The 7 Major Schools of Thought in Psychology - Deepstash
The 7 Major Schools of Thought in Psychology

The 7 Major Schools of Thought in Psychology

Curated from: verywellmind.com

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Psychologies always try to describe and explain the human mind and behavior. The different schools of psychology represent the major theories within the field of psychological science. The main schools of psychology are:

  • Structuralism
  • Functionalism
  • Gestalt
  • Behaviorism
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Humanism
  • Cognitivism.

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STRUCTUTALISM

STRUCTUTALISM

Major thinkers associated with Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener

This outlook focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. The focus of structuralism was on reducing mental processes down into their most basic elements. The structuralists used techniques such asย introspectionย to analyze the inner processes of the human mind.

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FUNCTIONALISM

FUNCTIONALISM

Major thinkers associated with: William James

It functioned on the mind's functions and adaptations. Instead of focusing on the mental processes themselves, functionalist thinkers were interested in the role that these processes play.

Gaining a better understanding of the purpose would allow psychologists to better understand how the mind allows people to respond and adapt to their environments.

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GESTALT

GESTALT

Major thinkers associated with: Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kรถhler, and Kurt Koffka

Instead of breaking down thoughts and behavior to their smallest elements, the gestalt psychologists believed that you must look at the whole of experience. According to Gestalt thinkers, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, a philosophy known asย holism

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BEHAVIORISM

BEHAVIORISM

Major thinkers associated with:ย John B. Watson,ย Ivan Pavlov, andย B. F. Skinner

Behaviorism suggests that all behavior can be explained by environmental causes rather than by internal forces. Behaviorism is focused onย observable behavior.

(This school have significally impact the course of psychology. Many ideas and techniques that emerged from this school of thought are still widely used today)

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PSYCHOANALYSIS

PSYCHOANALYSIS

Major thinkers associated with: Sigmund Freud, ย Anna Freudย and Otto Rank, andย neo-Freudiansย such asย Erik Erikson,ย Alfred Adler, and Karen Horney

The human mind was composed of three elements, which their interaction led to all of the complex human behaviors:

  • theย id (primal urges),
  • ego (personality charged with dealing with reality),
  • superego (Holds all the ideals and values from our parents and culture)

Other important theories included the idea of the conscious and unconscious, Freud's psychosexual approach to personality development, and the concept of life and death instincts.

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HUMANISM

HUMANISM

Major thinkers associated with: Abraham Maslow,ย Carl Rogers, and Clark Moustakas

Humanistic psychology focus on helping people achieve and fulfill their potential. Humanistic psychology focused on topics such as: Becoming aย fully functioning person, Individual free will, Hierarchy of needs, Peak experiences, and Self-actualization

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COGNITIVISM

COGNITIVISM

Major thinkers associated with: Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky

Cognitive psychologyย is the school of psychology that studies mental processes, including how people think, perceive, remember and learn. This branch of psychology is related to other disciplines such as neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics.

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IDEAS CURATED BY

imberly

CURATOR'S NOTE

Psychology always try to understand human minds and behaviors

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