Since the beginning of time it has been the nature of man to be inquisitive and.
curious about the ways and behaviors of his species. Psychology, being the scientific.
study of mental and behavioral processes, can be non-scientifically traced back centuries.
to eras when philosophy was a prime school of thought. People have invariably been.
trying to interpret human behavior, but it wasn't until people started applying experiment.
to psychological issues, did it become acknowledged and recorded. There are several.
significant figures who are responsible for the history of the study of psychology.
Psychology became recognized as a formal academic discipline when William.
Wundt founded a laboratory for psychological study in Germany in 1879. Wundt is often.
called the "father of psychology" for this reason. His laboratory studies were in concepts.
such as sensory processes, perception, attention span, and reaction time, which are all.
principles of consciousness. The principles of consciousness were Wundt's specialty and.
he sought out to observe the guidelines intertwining these principles. Wundt believed.
that sensations, such as coldness, hotness, or numbness were the basics of consciousness.
and when combined they produce perception. Observation of the conscious requires an.
element of study called introspection, looking into ones self conscious encounters and.
telling about them, a practice Wundt's students of psychology were very skilled in. .
Edward Titchener, one of Wundt's most acclaimed students, set up a.
psychological laboratory in he United States, at Cornell University. Titchener named the.
first school of though of psychology structuralism. This school concentrated on the.
building blocks of conscious mental experiences. Introspection was highly used in.
structuralism, and came to be criticized for it's inconsistency in subject responses. Many.
schools of thought in the field were created in reaction to structuralism, which.