timeline of approaches

• which approaches dominated in the early 20th century?

  • psychodynamic
  • behaviourist
• 1900s - Freud's psychodynamic approach

  • emphasises influence of unconscious mind on behaviour
  • develops person-centred therapy, psychoanalysis
  • shows physical problems can be explained in terms of conflicts within the mind
• behaviourist approach is established by Skinner in 1913
• 1950s - humanistic approach by Rogers and Maslow

  • so called 'third force' in psychology, rejecting behaviourist and psychodynamic view that human behaviour is determined by outside factors
  • emphasise importance of self-determination and free will
• 1950s - cognitive approach

  • introduction of computer gives psychologists a metaphor for the operations of the human mind
  • reintroduces study of mental processes in a much more scientific way than Wundt's earlier investigations
• 1960s - social learning theory by Bandura


  • draws attention to the role of cognitive factors in learning, providing a bridge between the newly established cognitive approach and traditional behaviourism
• 1980s onwards - biological approach

  • begins to establish itself as the dominant scientific perspective in psychology
  • due to advances in technology that have increased understanding of the brain and biological processes
• Eve of the 21st century

  • Towards the end of the last century, cognitive neuroscience emerges as a distinct discipline bringing together the cognitive and biological approaches
  • Cognitive neuroscience investigates how biological structures influence mental states