6 Major Schools of Thought in Psychology

Functionalism Psychology
Functionalism has the most influence of any theory in contemporary psychology.
Psychological functionalism attempts to describe thoughts and what they do without
asking how they do it. For functionalists, the mind resembles a computer, and to
understand its processes, you need to look at the software -- what it does -- without
having to understand the hardware -- the why and how underlying it.
Gestalt Psychology
According to Gestalt psychologists, the human mind works by interpreting data through
various laws, rules or organizing principles, turning partial information into a whole. For
example, your mind might interpret a series of lines as a square, even though it has no
complete lines; your mind fills in the gaps. Gestalt psychotherapists apply this logic to
problem-solving to help patients.
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalytic theory, which originated with Sigmund Freud, explains human behavior
by looking at the subconscious mind. Freud suggested that the instinct to pursue
pleasure, which he described as sexual in nature, lies at the root of human
development. To Freud, even the development of children hinged on key stages in
discovering this pleasure, through acts such as feeding at the mother's breast and
defecating, and he treated abnormal behavior in adults by addressing these stages.
Behaviorism
In the 1950s, B.F. Skinner carried out experiments with animals, such as rats and
pigeons, demonstrating that they repeated certain behaviors if they associated them
with rewards in the form of food. Behaviorists believe that observing behavior, rather
than attempting to analyze the inner workings of the mind itself, provides the key to
psychology. This makes psychology open to experimental methods with results that can
be replicated in the same way as any scientific experiment.
Humanistic Psychology
Humanist psychologists teach that to understand psychology, we must look at
individuals and their motivations. Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" exemplifies
this approach: a system of needs, such as food, love and self-esteem, determines a
person's behavior to various extents. Meeting these needs leads to a sense of selfsatisfaction and solves psychological problems.

Cognitivism
Cognitive psychology follows behaviorism by understanding the mind through scientific
experimentation, but it differs from it by accepting that psychologists can study and
understand the internal workings of the mind and mental processes. It rejects
psychoanalysis, as it regards psychoanalytic theories about the subconscious mind as
subjective and not open to scientific analysis.
FOUNDER OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology has many founders whom contributed to influential
thinking to the field. When hearing the names Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung,
Alfred Adler, and William James, one thinks of the founding fathers of
psychology. They are the most well-known pioneers and early founders who
contributed their endeavors of better understanding to the psychological
frailties. Each of them dedicated their lives to studying and learning about
the human mind. They were the contributors to the modern science of
psychology each with similar ideas as well as different ideas too. However,
not everyone will agree with each philosopher but his perspectives and
approaches are still considered in todays world of psychology. These men
have provided a foundation for psychology that will never go unnoticed even
if people fail to agree with their ideology.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud considered himself as a scientist first attempting to extend the compass of the
human knowledge. He studied biology for the next six years, doing research in physiology with
the scientist Ernst Brcke at the University of Vienna. After graduating he took up work as a
doctor at Vienna general hospital. Once his sixth child Anna was born, Freud set up a private
practice of the treatments within physiological disorders. Freud was impressed by the work of
the French neurologist Jean Charcot, who was using hypnotism to treat hysteria and other
abnormal mental conditions. Freud also experimented with hypnosis but found that its beneficial
effects did not last. He then decided to take on a method suggested by the work of a colleague
and friend Josef Breuer, who had discovered that when he stimulated a hysterical patient to talk
openly about the earliest incidences of the symptoms. Freud articulated and advanced the idea
that many psychoses phobias like hysterical paralysis and pains had their origins in deeply
traumatic experiences that had occurred in the patients past and were now hidden from
consciousness (Stephen P. Thornton). The treatment was enabled to the patient to recall the
experience of the consciousness, to confront it in a deep way both intellectually and emotionally,
therefore discharging it and remove the underlying psychological causes of the neurotic
symptoms.
Carl Jung

Carl Jung learned a lot from Freud, which helped him to identify with his later theories. Carl
Jung learned from Freud about the unconscious mind but was more fascinated with the human
mind through dreams, myth, art, and philosophy. Jung and Freud were close counterparts until
Jung started to deviate from Freuds views. Jung came to his own conclusion about human
personality theory in which he believed religion played a part. Jung formed his own theory called
Analytical Psychology. After much evaluation his own subconscious and recording his results in
an unpublished book, he concluded the human psyche has three parts: the ego (conscious mind),
the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. However, Jung believed the process of
individuation was crucial in order to be a complete and entirely established person. Individuation
is complete once a person can use both the conscious and unconscious mind.
William James
William James born January 11, 1842 was highly known as an original thinker and one of the
greatest multidisciplinary minds in turn of the century. Born to Mary and Henry James Sr. of
New York, James was described by his mother as an emotional individual who must express
every fluctuation of feelings. At the age of 19, James decided to attend Harvard University to
study chemistry and soon transitioned into medicine to learn the science that went with it.
William James helped establish psychology in the United States and became an instant classic.
He was considered Americas greatest philosopher in addition to being the father of American
psychology. Jamess main contribution to the psychology world focused on emotions and
introduced the James-Lang theory. The theory proposed that the physiological change is
primary, and emotion is then experienced when the brain reacts to the information received via
the body's nervous system. In his book The Principles of Psychology, James stated that
Common says we lose our fortune, are sorry and weep; we meet a bear, are frightened and run;
are insulted by a rival, are angry and strike. The hypothesis here to be defended says that the
order of sequence is incorrect that we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike,
afraid because we tremble (pp. 1065-1066). James whole emphasis was that emotion is
nothing without the body and that it has evolutionary purpose and believed that we first respond
to a situation and then experience an emotion.
Alfred Adler
When discussing theories Alfred Adler implemented into his work, it is important to note his
most well known theory simply named as the Alderian Theory. The Alderian Theory suggests
individuals have a need to want to feel noticed and appreciated. In achieving this, one must
obtain a balanced and well-adjusted lifestyle through socialization with the world, family
interaction, and setting goals in order to feel content (Corey, "Alderian therapy," 2005). An
individual has to be encouraged in order to feel they have a purpose. Adler believed a person
must have a healthy childhood to express positive behavior socially and with themselves. It is
important to discard feelings of insecurity and discover a purposeful self.
Differences and Similarities

Between Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, their beliefs differed when it came to theories of
discovering psychological functioning in human behavior. For example, Adler did not agree with
Freuds theory of sexual trauma in the early stages of childhood development being a cause of
mental disorders. A more in-depth example of their differences would involve Freuds 5 Stages
of Psychosexual Development theory. Adler would view a mother and infants relationship as
loving and necessary in the way that the infant would be satisfied through hunger and the mother
desires for the breast milk to be relieved. Freud would simply suggest the infant is acting out
through the first stage, oral, in a cannibalistic manner ("Adler, Alfred", 2013).
According to Feist and Feist (2009), Carl Jung theorized that individuals are not only motivated
through subdued experiences, but attitudes and personality are inherited through ancestry
Chapter 4). This is what Jung calls the collective unconscious. Jung goes on to explain how
individually, people are each introverted as well as extroverted, male and female, conscious and
unconscious. He believed this is caused by past events interacting with future possibilities. Adler
would agree with the connection between traits of personality and family.
Much like Alfred Adler, William James was interested in discovering oneself. James made it an
important point that each individual does self-examination through the mind.
Conclusion
Many years ago Freud, Jung, Adler, and James all formed theories of psychology. Each man had
his own perspective and theory but one thing lives on, the foundation of psychology that
reinforces modern science. While each man did not agree between theorists, there was some
common ground between them. These men paved the way for what psychology is today and even
though there will be more psychological discoveries, one thing is for sure, these four mens
theories will continue to lead psychology today