Psychology The Science That Almost Never - 846 Words

Experimental Psychology: The Science That Almost Never Was. Unit 4 History of Psychology paper For many, Wilhem Wundt is considered the father of modern psychology, but his work was built upon the labor of those who came before him. And so if we are to fully appreciate the great strides that have been made in this area of science credit must be given to those who, like the Wright Brothers did for aviation, helped get it off the ground in the first place. Two such contributors were physiologist Ernst Weber and philosopher John Locke. While not encompassing, by any means, the history of psychology in its entirety these three gentleman helped set the foundation by which experimental psychology is grounded. For without them, the very discipline of psychology might have never been accepted. Ernst Heinrich Weber (1795-1878), one of the founders of psychophysics and a predecessor of experimental psychology, was born in Wittenberg, Germany. He studied medicine at the University of Wittenberg, received a medical degree in 1815 and was made Professor of Anatomy at the University of Leipzig in 1818, where he taught until he retired in 1871. He’s known for transferring the experimental methods used in physiology into the field of psychology. He formulated Weber’s Law which relates intensity of stimulation to perception and describes an absolute detectable threshold for all senses. One of the first psychologist to actually experiment, Weber used human subjects in his studies ofShow MoreRelatedPsychology Is Alive And Well883 Words   |  4 Pages When people hear that you are majoring in psychology, there are some negative connotations that come with it. As a science, psychology isn’t taken seriously, and is only thought of as a pseudoscience. Of course, th is isn’t the case. As a student of psychology I know how arduous it can be and I believe that psychology deserves a lot more respect than it gets. The skewed view of psychology that the public has begins with the media. Psychology is marketed in the form of self-help books, TV shows likeRead MoreThe Medical Field And The Science Field942 Words   |  4 Pagesactions. Mental issues are widely overlooked in the medical field and in the science world. Psychology does not seem to be an objective science to the majority of the world, and the brain is one of the arduous organs to study in the body. Not much detail is known about how the brain works and why it works the way it does, as the study of the human brain is still a relatively new field in the medical and science field. For almost the entire existence of the human species, famous philosophers have alwaysRead MoreReflecting On Psychology As A Science912 Words   |  4 Pages Reflecting on Psycho logy as a Science Before I had ever begun to ponder cognitive abilities, or understand the connections between Dopamine and schizophrenia, my concepts of psychology were shaped by the perverse world of popular culture. Prime time psychologists tend to come in two forms. Viewers are either enticed by an intense and traumatized psychologist who sneaks into the minds of criminals or annoyed be the one episode guest star analyst whose only goal seemsRead MoreB.F. Skinners Contribution to Psychology1488 Words   |  6 PagesB.F. Skinner’s Contribution to Modern Psychology Ian K. Connelly Oklahoma State University B.F. Skinner’s Contribution to Modern Psychology As I began to study the history and beginning of psychology there was one man who stood out to me clearly as a powerful force of influence and contributor to the direction psychology has taken in its still very young life. What does it mean to be a major influential contributor to the science of psychology? This man shows us with his groundbreaking theoriesRead MoreA Clockwork Orange1450 Words   |  6 Pages Alex is an extremely interesting character. He is a brutal human being who evolves as a character only to fall back into his original state. It’s almost as humans are a blank slate. They are subject to the environment around them and they are molded by that environment. Alex longs for power. When he has it, he wants more. Alex has an almost dictatorial presence about him. He lives a life with no discipline and unfortunately suffers the consequences. His longing for power leads to his downfallRead MorePsychology And Sociology And Psychology1612 Words   |  7 PagesWhen we think of society or people, and their behavior, psychology and sociology come to our mind. This is because they are academic fields that posses the same main idea, which is the study of the behavior. Although these two sciences have enormous differences, for those whom never had read anything about this topics it would seem the same. Despite bearing some superficial similarities, the differences between sociology and psychology are pronounced. Actually the main contrast between them isRead MoreA Research Study On Mental Illness1382 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent. In recent studies, scientists have learned the brain can have abnormalities, which usually leads to a mental illness. Another risky subject in the world is mental illness. Some people say that it is made up. Which it is not, because now science can prove how it is. It is not hard to see the difference between a â€Å"normal† brain, and an ill one. Someone who studies the nature of the mind is known as a psychologist. A psychologist can be in many different job scenarios, but the most recent expansionRead MoreJames Mckeen Cattell Contributions to Psychology1740 Words   |  7 PagesHopkins University. Returning to Leipzig in the fall of 1883, he earned his doctoral degree in experimental psychology under Wilhelm Wundt in 1886, with a dissertation that examined reaction times for various simple mental processes (Sokal, 1981). After completing his doctorate, Cattell spent two years at Cambridge University, where he founded Englands first laboratory in experimental psychology. While at Cambridge, Cattell married Josephine Owen, who became a lifelong partner in his research and laterRead MoreModern Psychology : The Scientific Study Of Mind And Behaviour1637 Words   |  7 PagesThe following essay will focus on the emergence of modern psychology, presently understood to be the â€Å"scientific study of mind and behaviour†. Philosophy and experimental physiology have been influential in creating a favourable zeitgeist that ultimately allowed for the transformation of an ancient discipline into the scientific study of the mind. It was 1879 before psychology officially became a science. Previously philosophers endeavoured to understand human nature and the links between theRead MorePhilosophers and Scientist of Modern Psychology1454 Words   |  6 PagesRUNNING HEAD: Philosophers and Scientist of Modern Psychology Philosophers and Scientist of Modern Psychology History of Psychology While the philosophical distinction between mind and body can be traced back to the Greeks, it is due to the works of one great Philosopher that till this very day this is still in existence. Rene Descartes was the first to ever talk about the interactions of the mind and body, which later on in psychological history caught the attention of others who came