Despite the existence of a large number of professionals who have participated in the development of what today we know as the different psychology specialties, there is only one who is considered the initial precursor of this science as we know it in the present.
In Psychology-Online we want you to know a little more about “our” father, the one who gave us the opportunity to learn this science and the one that allowed us to be day by day telling you and explaining what the psychology. Therefore, in this article you will find who is the father of psychology and why.
Index
- Who is considered the father of psychology?
- Who was Wilhelm Wundt and what is experimental psychology
- Representatives of the different types of psychology
Who is considered the father of psychology?
Whilhem Wundt he is considered by all to be the father of psychology. This one attempted the race of physiology, but he didn't get it, but then he went to the philosophy. Thanks to these two knowledge created psychology.
Who was Wilhelm Wundt and what is experimental psychology.
At the age of 4 he moved with his family to Heidelsheim, always being a very shy and reserved person. After graduation he studied at the Heidelberg University, where he became one of the first Medicine students of his class, earning a Ph.D. Summa Cum Laude, placing first in his medical promotion.
Later he moved to Berlin where he studied with Muller. A year later he returned to the University of Heidelberg as Helmholtz's assistant. At that time, he wrote his first book "Contributions to the theory of the perception of the senses" structuring in this the plan of psychology that he would follow until the end of his life. The following year he published "Lessons on Human and Animal Psychology."
Wundt's goal was understand consciousness as experienced and also understand the mental laws that govern the dynamics of it. The concept of will was something of the utmost importance to Wundt. He claimed that the will was the central concept on the basis of which the most important problems in psychology were to be understood. Wundt believed that men can decide what they pay attention to and therefore perceive it clearly.
The name Wundt called his approach to psychology was voluntarismdue to its emphasis on will, choice and purpose. The voluntarism was the first psychological school (and not structuralism, which is a rival school started by one of his students).
He believed that experimental psychology it could be used in an effort to understand immediate consciousness, but it was useless in trying to understand higher mental processes and their products. Only naturalistic observation or historical analysis could be used for the study of products.
Wundt believed that all sciences were based on experience and that scientific psychology was no exception. But the kind of experience it required was different. While others were based on mediate experience, psychology is based on immediate experience.
To study mental processes, Wundt used various methods such as introspection. He distinguished between pure introspection (one's own relatively unstructured observation) and experimental introspection (which he believed to be scientifically respectable).
Experimental introspection used laboratory instruments to vary the conditions and thereby make the results of internal perception more precise. Ideally, introspection in the form of internal perception as precisely as external perception.
Wundt used introspection more or less as philosophers and psychologists had used it, that is that is, as a technique to determine whether a person is experiencing a certain sensation or not. In fact, Wundt reproduced many works that physiologists had done on hearing, vision, and many works.
In 1875, Wundt wanted teach experimental psychology in Leipzig, so he stopped teaching anthropology, logic and language. In 1879, his laboratory was very productive, thus supervising the investigations of several students. It is on this date that the first laboratory dedicated to psychological research which was called the Experimental Institute of Psychology. In 1881 Wundt founded the journal Psychological Studies.
Representatives of the different types of psychology.
In addition to the father of modern psychology, we also find different references for each of the types of areas or currents of psychology:
Who is considered the father of pre-scientific psychology
We cannot choose only one author as the father of this one, because to all those who contributed new concepts for what would later become known as scientific psychology, were grouped within this pre-science. Therefore, it is worth highlighting Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke and Hume.
Who is considered the father of modern psychology
Again you have to give this title to Wundt, since he was the creator of the first psychological scientific system, which is based on the experimental method used today.
Who is considered the father of evolutionary psychology
Jean piaget He is considered the father of this branch, since he was the first person to study in detail all the human psychological development throughout life. In addition, he stood out for his studies on intelligence. In the following article you will find Piaget's theory of learning.
Who is considered the father of industrial psychology
This time it was a disciple of the Wundt who developed and established the foundations of this type of psychology, he is the psychologist Hugo Münsterberg, who related the skills of the employees to the work demands of the organization in order to increase industrial efficiency.
Who is considered the father of legal psychology
Legal psychology is not born from the work of a single individual, as we are used to seeing. As a result of the expert interventions carried out by different psychologists to criminals of the s. XIX is when one begins to speak of a type of judicial psychology. However, it was not until 1932 that Emilio Mira and López he publishes the first Manual of Legal Psychology.
Who is considered the father of forensic psychology
We cannot choose a founding author of this branch of psychology, since it has its origin within legal psychology. However, the objective of this is to assist the law as we know it by applying psychological knowledge and practices to lawsuits. Here you will find more information about What is forensic psychology and what is it for?.
Who is considered the father of sports psychology
Coleman griffith he is the father of sports psychology, as well as the first director of a sports research laboratory.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Blasi, C. (2015). Evolutionary Psychology. Jaume I. University
- Gonzalez. (2015). J. History of Psychology. Jaume I. University
- Sos, R. (2015). History of Psychology. Jaume I. University
