Early Psychology: Learn It 1—What is Psychology?

  • Define psychology
  • Define structuralism and functionalism
  • Describe the contributions and limitations of key researchers to the development of psychology
  • Define Freud’s psychoanalytical theory
  • Define Gestalt psychology

Many cultures throughout history have speculated on the nature of the mind, heart, soul, spirit, and brain. Philosophical interest in behavior and the mind dates back to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, China, and India, but psychology as a discipline didn’t develop until the mid-1800s when it evolved from the study of philosophy and began in German and American labs. This section will teach you more about the major founding psychologists and their contributions to the development of psychology.

Defining Psychology

What is creativity? What does self-actualization mean? How can we improve memory? Can a person change their personality? What are prejudice and discrimination? The field of psychology explores questions like these.

psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychologists apply the scientific method:

  • Form a hypothesis (a tentative explanation).

  • Connect it to a broader theory (a well-supported explanation of part of the natural world).

  • Test the hypothesis through observation or experiment.

  • Share results so others can replicate or expand on them.

sculpture of a winged man embracing a woman
Figure 1. Antonio Canova’s sculpture depicts Eros and Psyche. Psyche, which means soul, represents the human soul’s triumph over life—as Psyche was a mortal woman who completed a series of impossible tasks to reunite with her love (Aphrodite’s son, Eros) and become a goddess herself.

For example, scientists cannot easily test whether a bird sings because it is “happy” (we cannot measure bird happiness directly). Instead, they might study the bird’s brain activity or ask humans why they sing—questions that can be measured. This illustrates that psychological science is empirical, grounded in observable, measurable data rather than speculation, hunches, or ideas.

It was not until the late 1800s that psychology became accepted as its own academic discipline. Before this time, the workings of the mind were considered under the field of philosophy, which examines humanity, logic, ethics, and fundamental questions about life.

Given that any behavior is, at its roots, biological, some areas of psychology take on aspects of a natural science like biology. No biological organism exists in isolation, and our behavior is influenced by our interactions with others. Therefore, psychology is also considered a social science.

Why Study the History of Psychology?

Understanding psychology’s history helps explain how the field developed and why it looks the way it does today. The history of psychology is not just names and dates—it reflects the intersection of time, culture, and ideas that shaped how we study the mind.

Just as we ask new acquaintances questions like “Where did you grow up?” or “Where did you go to school?” to understand them better, studying psychology’s past gives context to its present. Knowing this history allows us to see how earlier thinkers and experiments influence the questions psychologists ask today.