SCHOOLS

OF
PSYCHOLOGY
SCHOOLS
OF
PSYCHOLOGY
= SYSTEMS
OF
THOUGHT
SCHOOL
Group of psychologists who became
associated with the leader of a movement.
They shared the same ideas about what
psychology is and how it is to be studied.
Structuralism
(Introspective
Psychology or
Elementarism, 1879)
Wilhelm Wundt
Leader and Founder
Edward B. Titchener
Follower
Purposes of Study

To discover all elements of which

consciousness be composed (structure of the
mind). Its main concern was the study of what
made up consciousness.
Purposes of Study

Structuralism attempted to break down

conscious experience into objective sensations
such as sight or taste, and subjective feelings,
such as emotional responses, will, and mental
images like memories or dreams.
INTROSPECTION

Method used in Structuralism

INTROSPECTION

It refers to the observation and recording of the

nature of one’s own perception, thoughts and
feelings; looking into one’s mind; a mental self-
analysis.
INTROSPECTION

Using the method of introspection involves

reflecting to one’s own feeling, then the subject
report sensations, feelings and images through
his own sensory experiences.
INTROSPECTION

Controversies arose as to the fallibility of

introspection due to the fact “it is not
immediate” but is “an observational inferential
process that takes time and is subject to errors
of observation”.
INTROSPECTION

By 1940, introspection disappeared from

scientific psychology.
Functionalism
(1898)
William James
Harvey Carr
John Dewey
James Rowland Angell
G. Stanley Hall
James McKeenCattell
Purpose of Study

Function of the mind

Purpose of Study

Study how the mind works so

that an organism can adapt to
and function in its
environment
Purpose of Study
Functionalism, was a protest against
structuralism. It was not interested in
the elements of consciousness but in
the purpose which consciousness
serves in life.
Purpose of Study
The most important contribution of
functionalism was changing the focus of
psychology to learning, motivation and
thinking and veered away from the
structuralists emphasis on individual
sensation and perception.
Observation
Method used
Purpose of Study
Functionalists believe in the objective
method of observing behavior rather
than the introspective method of
observing awareness.
COMMON WITH STRUCTURALIST &
FUNCTIONALIST

Both structuralists and functionalists

still regarded psychology as the
science of conscious experience.
Psychoanalysis (1900)

Both structuralists and functionalists

still regarded psychology as the
science of conscious experience.
Psychoanalysis (1900)
Sigmund Freud
Leader
Alfred Adler
Carl Jung
Psychoanalytic theory proposes that
most of the mind is unconscious –
a seething cauldron of conflicting
impulses, urges, and wishes.
Freud asserted that the sex urges in
the unconscious constitute the main
human drive. This is known as the
“libido” theory.
People are motivated to satisfy this
impulses, ugly as some of them are.
But at the same time, people are
motivated to see themselves as
decent, and hence may delude
themselves about their true motives.
As a theory of personality,
psychoanalysis was based on the
idea that much of our lives is
governed by unconscious motives
and impulses that originate in
childhood conflicts.
Many human desires are directed and
complicated by unconscious motives
which we are not directly aware of
because they lie in the substrata of our
consciousness but which are
nevertheless powerful drives that may
dominate our lives.
Basic to Freud’s theory is the
conception that the unacceptable
(forbidden, punished} wishes/desires
of childhood principally libidinal
(sexual) are repressed in our
consciousness or get driven out of
awareness.
Repressed drives press to find
expression in dreams, slips of
speech, and in unconscious
mannerisms. They are the reasons for
many of our inner conflicts in life.
Repressed drives press to find
expression in dreams, slips of
speech, and in unconscious
mannerisms. They are the reasons for
many of our inner conflicts in life.
Methods Used

Dream Analysis, Clinical

Investigation, Free
Association
Free Association

A method in which the patient learns to discuss

embarrassing or painful thoughts simply by
reporting whatever comes to mind; letting the
patient freely associate on his thoughts and
experiences, and with the help of the psychiatrist,
analyze that causes of his difficulty.
Free Association

The disturbed subject may find

catharsis (release, cleansing
thru verbal expressions).
Behaviorism
(S-R Psychology)
(1912)
John B. Watson
Leader & Founder
Ivan Pavlov
Edward Thorndike
B. F. Skinner
Gordon Allport
Purpose of Study

JOHN B. WATSON launched

behaviorism, a philosophy of
psychological study which holds that only
observable behavior is the proper
subject for psychological investigation.
Purpose of Study

Holds that the subject matter of

psychology should be the “objective
observable actions of organisms”. The
only things which could be objectively
analyzed and quantitatively measured are
overt responses emitted by organisms.
Purpose of Study

The key assumption of behavioral

psychology is that- if psychology is to be
science, it must study only that which is
observable namely behavior.
Purpose of Study

Its roots can be traced back to the work of

Ivan Pavlov. He focused his study on
CONDITIONED REFLEX- by association
with the original STIMULUS which states
that other stimuli acquired the process to
elicit the behavior.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

It is a type of learning that had a

major influence on the school of
thought in psychology known as
behaviorism.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Discovered by Russian physiologist,

Pavlov, classical conditioning is a
learning process that occurs through
associations between an
environmental stimulus and a
naturally occurring stimulus.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Behaviorism is based on the

assumption that learning occurs
through interactions with the
environment.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Behaviorism is based on the

assumption that learning occurs
through interactions with the
environment.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Two other assumptions of this theory are

that the environment shapes behavior
and that taking internal mental states such
as thoughts, feelings, and emotions into
consideration is useless in explaining
behavior.
PAVLOV’S ORIGINAL EXPERIMENT

It's important to note that classical

conditioning involves placing a neutral
stimulus before a naturally occurring
reflex (conditioned response).
PAVLOV’S ORIGINAL EXPERIMENT
In Pavlov's classic experiment with dogs, the
neutral signal was the sound of a tone and
the naturally occurring reflex was salivating
in response to food. By associating the neutral
stimulus with the environmental stimulus (the
presentation of food), the sound of the tone
alone could produce the salivation response.
OPERANT CONDITIONING

B. F. Skinner coined the term “operant

conditioning” and started this whole
school by inventing the first operant
conditioning chamber, otherwise known
as the Skinner Box.
OPERANT CONDITIONING

Skinner used the term operant to

refer to any "active behavior that
operates upon the environment to
generate consequences"
OPERANT CONDITIONING

Operant conditioning (sometimes

referred to as instrumental
conditioning) is a method of learning
that occurs through rewards and
punishments for behavior.
OPERANT CONDITIONING

Through operant conditioning, an

association is made between a
behavior and a consequence for that
behavior.
Basic Principles of
OPERANT CONDITIONING

Reinforcement: Any event that

increases the probability that a
response will recur. It strengthens
a response.
Basic Principles of
OPERANT CONDITIONING
Positive Reinforcement:

Adding (or presenting) a stimulus,

which strengthens a response &
makes it more likely to recur
Basic Principles of
OPERANT CONDITIONING

When a response is followed by

a reward or other positive event
Basic Principles of
OPERANT CONDITIONING

Negative Reinforcement
Taking away (or removing) a
stimulus, which strengthens a
response & makes it more likely to
recur
Basic Principles of
OPERANT CONDITIONING

When a response is followed by

the removal of an unpleasant
event; ends discomfort
 Basic Principles of
OPERANT CONDITIONING

Punishment:

weakening a response
 Basic Principles of
OPERANT CONDITIONING

Positive Punishment:

adding (or presenting) a stimulus

that weakens a response & makes it
less likely to recur
 Basic Principles of
OPERANT CONDITIONING

Negative Punishment or Omission

Training:

taking away (or removing) a stimulus

that weakens a response & makes it
less likely to recur
 Basic Principles of
OPERANT CONDITIONING

Negative Punishment or Omission

Training:

taking away (or removing) a stimulus

that weakens a response & makes it
less likely to recur