of personality that emphasized the importance
of the unconscious mind.
5.2. Freud’s clinical work with patients suffering from hysteria and other ailments led him to believe that early childhood
experiences and unconscious impulses contributed to the development of adult personality and behaviour.
5.3. In his book "The Psychopathology of Everyday Life" Freud detailed how these unconscious thoughts and impulses are
expressed, often through slips of the tongue (known as "Freudian slips") and dreams.
5.4. According to Freud, psychological disorders are the result of these unconscious conflicts becoming extreme or unbalanced.
While many of his ideas are viewed with scepticism today, his influence on psychology is undeniable.
6. The Rise of Behaviourism
6.1. Psychology changed dramatically during the early 20th-century as another school of thought known as behaviourism rose
to dominance for nearly 50 years.
6.2. Behaviourism was a major change from previous theoretical perspectives, rejecting the emphasis on both the conscious and
unconscious mind.
6.3. Instead, behaviourism strove to make psychology a more scientific discipline by focusing purely on observable behaviour.
6.4. Behaviourism had its earliest start with the work of a Russian physiologist named Ivan Pavlov.
6.5. Pavlov's research on the digestive systems of dogs led to his discovery of the classical conditioning process, which proposed
that behaviours could be learned via conditioned associations.
6.6. Pavlov demonstrated that this learning process could be used to make an association between an environmental stimulus
and a naturally occurring stimulus.
6.7. An American psychologist named John B. Watson soon became one of the strongest advocates of behaviourism.
6.8. Psychologist B.F. Skinner furthered the behaviourist perspective with his concept of operant conditioning, which
demonstrated the effect of punishment and reinforcement on behaviour.
6.9. While behaviourism eventually lost its dominant grip on psychology, the basic principles of behavioural psychology are still
widely in use today.
6.10. Therapeutic techniques such as behaviour analysis, behavioural modification, and token economies are often utilized to
help children learn new skills and overcome maladaptive behaviours, while conditioning is used in many situations ranging
from parenting to education.

7. The Third Force in Psychology: humanistic approach

7.1. While the first half of the 20th century was dominated by psychoanalysis and behaviourism, a new school of thought known
as humanistic psychology emerged during the second half of the century. Often referred to as the "third force" in
psychology, this theoretical perspective emphasized conscious experiences.
7.2. American psychologist Carl Rogers is often considered to be one of the founders of this school of thought. While
psychoanalysts looked at unconscious impulses and behaviourists focused on environmental causes, Rogers believed
strongly in the power of free will and self-determination.
7.3. Psychologist Abraham Maslow also contributed to humanistic psychology with his famous hierarchy of needs theory of
human motivation. This theory suggested that people were motivated by increasingly complex needs. Once the most basic
needs are fulfilled, people then become motivated to pursue higher level needs.
8. Cognitive Psychology
8.1. During the 1950s and 1960s, a movement known as the cognitive revolution began to take hold in psychology.
8.2. During this time, cognitive psychology began to replace psychoanalysis and behaviourism as the dominant approach to the
study of psychology.
8.3. Psychologists were still interested in looking at observable behaviours, but they were also concerned with what was going
on inside the mind.
8.4. Since that time, cognitive psychology has remained a dominant area of psychology as researchers continue to study things
such as perception, memory, decision-making, problem-solving, intelligence, and language.
8.5. The introduction of brain imaging tools such as MRI and PET scans have helped improve the ability of researchers to more
closely study the inner workings of the human brain.

FIELDS

1. Developmental psychology
1.1. Developmental psychology as a discipline did not exist until after the industrial revolution when the need for an educated
workforce led to the social construction of childhood as a distinct stage in a person's life.
1.2. The notion of childhood originates in the Western world and this is why the early research derives from this location.
Initially developmental psychologists were interested in studying the mind of the child so that education and learning could
be more effective.
1.3. Developmental changes during adulthood is an even more recent area of study. This is mainly due to advances in medical
science, enabling people to live to an old age.
1.4. Charles Darwin is credited with conducting the first systematic study of developmental psychology. In 1877 he published
a short paper detailing the development of innate forms of communication based on scientific observations of his infant
son, Doddy.
1.5. However, the emergence of developmental psychology as a specific discipline can be traced back to 1882 when Wilhelm
Preyer (a German physiologist) published a book entitled The Mind of the Child. In the book Preyer describes the
development of his own daughter from birth to two and a half years. Importantly, Preyer used rigorous scientific procedure
throughout studying the many abilities of his daughter.
1.6. In 1888 Preyer's publication was translated into English, by which time developmental psychology as a discipline was fully
established with a further 47 empirical studies from Europe, North America and Britain also published to facilitate the
dissemination of knowledge in the field.
 1.7. During the 1900s three key figures have dominated the field with their extensive theories of human development, namely
Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky and John Bowlby. Indeed, much of the current research continues to be influenced by these three
theorists.
2. Clinical psychology
2.1. Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness, abnormal
behaviour, and psychiatric problems. This field integrates the science of psychology with the treatment of complex human
problems, making it an exciting career choice for people who are looking to work in a challenging and rewarding field.
2.2. Early influences on the field of clinical psychology include the work of the Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. He was
one of the first to focus on the idea that mental illness was something that could be treated by talking with the patient, and
it was the development of his talk therapy approach that is often cited as the earliest scientific use of clinical psychology.
2.3. American psychologist Lightner Witmer opened the first psychological clinic in 1896 with a specific focus on helping
children who had learning disabilities. It was also Witmer who first introduced the term "clinical psychology" in a 1907
paper. Witmer, a former student of Wilhelm Wundt, defined clinical psychology as "the study of individuals, by observation
or experimentation, with the intention of promoting change."
2.4. By 1914, 26 other clinics devoted to the practice of clinical psychology had been established in the United States. Today,
clinical psychology is one of the most popular subfields and the single largest employment area within psychology.
2.5. Clinical psychology became more established during the period of World War I as practitioners demonstrated the usefulness
of psychological assessments. In 1917, the American Association of Clinical Psychology was established, although it was
replaced just two years later with the establishment of the American Psychological Association (APA).
2.6. During World War II, clinical psychologists were called upon to help treat what was then known as shell shock, now
referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
3. The History of Educational Psychology.
3.1. Plato and Aristotle.

The origins of Educational Psychology could be traced back to Plato who believed that all knowledge is innate at birth and is perfectible
by experiential learning during growth. Aristotle, Plato's student, was the first to observe that "association" among ideas facilitated
understanding and recall. He believed that comprehension was aided by contiguity, succession, similarity and contrast.

3.2. Locke
In the late 1600's, John Locke advanced the hypothesis that people learn primarily from external forces. He believed that the mind
was like a blank tablet (tabula rasa), and that successions of simple impressions give rise to complex ideas through association and
reflection. Locke is credited with establishing "empiricism" as a criterion for testing the validity of knowledge, thus providing a
conceptual framework for later development of excremental methodology in the natural and social sciences.

3.3. Rousseau

In France, during the mid 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau put forth a new theory of educational pedagogy. In his famous work
Emile, published in 1762, he explained his views on the benefits of health and physical exercise, and the belief that knowledge
acquisition occurs though experience and that reason and investigation should replace arbitrary authority. He proposed educating
children according to their natural inclinations, impulses and feelings.

3.4. Pestalozzi

Some people consider Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827) to be the first applied educational psychologist. He was one of the first
educators who attempted to put Rousseau's teaching into practice and teach children by drawing upon their natural interests and
activities.

3.5. Spencer

Herbert Spencer helped transform sentiments about pedagogy into systematic theory and method through his emphasis on the
scientific study of the educational process.

3.6. Herbart

Johann Friedrich Herbart is acknowledged as the "father of scientific pedagogy" (in Grinder, 1989). He was the first scientist to
distinguish instructional process from subject matter. According to Herbart, interest develops when already strong and vivid ideas are
hospitable towards new ones, thus past associations motivate apperception of current ones. Herbartianism, in predicting that learning
follows from building up sequences of ideas important to the individual, gave teachers a semblance of a theory of motivation.

3.7. Wundt

Herbartian psychology led to the founding of Wilhelm Wundt's laboratory in1879. Wundt extended Herbart's theory of apperception
into a theory of consciousness, whereby he sought to explain associations among mental processes.
 3.8. Titchener

One of Wundt's students, Edward Bradford Titchener was one of the first eminent Educational Psychologists to practice in America.
He was director of the psychology laboratory at Cornell University, and he regarded the study of the generalized mind to be the only
legitimate purpose of psychological investigation. He focused on such higher mental processes as concept formation and argued that
introspection is a valid form for interpreting great variety of sensations and feelings.

3.9. Dewey

In 1896, John Dewey launched an attack against Titchener and his ideas. Dewey argued that a stimulus and the response it elicits
constitute a reflex arc, and that that arc should be the minimal unit of analysis, and its function should be the basis for understanding
it. Dewey believed that individuals address aspects of their environment, not because these features possess the qualities of being
interesting, but because they are viewed instrumentally as ways of realizing a purpose. This belief gave rise to the theory of
"functionalism". Functionalism encouraged developments in mental testing, investigation of individual differences and studies of
adaptive behaviour.

3.10. Thorndike

Edward L. Thorndike disdained what he considered to be intuitive, common sense psychology. He agreed with functionalism, but
preferred to be identified as a "connectionist" because he sought to explain learning in terms of stimulus-response connections. He is
credited with establishing the "Law of Effect" to account for the strengthening or weakening of connections as a result of experience.
In 1914Thorndike completed the three volume series, Educational Psychology. For nearly fifty years the field of Educational
Psychology embraced the theory of associationism without question.

4. History and Development of Industrial Psychology

4.1. It is exceedingly difficult to apply a date to the founding of any discipline. However, industrial psychology may have gotten
its start on December 20, 1901. That was the evening that Dr. Walter Dill Scott, a psychologist at North-western University,
gave an address discussing the potential application of psychological principles to the field of advertising.
4.2. This was followed by a series of 12 magazine articles which were subsequently combined in 1903 into a book entitled The
Theory of Advertising undoubtedly the first book which involved the application of psychology to the world of business.
Scott, who later became president of North-western University, followed up this initial book with several others in the next
few years on the same general topic.
4.3. He also published several books in which he tried to bring psychology to bear upon the broader domain of business per se,
rather than just advertising. In fact, Dr. Scott’s accomplishments as the first industrial psychologist are far too numerous.
4.4. In spite of Scott’s prominent activity and many published works during the years 1901 to 1913, it is interesting that he has
often been ignored in historical accounts of the field of industrial psychology. This is particularly so in past years. Today
he seems to be gradually regaining his rightful place as the man who really “started it all.”
4.5. Where Scott has not been credited with being the first industrial psychologist the honour has usually been awarded to Hugo
Munsterberg. In 1913 he published his text Psychology and Industrial Efficiency.
4.6. Munsterberg as an author tended to be somewhat less aggressive and flamboyant than Scott in his approach to applying
psychology to business. Thus in his book the differences of approach between the pure and the applied science are carefully
reflected in the first few chapters. Munsterberg writes cautiously and defensively of his attempts to establish an applied field
of psychology as a necessary counterpart of the pure field.
4.7. Munsterberg’s book, which has served as a model for the development of industrial psychology, includes such topics as
learning, adjustment to physical conditions, economy of movement, monotony, fatigue, and buying and selling.
4.8. During World War I psychologists were quite active in the war effort, developing group tests for army recruits and aiding
in the development of procedures for the selection of officer personnel. In fact, many of the major post-war developmental
areas of industrial psychology such as group testing, trade testing, rating scales, and the personality inventory had their
roots in the activities of psychologists in the World War I war effort.
4.9. In 1917 the Journal of Applied Psychology made its appearance; the importance of this periodical in the expansion of the
field will be apparent from the number of references throughout this book to articles which have appeared in it. At about
the same time, colleges began to introduce courses in applied psychology; and as the subject has developed, the trend has
been to offer courses in specific fields of applied psychology such as industrial psychology, personnel psychology, vocational
psychology, and advertising psychology.
4.10. In 1919 Scott and several others founded the Scott Company of Philadelphia. This was the first psychological consulting
firm ever organized and was oriented toward personnel problems in industry. This was followed two years later by the
previously mentioned Psychological Corporation—the oldest firm of this type still active in the United States.
4.11. During the post-World War I years industry first began to show an interest in the discipline of industrial psychology.
Certain firms such as Procter & Gamble, the Philadelphia Company, and the Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric all
formed their own personnel research programs. In fact, it was at the Hawthorne Western Electric plant that the famous
“Hawthorne” studies were begun in 1927.
4.12. These studies, which lasted into the middle 1930s and are considered by many, the present authors included, to be probably
the most significant series of research studies ever carried out in industry in terms of the impact they had on the growth
 and development of industrial psychology. They provided the foundation and impetus for the expansion of industrial
psychology beyond the realm of selection, placement, and working conditions into the study of motivation, morale, and
human relations.
4.13. The Depression itself had considerable effect on the development of industrial psychology. While it may have slowed growth
in some directions, it nevertheless opened many additional areas for survey. After the Depression the importance of
employee attitudes began to be recognized; consequently much development since that time has been in this area.
4.14. Without much question World War II was a major factor in the growth of psychology in industry. Although the American
Association for Applied Psychology was formed in 1937 as the official organization of industrial psychology, it was the huge
psychological contribution to the war effort which proved to so many people that applied psychology had important and
practical contributions to offer.
4.15. These contributions were far too numerous to document in any detail here. As in World War I, great emphasis was placed
upon the development of tests for selecting and classifying recruits. Also developed were selection programs for officers,
various training programs of specialized types, and job analysis and performance evaluation techniques.
4.16. Personnel Psychology, another major journal of applied research, first appeared in 1948. It publishes the results of factual
psychological studies in such fields as training, job analysis, selection, evaluation, motivation and morale, work conditions,
and equipment design. Its articles are intended for interested and informed man-agement and yet at the same time they are
designed to meet the technician’s re-quirement of accurate and complete reporting.
4.17. Another notable development in applied psychology since World War II was the establishment of other separate divisions
of the APA devoted to various aspects of the field: the Division of Military Psychology the Society of Engineering
Psychologists, a division of the APA, and the Division of Consumer Behaviour.
4.18. While the percentage of joint memberships in these divisions and Division 14 is high (i.e., many psychologists belong to
two or more divisions), the fact that they have been formed is ample testimony to the need of the psychologist to recognize
the ever-increasing complexity and specialization of interest in the web of activities which define applied psychology.
4.19. Several other major organizations have been created since World War II to repre-sent various interest subgroups in applied
psychology. The two most notable are the Human Factors Society and the Ergonomics Society. The former is an American
group for applied psychologists with interest in human engineering problems. It publishes its own journal, Human Factors.
4.20. The latter group is the British counter-part of the Human Factors Society, although it was the first to be organized. Its
journal is entitled Ergonomics. Ergonomics and Occupational Psychology are the two major British publications devoted
to applied psychological research. Recently another American journal. Organizational Behaviour and Human Per-formance,
started publication. The purpose of this journal is to publish articles de-voted to the development of theory in applied
psychology.
5. Health psychology
5.1. Health psychology developed in different forms in different societies. Psychological factors in health had been studied since
the early 20th century by disciplines such as psychosomatic medicine and later behavioural medicine, but these were
primarily branches of medicine, not psychology.
5.2. United States in 1969, William Schofield prepared a report for the APA entitled “The Role of Psychology in the Delivery
of Health Services”. While there were exceptions, he found that the psychological research of the time frequently regarded
mental health and physical health as separate, and devoted very little attention to psychology's impact upon physical health.
One of the few psychologists working in this area at the time, Schofield proposed new forms of education and training for
future psychologists. The APA, responding to his proposal, in 1973 established a task force to consider how psychologists
could:
5.2.1. help people to manage their health-related behaviours,
5.2.2. help patients manage their physical health problems,
5.2.3. train healthcare staff to work more effectively with patients.
5.3. Health psychology began to emerge as a distinct discipline of psychology in the United States in the 1970s. In the mid-20th
century there was a growing understanding in medicine of the effect of behaviour on health. These discoveries include a
better understanding of the impact of psychosocial stress on the cardiovascular and immune systems, and the early finding
that the functioning of the immune system could be altered by learning.
5.3.1. For example, the Alameda County Study, which began in the 1960s, showed that people who ate regular meals (e.g.,
breakfast), maintained a healthy weight, received adequate sleep, did not smoke, drank little alcohol, and exercised
regularly were in better health and lived longer.
5.3.2. In addition, psychologists and other scientists were discovering relationships between psychological processes and
physiological ones.
5.4. Led by Joseph Matarazzo, in 1977, APA added a division devoted to health psychology. At the first divisional conference,
Matarazzo delivered a speech that played an important role in defining health psychology. He defined the new field in this
way, "Health psychology is the aggregate of the specific educational, scientific and professional contributions of the
discipline of psychology to the promotion and maintenance of health, the prevention and treatment of illness, the
identification of diagnostic and etiologic correlates of health, illness and related dysfunction, and the analysis and
improvement of the healthcare system and health policy formation."
5.5. In the 1980s, similar organizations were established elsewhere. In 1986, the BPS established a Division of Health Psychology.
The European Health Psychology Society was also established in 1986. Similar organizations were established in other
 countries, including Australia and Japan. Universities began to develop doctoral level training programs in health
psychology. In the US, post-doctoral level health psychology training programs were established for individuals who
completed a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. United Kingdom Psychologists have been working in medical settings
for many years (in the UK sometimes the field was termed medical psychology).
5.6. Medical psychology, however, was a relatively small field, primarily aimed at helping patients adjust to illness. The BPS's
reconsideration of the role of the Medical Section prompted the emergence of health psychology as a distinct field.
5.7. Marie Johnston and John Weinman argued in a letter to the BPS Bulletin that there was a great need for a Health Psychology
Section. In December 1986 the section was established at the BPS London Conference, with Marie Johnston as chair. At
the Annual BPS Conference in 1993 a review of "Current Trends in Health Psychology" was organized, and a definition of
health psychology as "the study of psychological and behavioural processes in health, illness and healthcare" was proposed.
5.8. The Health Psychology Section became a Special Group in 1993 and was awarded divisional status within the UK in 1997.
The awarding of divisional status meant that the individual training needs and professional practice of health psychologists
were recognized, and members were able to obtain chartered status with the BPS. The BPS went on to regulate training
and practice in health psychology until the regulation of professional standards and qualifications was taken over by
statutory registration with the Health Professions Council in 2010.