Foundations of Psychology

In this photo from 1909, you can see several famous psychologists, including
Sigmund Freud (front left),G. Stanley Hall (front center), and Carl Jung (front right).

Psychology is considered the study of behavior and mental processes. The roots of exploring the mind go back to ancient Greece when philosophers focused on the use of reason and questioned superstition as an explanation for human behavior. The history of psychology as a science officially began in 1897 with the first psychology lab created by Wilhelm Wundt. The early years were marked by differences in opinion on what psychology should study: the inner world of the mind or the outward world of observable behavior? Each pioneer added his own ideas to the debate, as psychologists focused on different aspects of human behavior and mental processes.