History of Psychology

Psychology as a separate scientific discipline has existed for more than a 100 years, but since the dawn of time, people have tried to understand the nature of living beings. For many years, Psychology was considered as a branch of philosophy, until the 19th century where it has been identified as a separate field of scientific study.

During the mid-nineteenth century a German scientists Johannes P. Muller performed his first sensation and systematic studies showcasing that mental processes could be measured and studies scientifically. A German physiologist established the first laboratory of psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany. He had established the theories perception, sensation, emotion and association during his line of research.

Sigmund Freud, an Austrian physician formulated the psychoanalysis, which is both a theory of personality and a method of treating people with psychological difficulties along with his most influential theory ‘the concept of unconscious’.

The 1950s saw development of cognitive and humanistic psychologies. Humanistic psychology was discovered by Abraham Maslow, who believed that psychology had focused more on human weakness than strength, mental illness over mental health, and neglecting free will.

The advent of neuroscience and computer science helped this transition. Ultimately, the cognitive revolution struck people and realized that cognition is crucial to real appreciation and understanding of behaviour.