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The 7 Major Schools of Thought in Psychology
The Humanistic School of Thought
- Humanistic psychology is a response to psychoanalysis and behaviourism and focuses on individual free will, personal growth, and self-actualisation.
- This school of thought is focused on helping people achieve and fulfil their potential. It had a huge influence on positive psychology that centres on helping people live happier and more fulfilling lives.
- Major humanist thinkers include Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
The need to understand psychology
The beginnings of psychology differ significantly from contemporary conceptions of the field. Modern psychology covers a range of topics, looking at human behavior en mental processes from the neur...
The Beginnings of Psychology
Psychology was not separate from philosophy until the late 1800s.
- During the 17th century, philosopher Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism - that the mind and body were two entities that interact to complete the human experience.
- While early philosophers relied on methods such as observation and logic, today's psychologists use scientific methodologies to draw conclusions about human thought and behavior.
- Physiological research on the brain and behavior also contributes to psychology.
Psychology as a Separate Discipline
- During the mid-1800s, a German physiologist Wilhelm Wundt outlined many of the major connections between the science of physiology and the study of human thought and behavior.
- He viewed psychology as the study of human consciousness and tried to apply experimental methods to study internal mental processes.
- His processes are known as introspection and seen as unreliable and unscientific today, but it helped to set the stage for future experimental methods.
- The opening of his psychology lab In 1879 is considered to be the official start of psychology as a separate scientific discipline.
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Key Ideas
Personality Psychology: Important Terminology
- Classical conditioning: A behavioural technique where a natural stimulus is paired with a previously neutral stimulus. The previously neutral stimulus eventually cause the r...
Defining Personality
While we often talk about personality, psychologists disagree on what exactly constitutes personality.
Personality is then broadly defined as the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that originate within the person and make a person unique. It is what makes you, you.
Key Characteristics of Personality
- Personality is organized and consistent.
- Personality is generally stable, but the environment can influence it. A shy personality in social situations might take charge and be more outspoken in an emergency.
- Personality causes behaviours to happen. You react to your environment based on your personality.
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Key Ideas
Repression as a defense mechanism
Repression can best be defined as the psychological defense mechanism that involves pushing undesired thoughts into the unconscious in order to not think about them anymore.
...Types of repression
Repression is of two types: primary and proper.
While the primary one takes into account the fact of hiding undesired thoughts or facts, the proper one takes place whenever an individual becomes aware of the thoughts that had initially been hidden and tries to hide them again.
Repression and its way of functioning
The objective of hiding our undesired thoughts in our unconsciousness is to feel less anxious.
However, Freud stated that this process can backfire at any point, as these hidden thoughts or feelings can still create anxiety, eventually leading to psychological distress.