H I S T O R Y

O F
P S Y C H O L O G Y

Ms. Syeda Muqeet Ul Wara

The developmental history of psychology can be divided in:
Greek Period Middle Ages Renaissance Modern Age
(Christian Period
& Muslim Period)
Hippocrates St. Augustine Gallilio E.H. Weber Charles Darwin
(460-435 B.C.) (354-430 A.D.) (1567-1642 A.D.) (1795-1878) (1809-1882)

Socrates Ibn-e-Miskawayh Descartes Sir Francis Galton Hermann Helmholtz

(469-399 B.C.) (945-1030 A.D.) (1596-1650 A.D.) (1822-1911) (1821-1894)

Plato Ibn-e-Sina Thomas Hobbes Paul Broca Wilhelm Wundt

(427-347 B.C.) (980-1037 A.D.) (1588-1679 A.D.) (1824-1880) (1832-1920)

Aristotle Al-Ghazali John Locke

(384-322 B.C.) (1058—1111 A.D.) (1632-1754 A.D.)
 Greek Period: 1200 B.C.
In this period, not only philosophy, logic, astrology,
physics and chemistry but Psychology also
progressed. Psychology was being studied as the
science of soul. The philosophers were trying to
find out the relationship between Psyche and Body.

Hippocrates
His view is based on that the four elements of fire,
water, clay and air are found in human beings in the
liquid form. So, the human temperament is divided
in four types:
Socrates
‘Know Thyself’ was the first of his teachings. Socrates was the first to use the word
‘Psyche’ meaning soul. He said that the other name for Psyche is self consciousness. It
can be attained through search for truth and knowledge.

Plato
He was the student of Socrates and presented the Mind-Body Dualism theory. It means
that body and mind are two different things. He also believed in the individual
differences. He divided the people in three vocation on the basis of God gifted potentials.
• The people with higher mental abilities are on the first stage.
• The people with physical strength are on the second stage.
• The people with less physical less mental strength are on the third stage.
 According to Plato, every individual should be educated and trained for a profession
according to his potentiality. This view of Plato became the base for Aptitude Testing in
modern era.

Aristotle
He was the student of Plato. His book ‘De Anima’ meaning- ‘on the soul’ is the first
book on Psychology. He opposed the Platonic view of Mind-Body Dualism and said that
soul is inseparable from body.
Aristotle is famous for his Social psychology. According to him, ‘Man is a social
animal’.
Many modern day psychologists admitted him the First Psychologist.
 Middle Age
The period of middle age covers third to 14th century and is divided in two parts:
1) Christian Period
In this period, Science and Philosophy was under the influence of religion in Europe.
Observation, reasoning and experimentation was not allowed as the Father Pope and
Bible were the final source of information. That’s why the western thinkers could not say
anything new.

St. Augustine
He was influenced by the views of Plato and admitted the Mind-Body Dualism.
According to him, soul is immortal and body is mortal. Soul does not require body for its
existence and mind is influenced by its environment.
2) Muslim Period
The period of Muslim Philosophers started in 6 th century A.D. with the advent of the Last
Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Muslim Period is called the Golden
Period in the middle age from 6th to 12th century whereas Europe was known to be in the dark
age. Muslim thinkers propagated not only the Islamic views but the Economics, Political
Science, Fine Arts, Science and Philosophy also.
Ibn-e-Miskawayh
He presented a theory of evolution. His theory resembles Darwin’s theory which came later.
According to him, soul passes through three stages:
• Nafs-e-Ammara- the lowest stage of soul consisting of bad impulses and sins.
• Nafs-e-Lawwama- the intermediate stage of soul which criticizes and curses the evil deeds and
evil desires, encourages the individual to do good.
• Nafs-e-Mutmainnah- the upper most and the most civilized portion of the soul. It keeps the
individual mentally satisfied as the individual abides by the social norms.
Ibn-e-Sina
He was influenced by Plato and Aristotle. He is best known for his work in Medicine.
He presented a theory that mind influences body in two ways:
i. It orders body to move, to act.
ii. It activates will power that can help in treating the physically ill without any medicine.
So he discovered Suggestion and Hypnotism as therapeutic techniques.
Al-Ghazali
He was a great philosopher and a scholar. To him, soul and body play an important role
in growth and development. The human Nafs or soul has four powers:
iii. Power of knowledge
iv. Power of aggression
v. Power of lust and sex
vi. Power of justice
 Mental health depends on the balance of these four powers. He also explained the
importance of knowledge and the methods how to control self.

Renaissance Period
It is the period of revolution, invention and use of machine. After the decline of
Umayyads and Abbasids, the Christians and the Jews took the Muslim books with them
and went to Europe. In this period, science emerged out of the influence of philosophy
and religion. Observation and experimentation in science and psychology progressed.
Gallilio
He is considered the father of modern science. He invented telescope and
thermometer, also brought a revolution in Physics
by presenting the law of motion.

Descartes
His important work for the development of
Modern science was to resolve the mind-body
problem. His theory of mind-body interaction
that the mind influences body and the body exerts a
greater influence on the mind was radical in the
17th century to focus attention on a Physical-
Psychological duality.
Thomas Hobbes
He refused to admit soul and said that simple behavior occurs due to the activation of
environmental changes and the higher mental behavior occurs due to activation of brain.
John Locke
To him, human mind is a plain and blank
plate at the time of his birth. This plate of mind
receives stimuli from the environment, gives
meanings to the sensations and forms perception.
These sensational experiences and perceptions
form ideas. The ideas are associated and
organized in memory and became the
base for knowledge.
 Modern Age
In 19th and 20th century, strives for Psychology as a science emphasized the objective
observation.
Weber
He explained the relationship between external stimuli and sensational experiences
and formulated the Law of Weber. He said that the change in quantity of stimulus can be
sensed by the sensation.
Charles Darwin
In his book ‘The Origin of Species’ in 1859, he explained that the forefathers of
human beings were animals. So, he says that monkey is man’s first cousin and man has
inherited mental attributes from him. Darwin’s evolutionary theory guided psychologists
to conduct experiments on animals for the study of comparative psychology of humans
and animals.
Sir Francis Galton
He researched on intelligence and its measurement, also presented a theory on
individual differences.
Hermann Helmholtz
He presented the theory of color vision, theory of hearing and explanation for the
perception of musical tones.
Paul Broca
French physician identified a control center essential for speech in a part of brain
named it ‘Broca’s area’.
Wilhelm Wundt
He established Psychology as a separate science by founding the first Psychological
laboratory in Leipzig University, Germany in 1879. His laboratory soon became the
center for Psychologists. He is known as ‘Father of Psychology’.
 Reference

Bukhari, Z., Sameer, S., & Shah, H. (2013). Processes of Psychology and Applied
Psychology. Allied Book Centre

Hergenhahn, B. R., & Henley, T. (2013). An introduction to the history of psychology.

Cengage Learning.