Historical Background of Psychology

We can actually trace the historical background of psychology along two ways -Traditional and the Scientific.

Traditionally, psychology is said to have began with man's earliest speculation regarding human nature. Since the dawn of recorded thought, man has had a curiosity about his own behavior and its relationship to causal events. The earliest attempt were essentially animistic-wherein the Gods or Spirit were attributed the power to direct or cause such events and activities of men.

The Greek Infuence
Democritus ( c. 460-c. 370 BC ) believed that the humanmind is composed of atoms which could circulate freely and which enabled it to penetrate the whole body. According to him, atoms from our environment enter through our sense organs enabling us to percieve the world around us.

According to Plato (c427-347 BC) the mind or soul is distinct in it own right and si God-given. It enter the body with its reflected perfectio of God rules the body which it inhibits as knower, thinker, and determiner of action. The soul is composed of three parts - that which exerts reason (in the head); that which is responsible for our noble impulses (in the heart); and the basest part, the seat of our passions (in the diaphragm).

Aristotle ( c 384-322BC ) a student of plato, distinguished three functions of the soul - the vegetative, concerned with basic maintenance of life; the appetitive, concerned with motive and desires; and the rational, the governing function located in the heart. The brain merely perform minor mechanical processes as gland.

While the psychology of today reflects the discipline’s rich and varied history, the origins of psychology differ significantly from contemporary conceptions of the field. In order to gain a full understanding of psychology, you need to spend some time exploring its history and origins. How did psychology originate? When did it begin? Who were the people responsible for establishing psychology as a separate science?

Why Do We Need To Study The History of Psychology?
Contemporary psychology is interested in an enormous range of topics, looking a human behavior and mental process from the neural level to the cultural level. Psychologists study human issues that begin before birth and continue until death. By understanding the history of psychology, you can gain a better understanding of how these topics are studied and what we have learned thus far.