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Schools of Thought

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By Gehniss
Words 973
Pages 4
The many schools of thought in Psychology attempt to define Psychology and promote one specific method of studying the brain. The text shows that the individual schools of thought come together in examining the mechanics of the brain and how it makes us human. Structuralism is the first school of thought that promoted the structure of consciousness. By studying consciousness it was belief that one could understand the basis for psychology. This was a method that advocated introspection as a form of study, along with developing a sort of periodic table for human consciousness. Experimentation in this school of thought can be perceived of as unscientific in that it requires honest introspection into oneself. Reporting thoughts and feelings on a moment by moment basis proves very unreliable because of the fact humans are often time not truly honest.
Functionalism is the second school of thought in which the functionality of psychological processes and how people interact with things around them. William James is the first person to write a textbook for psychology. Whereas structuralism studied the structure of psychology, functionalists in this school of thought were interested in discovering the reason the brain works the way it does using experimentation not specifically related to human beings. Functionalists experimented not only with animals but also with brains that functioned improperly.
The Psychodynamic school of thought was promoted by Sigmund Freud who developed early psychoanalysis. It is largely believed that many of his theories and ideas were based upon sex and how men interacted with their mothers. This, however, is not the true scope of his contributions to the world of psychology. Freud developed psychoanalysis to treat patients and is based on three keys. The first key is that peoples actions are determined by their thoughts, feelings, and wishes.

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