Psychological Disciplines

Schools of Thought in Psychology

There are many schools of thought that developed during the early years of the twentieth century but we shall take up only the ones that greatly influenced the present-day psychology.

Structuralism

Edward Bradford Titchener developed structuralism based on the concepts of his mentor Wilhelm Wundt. The followers of Titchener were calledstructuralists because they analyzed conscious experiences into its elements, namely: sensation, images, and affective states. These elements they called thestructures of conscious experience. The method of study used was calledintrospection, a process of self-observation. In introspection, the researcher reports his own observation of himself. Many people questioned the validity and accuracy of the findings because the process is very subjective. It then paved the way for a new school of thought to emerge.

Functionalism

Functionalism emerges toward the middle of 1850's through the effort of a group of American Psychologists. Most prominent of whom were William Jamesand John Dewey. They redefined psychology as the study of the mind as it functions in adapting the organism to its environment. They studied consciousness as an ongoing process or stream instead of reducing it into elements. William James also argued that the proper subject mater of psychology was the study of the organism functioning as a whole in his environment. The method used by functionalists was objective observation and little of introspection.

Behaviorism

While Functionalism was developing and structuralism was on its height, a revolution against the two was already in the mind of John Broadus Watson. He expressed dissatisfaction in the methods used. He instead advocated the use of objective experimental observation. He said the behavior and the behavioral acts are to be described objectively in terms of stimulus response, habit formation, and habit integration. Watson took the position that all behavior represents learned responses to particular environmental stimuli.

Other educators who influenced behaviorism were Edward Lee Thomdikewho used trial-error learning and B.F. Skinnerwho used rewards and punishments in shaping a behavior. The behaviorist technique has proven useful in the treatment of psychological disorders.

Gestalt Psychology

While behaviorism was talking its roots in America, another school of thought emerged in Germany. This new school questioned the analysis of consciousness or behavior in the way the structuralists and behaviorists did. Gestalt psychology was developed by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, andKurt Koffka. Gestalt is a German word which means form, shape, or configuration. The greatest contributions of Gestalt are in perception and learning. They emphasized learning by whole rather than by parts. The method used is calledphenomenology. Gestalt psychology became useful in teaching-learning situations.

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is not really a school of psychology because it did not concern itself with learning, sensation, attention, perception, and the other areas that preoccupied the previous schools of thought. It developed from the study and treatment of mental patients suffering from psychological disorders. The methods used were free association, dream analysis, and projective techniques. This movement started in Vienna under the leadership of Sigmund Freud, an Austrian physician specializing in diseases of the nervous system. Psychoanalysis is responsible for the attention given to unconscious motivation and child development.

Phenomology

In the 1930's and 1940's, a group of psychologists, led by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, largely influenced by the philosophical approach known as phenomenology, began a new concept in human beings. Phenomenology studies how people subjectively experience phenomena. This new group believed that in order to understand why people act in particular ways, their subjective experiences must be taken into consideration. To phenomenologist, people have the power to shape their own fates, to be whatever they wish to be.

from: Nazish Shabbir. Pakistan

Child psychology is one of the manybranches of psychologyand one of the most frequently studied specialty areas. This particular branch focuses on the mind and behavior of children fromprenatal developmentthrough adolescence. Child psychology deals not only with how children grow physically, but with their mental, emotional and social development as well.

Historically, children were often viewed simply as smaller versions of adults. WhenJean Piagetsuggested that children actuallythink differentlythan adults, Albert Einstein proclaimed that the discovery was "so simple that only a genius could have thought of it."

Today, psychologists recognize that child psychology is unique and complex, but many differ in terms of the unique perspective they take when approaching development. Experts also differ in their responses to some of thebigger questions in child psychology, such as whether early experiences matter more than later ones or whether nature or nurture plays a greater role in certain aspects of development.

When you think ofdevelopment, what comes to mind? If you are like most people, you probably think about the internal factors that influence how a child grows, such as genetics and personal characteristics. However, development involves much more than the influences that arise from within an individual. Environmental factors such as social relationships and the culture in which we live also play essential roles.

Some of the major contexts that we need to consider in our analysis of child psychology include:

• The Social Context:Relationships with peers and adults have an effect on how children think, learn and develop. Families, schools and peer groups all make up an important part of the social context.


• The Cultural Context:The culture a child lives in contributes a set of values, customs, shared assumptions and ways of living that influence development throughout the lifespan. Culture may play a role in how children relate to their parents, the type of education they receive and the type of child care that is provided.


• The Socioeconomic Context:Social class can also play a major role in child development. Socioeconomic status (often abbreviated as SES), is based upon a number of different factors including how much education people have, how much money they earn, the job they hold and where they live. Children raised in households with a high socioeconomic status tend to have greater access to opportunities, while those from households with lower socioeconomic status may have less access to such things as health care, quality nutrition and education. Such factors can have a major impact on child psychology.

Remember, all three of these contexts are constantly interacting. While a child may have fewer opportunities due to a low socioeconomic status, enriching social relationships and strong cultural ties may help correct this imbalance.

Child psychology encompasses a wide range of topics, from the genetic influences on behavior to the social pressures on development. The following are just some of the major subjects that are essential to the study of child psychology:

• Genetics
• Environmental Influences
• Prenatal Development
• Social Growth
• Personality Development
• Language
• Gender Roles
• Cognitive Development
• Sexual Development

Understanding what makes kids tick is an enormous task, so the study of child psychology is both wide and deep. The ultimate goal of this field is to study the many influences that combine and interact to help make kids who they are and to use that information to improve parenting, education, child care and psychotherapy other other areas focused on benefiting children. By having a solid understanding how children grow, think and behave, parents and professionals working with children can be better prepared to help the kids in their care.