History of Modern European Psychology

The History of Modern European Psychology By Veronica H. EHAP How did European Psychologists affect life in Europe from the 19th Century to the 20th Century? Origin of Psychology • Psychology began in Europe • Progressed through many different thinkers with different ideas and schools of thought • This succession was affected by Europe’s history as well as Europe’s culture being affected by psychology Charles Darwin (1809-1892) • British naturalist • Co-originator of the theory of evolution • Extremely influential in the development of psychology • Influenced much of European culture and mind-set  “Social Darwinism” • Wrote Origins of Species in 1859 Darwin’s Research and Discoveries • Darwin took a five year journey to investigate life on Islands, especially the Galapagos Islands – He collected organisms and fossils – Came up with the theory of evolution – Discovered that existing species were all related through decedents with modification  natural selection Darwin’s Impact on European Society • Darwin’s idea of the Survival of the fittest affected many European lives – It changed the attitude of many people, making them much more competitive and ruthless – This change in attitude is shown through Realpolitique ruling, for example Queen Elizabeth I of England – The idea behind Manifest Destiny is also inspired by Darwin Quotes by Elizabeth I A strength to harm is perilous in the hand of an ambitious head. There is nothing about which I am more anxious than my country, and for its sake I am willing to die ten deaths, if that be possible. Paul Pierre Broca (1824-1880) • Born in SainteFoy-La-Grande, France • Went to medical school in Paris • Was a professor of surgical pathology at the University of Paris Broca’s Early Works • Studied: – The history of cartilage and bone – Cancer pathology – Treatment of aneurysms – Infant mortality • Made important contributions to the understanding of the limbic system Broca’s Research and Discovery • Researched the location of the production of speech  research of the lateralization of brain functions • Discovered the speech production center of the brain, located in the frontal lobes • Region now known as Broca’s area Location of Broca’s area Method to Broca’s Research • He studied many aphasic patient – Most famous patient:  Nicknamed “Tan”  1861 through post-mortem autopsy determined that he had a lesion in the left cerebral hemisphere of his brain  The lesion covered the area which controlled the speech production Brain Studied by Broca Brain of patient with motor aphasia Realization from Broca’s Work Speech production  frontal lobes left hemisphere of the brain broca’s area Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) • Born in a small German village called Nekarau • Known as the “Father of Psychology” • First man to be called solely a psychologist, without another name given to him Wundt’s Research • 1879Wundt established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig • He concentrated on psychological research – mostly studying human sensory • Wundt used a systematic methodological approach • His research was a milestone in establishing psychology as a science Wundt’s Works • Wrote Principles of Physiological Psychology in 1874 • Created the structuralism which is the structure of conscious experiences • His chief method of examination was called introspection – Which is just observation of sensations Edward B. Titchener (1867-1927) • Titchener was a student of Wilhelm Wundt • Put his own spin on Wundt's psychology of consciousness • He attempted to classify the structures of the mind like other scientists would Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) • Born in Freiberg, Moravia in the Czech Republic • Moved to Vienna, Austria when he was four years old • He graduated from the medical school at the University of Vienna in 1881 • Decided to specialize in neurology Freud’s impact on European Society • Revolutionized ideas of how the human mind works • Established the theory that the unconscious motives control much of human behavior • Advanced fields of psychiatry and psychology Freud’s Impact on European Art Movement • Freud’s theories influenced surrealism – Freud preformed psychoanalysis which was like the concept of many paintings  Exploring the inner depths of the unconscious mind  Freud’s ideas also were used by many authors and artists as subject matter Freud’s Works • Freud went to Paris in 1885 to study Jean Martin Charcot, a famous neurologist • Freud then returned to Vienna in 1886 and started to work extensively on hysterical patients • Freud wrote many important and highly influential pieces, some being: – The interpretation of Dreams in 1900 – The Ego and the Id in 1923 – Civilization and Its Discontents in 1930 Freud’s Theories • Freud observed many patients on how they behaved according to their unconscious drives and experiences • Concluded that the unconscious plays a large role in shaping someone’s behavior • Thought that people used what he called defense mechanisms Freud’s Form of Therapy • Psychoanalysis is a technique of therapy – An analysis to explain the connections between the patients unconscious mind and their mental processes • Free association- basic method of transference of information • The patient, lays down and says whatever comes to mind • Catharsis- the sudden release of emotion Couch used for Psychoanalysis Freud’s famous couch in his London clinic Freud’s Division of the Brain • Freud believed that the brain was divided into three different parts – The Id – The Ego – The Superego • Thought everyone was born with certain natural drives which he called instincts The Id • The Id is located in the nervous system • It is the part of the brain that controls the instincts – For example controls the desire for sexual pleasure • It translates the person’s needs into motivational forces, instincts • The transformation – needwish called the primary process • The Id works to satisfy the pleasure principle The Ego • This part of the brain tries to resolve the conflicts between someone's instincts and their external reality – An example is that it determines the socially acceptable method to get what someone wants • The problem solving activity performed is called the secondary process • It functions on the reality principle The Superego • This section of the brain is the person’s conscience • It controls the moral thoughts, such as what is right and wrong • Two parts of the Superego: – Conscience: an internalization of punishments and warnings – Ego ideal: driven by rewards Freud’s Sexual Stages of Development • Freud said that the sex drive is the most important motivating force • He created a psychosexual stage theory with stages starting from infancy until adulthood • Stages: – – – – – Oral Stage Anal stage Phallic Stage Latency Stage Genital Stage The Oral Stage • Lasts from birth to about eighteen months • The focus is of pleasure from the mouth – An example is infants sucking and biting The Anal Stage • Lasts from about eighteen months to three or four years old • The focus is now on the anus – Children have a fixation with going to the bathroom – Same time as when children are potty trained The Phallic Stage • Lasts from three or four years old to around seven years old • The focus of pleasure is now on the genitalia The Latent Stage • This period could last from any age as young as five years old to puberty • Sexual urges are suppressed The Genital Stage • This stage begins at puberty and lasts throughout an adults life • It represents the resurgence of the sex drive in adolescences • Focuses mostly on pleasure from sexual intercourse Conclusions of Freud’s Psychosexual Stages • Freud believed that everyone goes through these stages • He believed if the normal pattern of psychosexual development was interrupted they would be stuck in an earlier, more immature stage, contribute to mental illnesses in adulthood theory is known as Theory of Psychosexual Development Freud’s Defense Mechanisms • Freud’s interpretations of how people cope with stresses in their lives • Eleven most common defense mechanisms: – Denial: blocking external events from awareness – Repression: not being able to recall a threatening situation, person, or event – Isolation: involves stripping the emotion from a difficult memory or threatening impulse – Displacement: the redirection of an impulse onto a substitute target – Projection: see your own unacceptable behaviors in other people Defense Mechanisms (cont.) – Reaction Formation: changing an unacceptable impulse into its opposite – Undoing: gestures or rituals which are meant to cancel out unpleasant thoughts – Introjections/ Identification: copying someone else because you think it is better than yourself – Regression: movement back in psychological time when someone is faced with stress – Rationalization: cognitively distorting the facts to make an event or impulse less threatening to the person – Sublimation: transforming an unacceptable impulse to a productive product From The Interpretation of Dreams, 1900 The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind. -- Sigmund Freud A letter by Freud • A letter written from Freud to Wilhelm Fliess, a Berlin physician • These letters make a record of Freud's self analysis • They document the process through which he arrived at some of his most persuasive and controversial ideas • In this particular letter, that he wrote after his father died, he describes himself as being torn up by the roots Depictions from Interpretation of Dreams • An illustration in The Interpretation of Dreams. • It is depicting a French nurses dream, in order to help her Carl Gustav Jung (1875- 1961) • He was born in Kesswil, Switzerland • Was the first president of the International Psychoanalytic Association • Founder of analytical psychology • Successor of Sigmund Freud Jung’s Works • He broke with Freud in 1912, when he published Psychology of the Unconscious – It focused on the two dimensions of the unconscious  The personal part, encompasses the repressed or forgotten content of an individual's mental and material life  The “collective unconscious”, which Jung referred to as the acts and mental patterns shared either by members of a culture or universally by all human beings • He also wrote In Psychological Types in 1921 Alfred Adler (1870-1937) • He was born in Vienna, Austria • He grew up in Vienna and became ill with pneumonia as a child • He followed through with his decision and received his M.D. degree in1895 he at the University of Vienna • Founder of individual psychology • Rejected Freudian theories Adler’s Achievements • In 1898, he wrote his first book which his main beliefs of his school of thought were based – Focusing on the necessity of looking at man as a whole, reacting to his/her environment • In 1912 Adler published, The Neurotic Constitution • His next book was Understanding Human Nature in 1927 Adler’s Spread of Help • His efforts were halted by World War I • He served as a doctor with the Austrian Army • Adler founded several child guidance clinics in Vienna • Adler’s help in Vienna stimulated the development of similar clinics in other countries throughout Europe Jean Piaget (1896-1980) • Born in Neuchatel, Switzerland • He studied natural sciences at the University of Neuchatel and received his PhD • He went to Zurich for a semester and became interested in psychoanalysis Piaget Theories • He was interested in the nature of thought itself • He called his work: Genetic Epistemology – the study of the development of knowledge Piaget’s Terms from his Studies • Schema- certain skills learned to deal with ones environment • Assimilation- the act of copying a behavior learned from an old schema and repeating it on a new object • Accommodation- accommodating an old schema to a new object • Adaptation- broad term for learning how to do many things Piaget’s Cognitive Stages • Sensorimotor stage – From birth to two years old • Preoperational stage – From two years old to seven years old • Concrete stage – From seven years old to eleven years old • Formal stage – Over eleven years old Sensorimotor stage • Infant uses senses and motor abilities to understand the world • Between one and four months the child works on their primacy circular reactions: – An action serves as a stimulus which makes the infant repeat the same action  Ex. Sucks their thumb, enjoys it so repeats • Between four and twelve months uses secondary circular reactions: – Involves an action that has an outcome that makes the infant want to repeat  Ex. Squeeze a rubber ducky, it quacks, so squeezes again because they want to hear the quack again Preoperational Stage • Now the child has mental representations and is able to pretend • Now thinks in images and symbols • Can not make logical sentences but can use symbols and other things to communicate – Ex. Creative playuse the checker pieces as cookies Concrete stage • Children understand logical principals that apply to concrete external objects • Know that certain properties of an object remain the same even when the appearance may change – Conservation: the quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance • Appreciate perspectives from another point of view, not just their own Concrete stage (cont.) • Child learns classification and seriation: – Classification: refers to whether a child can group things under one category – Seriation: is the process of putting things in order Formal Stage • Involves logical operations in abstract way, called hypothetical thinking • Learn to group possibilities in four different ways: – Conjunction: two things together make a difference – Disjunction: one or the other thing affects the outcome – Implication: the formation of a hypothesis, if something happens then that will cause something else to happen – Incompatibility: the elimination of a hypothesis, if something happens then something else will not happen as a result The End