HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
A TIMELINE OF PSYCHOLOGY
BEFORE PSYCHOLOGY ERA
Foundations in Philosophy.
INTROSPECTION ERA: 1879
Wilhelm Wundt established the first experimental psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany, marking psychology's emergence as a distinct scientific field.
PSYCHODYNAMIC ERA: 1886
Sigmund Freud began treating patients in Vienna, Austria, laying the groundwork for psychoanalysis.
Carl Jung started developing analytical psychology post-1907.
Additional contributions by Erikson, Adler, and Horney enrich the psychodynamic perspective.
BIOLOGICAL APPROACH ERA: 1890
William James published "The Principles of Psychology", introducing evolutionary psychology.
Thomas Willis' "Cerebral Anatomy" (1664) introduces the term "neurology".
Paul Broca’s research (1861) on cortical localisation of function, pioneering the study of brain localisation.
LOCALISATION OF FUNCTION IN BRAIN STUDY: 1861
Paul Broca's "Loss of Speech, Chronic Softening and Partial Destruction of the Anterior Left Lobe of the Brain", demonstrates the localisation of language function in the brain.
GENETICS ERA: 1865
Gregor Mendel's groundbreaking heredity studies with peas.
Frederick Miescher's discovery of DNA in 1869.
Completion of Human Genome Sequencing in 2003, a monumental milestone in genetics.
BEHAVIOURISM ERA: 1903
Ivan Pavlov's classical conditioning experiments with dogs.
John Watson (1920) established the school of behaviourism.
B. F. Skinner introduced the concept of "operant conditioning" in 1937.
THE BRITISH PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY: 1901
HUMANISM ERA: 1942
Carl Rogers' publication of "Counselling and Psychotherapy" in 1942.
Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory in 1943.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY ERA: 1961
Bandura, Ross, and Ross' influential Bobo doll experiment, demonstrates observational learning.
COGNITIVE APPROACH ERA: 1932
FC Bartlett introduced the concept of schemas in 1932.
George A. Miller’s theory of short-term memory capacity (1956).
Baddeley and Hitch proposed the Working Memory model in 1972.
Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development theory in 1962.
COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY ERA: 1962
Albert Ellis's "Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy" in 1962, led to REBT.
Aaron Beck’s model of depression in 1967, was foundational to CBT.
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE ERA: 1994
Stephen Pinker publishes "The Language Instinct".
ADVANCED NEUROSCIENCE
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) [2000s-2010s]: A groundbreaking imaging technology allowing real-time observation of brain activity.
Optogenetics [2016]: A novel method using light to control neurons, providing new insights into brain function.
CRISPR in Neuroscience [2019]: Application of gene-editing technology for understanding and potentially treating neurological disorders.
ADVANCED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Elizabeth Loftus: Memory Research [2014]: Significant implications for the legal system concerning the reliability of eyewitness testimony.
Impact of Digital Technology [2020]: Studies showing how digital technology affects cognition and social behaviour.
ADVANCED COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
Brain Plasticity [2017]: Demonstrates the brains’ ability to form new connections and adapt, even in adulthood.
Neural Basis of Consciousness [2018]: Explores how consciousness arises from brain networks.
Connectome Mapping [2021]: Efforts to map neural connections, enhancing understanding of brain disorders.
AI IN PSYCHOLOGY
AI Integration [2015-2020]: Utilisation of AI for data analysis and pattern recognition in psychological studies.
AI-Driven Therapy [2021]: Development of AI tools offering personalised mental health support.
GENE RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY
Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) [2000s-Present]: Identifying genetic variants linked to psychological traits and disorders.
GUT-BRAIN RESEARCH
Gut-Brain Axis [2010s-Present]: Exploring how the gut microbiome influences mental health, mood, and cognitive function.
MISCELLANEOUS ADVANCES
Psychology of Climate Change [2019]: Examining mental health impacts due to climate-related stressors.
Psychological Impact of COVID-19 [2020]: Studies on mental health during the pandemic, informing public health responses.
Virtual Reality in Therapy [2022]: The use of VR technology for treating phobias, PTSD, and anxiety disorders.
OVERVIEW OF PERSPECTIVES
PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE
Developed by Sigmund Freud, this psychiatric therapy method uses free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance and transference. It explores repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties, and conflicts. However, it's viewed as outdated due to its lack of scientific methodology and perceived misogyny.
HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE
Humanism in psychology focuses on the whole person. Humanistic psychologists consider both the observer's and the subject's perspectives, emphasizing phenomenological methods. Criticized for vagueness, cultural bias, and lack of scientific testing, it's mainly used in business for motivation.
BEHAVIOURISM/LEARNING THEORY
This theory posits that behaviour is solely a result of learning and conditioning, discounting thoughts or feelings. It includes classical and operant conditioning, advocating for behaviour pattern alteration to treat psychological disorders.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
This theory suggests that behaviours can be acquired through observation and imitation, incorporating elements from both behaviourism and cognitive psychology. It's considered a factor in rapid species-wide changes.
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
This field studies higher mental functions like memory, perception, motivation, and decision-making. It views the brain as a complex computing system, utilizing approaches like cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence. Cognitive neuroscience, focusing on the brain's role in cognition, is particularly dominant.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
This approach considers humans as biological organisms, providing biological explanations for psychological processes. It includes evolutionary psychology, focusing on genetic changes and natural selection, and neuroscience, examining the brain's influence on behaviour.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Bridging psychology and sociology, this field studies how social interactions influence human behaviour. It explores the impact of the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others on thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
A hybrid field, forensic psychology applies various psychological approaches to understand criminal behaviour and work with offenders to modify their future behaviour.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
This branch studies human developmental changes across the lifespan, including motor skills, cognitive and emotional development, language acquisition, and social changes.
ABNORMAL/CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Focusing on unusual behavioral patterns, this field studies behavior in a clinical context, often associated with mental disorders.
OCCUPATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
This area is concerned with individuals' performance at work, aiming to enhance organizational effectiveness and employee job satisfaction.
BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS
A blend of psychology and economics, this field uses psychological research to understand human decision-making in economic contexts. It reveals biases in thinking and decision processes, highlighting the limitations of human judgment
LANDMARKS
PSYCHOLOGY LANDMARKS
17th Century
Francis Bacon (1600-1625): Contributions to scientific method, nature of knowledge and memory.
René Descartes (1650): Dualistic theory of reality (mind vs. matter).
Thomas Willis (1672): Psychology in terms of brain function.
John Locke (1689): Mind as a Tabula Rasa at birth.
18th Century
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1701): Unconscious mind concept, threshold theory.
David Hume (1739): Mind's contents from sense experiences.
Immanuel Kant (1781, 1783): Knowledge beyond sense experience, "a posteriori" and "a priori" knowledge.
Ferdinand Ueberwasser (1783): Empirical psychology professorship, textbook on scientific psychology.
Kant (1798): Dimensional model of individual differences.
19th Century
Franz Joseph Gall (c. 1800): Phrenology (discredited).
Phineas Gage (1848): Brain function localizability through injury.
Franciscus Donders (1860s): Human reaction time in cognitive processing.
Paul Broca (1861): Broca's area, founding neuropsychology.
Francis Galton (1869): Hereditary Genius, founding psychometrics and differential psychology.
Douglas Spalding (1872): Psychological imprinting.
Wilhelm Wundt (1874, 1879): Experimental psychology laboratory, structuralism.
Ivan Pavlov (1884): Study of digestive secretion, foundational in behaviorism.
Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885): Memory studies, learning and forgetting curves.
Sigmund Freud (1886): Private practice, foundational in psychodynamic approach.
Christian von Ehrenfels (1890), William James (1890), Gustave Le Bon (1895): Gestalt psychology, functionalism, social psychology.
Freud (1899): Psychoanalysis beginning with The Interpretation of Dreams.
20th Century
Freud (1901), John B. Watson (1903, 1904, 1920), Ivan Pavlov (1927): Developments in psychodynamic and behavioral approaches.
Melanie Klein (1921), Karen Horney (1922, 1950), Otto Rank (1924, 1926), Boris Sidis (1922): Contributions to psychodynamic theory.
Jean Piaget (1928), Lev Vygotsky (1929, 1934, 1935): Cognitive approach advancements.
B.F. Skinner (1938, 1941, 1943, 1953), Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley (1939), Abraham Maslow (1943, 1954), Clark L. Hull (1943), Kurt Lewin (1947), Alfred Kinsey (1948), Donald Hebb (1949): Significant developments in behavioral, biological, humanist, social learning theories.
Karen Horney (1950), Erik Erikson (1950), Rollo May (1950), Solomon Asch (1951), Morton Deutsch (1951), Carl Rogers (1951), Nathaniel Kleitman (1953), Harry Stack Sullivan (1953), Julian Rotter (1954), George Armitage Miller (1956), Leon Festinger (1957), John Cohen (1958): Further advancements across various psychological approaches.
APA (1992), DSM-IV (1994), Antonio Damasio (1994), Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray (1994), Michael Posner and Marcus Raichle (1994), Esther Thelen and Linda B. Smith (1994), Simon Baron-Cohen (1995), Giacomo Rizzolatti (1996), Amos Tversky (1996), APsaA (1997), Martin Seligman (1998), George Botterill (1999): Notable works and movements in psychology.
21st Century
Alan Baddeley (2000), Max Velmans (2000), Avshalom Caspi et al. (2002), Steven Pinker (2002), Daniel Kahneman (2002), George Mandler (2007): Advancements and debates in psychology.
APA developments (2010, 2012, 2013, 2018), Simon LeVay (2010), Barack Obama's BRAIN Initiative (2013), Stanislas Dehaene, Giacomo Rizzolatti, Trevor Robbins (2014), Brenda Milner, Marcus Raichle, John O'Keefe (2014), Psychology Today (2015), APA (2015), Brian Nosek (2015), WHO (2016), NIMH (2017), Neuroscience advancements (2017), "Replication crisis" (2018), NIH's All of Us Research Program (2019), COVID-19 impact and responses (2020), Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2020), mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (2021), Brain-computer interfaces (2022): Significant events and contributions in modern psychology.
