Kaylei
& Sam
(I)
Psychology is still a relatively new field, especially when compared to the
origin of mathematics in the works of 16th century Greek
philosophers or of the practice of medicine, spanning back to early Egypt. It
is true that psychology predates the 19th century with the popular
psychology of mystics and clairvoyants, however, for general purposes, the
birth of modern psychology can be pinpointed to the year 1879. This year is in
accordance with the establishment of the first experimental laboratory for
psychology in Leipzig, Germany. It is here that Wilhelm Wundt published his
first psychological paper pertaining to his work in the laboratory. Soon after,
psychology spread to America when Stanley Hall, a student of Wundt, installed a
similar experimental institution at John Hopkins University. By the end of the
century, the American Psychological Association was founded (1892), and three
disciplines had emerged: Structuralism, Functionalism, and Psychoanalysis.
At the turn of the century, Lightner
Witmer opened up the first psychology clinic, and the focus of psychology
shifted to include applied work. This shift is apparent as well in the mission
statement of the APA as well. Up until 1945, the APA stated its goal as the
pursuit and the growth of psychology as a science;
at this time, the APA revised their goal to include the pursuit and growth of
psychology as a profession, as well.
Psychology continued to evolve, as
the field grew exponentially. The field expanded from the niche of European
white men, and in 1904, the APA welcomed Mary Calkins as its first woman
president. The diversifying field of psychology would influence its direction.
In addition to this, psychology saw many other changes as well. In the 1920s,
psychology moved away from studying consciousness, and it focused instead on
measuring the observable – behavior.
It was this shift that marked the beginning of Behaviorism, which would
strongly affect the field of psychology until the emergence of Cognitive
psychology in the 1960s. Since then, psychology has continued to evolve both as
a science and as a profession. The disciplines of psychology today are as wide-ranging
as the problems our modern world faces – abnormal psychology and
psychopathology, clinical psychology, consumer psychology, counseling
psychology, cognitive neuroscience, health psychology, human factors
engineering, industrial-organizational psychology, forensic psychology, sports
psychology, school psychology, humanistic psychology, the psychology of music,
psycholinguistics, psychophysics, psychometrics, psychonomics, and
psychotherapy. The study of psychology has spread to almost every field imaginable,
as it is relevant in almost every aspect of the human life.
It is paramount to recognize that
all of this happened in less than 150 years. This raises the question: where
will we be 150 years from now?
Benjamin, L. T. (2014). A brief history of modern psychology (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
(II)
Timeline: July 1892 the American Psychological Association was founded by G. Stanley Hall
(III)
Picture: Buckingham Palace
(IV) Here
is a link, providing the tools for those interested in cognitive psychology, in
particular, neuroscience: http://www.gocognitive.net
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