Who was the first psychologist to argue that mental experience is created by combining a small number of core sensations?

Learning Objectives

Define structuralism and functionalism and the contributions of Wundt and James to the development of psychology

Psychology is a relatively young science with its experimental roots in the 19th century, compared, for example, to human physiology, which dates much earlier. As mentioned, anyone interested in exploring issues related to the mind generally did so in a philosophical context prior to the 19th century. Two men, working in the 19th century, are generally credited as being the founders of psychology as a science and academic discipline that was distinct from philosophy. Their names were Wilhelm Wundt and William James.

Structuralism is one of the earliest schools of psychology, focused on understanding the conscious experience through introspection. It was introduced by Wilhelm Wundt and built upon by his student, Edward Titchener. Let’s review a brief history of how structuralism was developed by these two scholars.

Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) was a German scientist who was the first person to be referred to as a psychologist. His famous book entitled Principles of Physiological Psychology was published in 1873. Wundt viewed psychology as a scientific study of conscious experience, and he believed that the goal of psychology was to identify components of consciousness and how those components combined to result in our conscious experience. Wundt used introspection (he called it “internal perception”), a process by which someone examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible, making the human mind like any other aspect of nature that a scientist observed. He believed in the notion of voluntarism—that people have free will and should know the intentions of a psychological experiment if they were participating (Danziger, 1980). Wundt considered his version experimental introspection; he used instruments such as those that measured reaction time. He also wrote Volkerpsychologie in 1904 in which he suggested that psychology should include the study of culture, as it involves the study of people.

Wundt’s version of introspection used only very specific experimental conditions in which an external stimulus was designed to produce a scientifically observable (repeatable) experience of the mind (Danziger, 1980). The first stringent requirement was the use of “trained” or practiced observers, who could immediately observe and report a reaction. The second requirement was the use of repeatable stimuli that always produced the same experience in the subject and allowed the subject to expect and thus be fully attentive to the inner reaction. These experimental requirements were put in place to eliminate “interpretation” in the reporting of internal experiences and to counter the argument that there is no way to know that an individual is observing their mind or consciousness accurately, since it cannot be seen by any other person.

Edward Titchener, one of his students, built upon Wundt’s ideas to develop the idea concept of structuralism. Its focus was on the contents of mental processes rather than their function (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010). Wundt established his psychology laboratory at the University at Leipzig in 1879. In this laboratory, Wundt and his students conducted experiments on, for example, reaction times. A subject, sometimes in a room isolated from the scientist, would receive a stimulus such as a light, image, or sound. The subject’s reaction to the stimulus would be to push a button, and an apparatus would record the time to reaction. Wundt could measure reaction time to one-thousandth of a second (Nicolas & Ferrand, 1999). Experimental requirements of using trained observers and repeatable stimuli were put in place to eliminate “interpretation” of the reporting of internal experiences. However, despite the efforts to train individuals in the process of introspection, this process remained highly subjective, and there was very little agreement between individuals.

Figure 1. (a) Wilhelm Wundt is credited as one of the founders of psychology. He created the first laboratory for psychological research. (b) This photo shows him seated and surrounded by fellow researchers and equipment in his laboratory in Germany.

Figure 2. William James, shown here in a self-portrait, was the first American psychologist.

William James (1842–1910) was the first American psychologist who espoused a different perspective on how psychology should operate. James was introduced to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection and accepted it as an explanation of an organism’s characteristics. Key to that theory is the idea that natural selection leads to organisms that are adapted to their environment, including their behavior. Adaptation means that a trait of an organism has a function for the survival and reproduction of the individual, because it has been naturally selected. As James saw it, psychology’s purpose was to study the function of behavior in the world, and as such, his perspective was known as functionalism, which is regarded as another early school of psychology.

Functionalism focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment. Functionalism has a second, more subtle meaning in that functionalists were more interested in the operation of the whole mind rather than of its individual parts, which were the focus of structuralism. Like Wundt, James believed that introspection could serve as one means by which someone might study mental activities, but James also relied on more objective measures, including the use of various recording devices, and examinations of concrete products of mental activities and of anatomy and physiology (Gordon, 1995).

The Early Schools of Psychology (No Longer Active)

Adapted from Early Schools of Psychology from the Open Learning Initiative’s Introduction to Psychology. CC-BY-NC-SA.

School of Psychology	Description	Historically Important People
Structuralism	Focused on understanding the conscious experience through introspection	Wilhelm Wundt
Functionalism	Emphasized how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment	William James

Glossary

functionalism: focused on how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment

structuralism: understanding the conscious experience through introspection

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Who is considered the father of psychology? This question does not necessarily have a cut-and-dry answer since many individuals have contributed to the inception, rise, and evolution of modern-day psychology. We'll take a closer look at a single individual who is most often cited as well as other individuals who are also considered fathers of various branches of psychology.

Wilhelm Wundt is the man most commonly identified as the father of psychology. Why Wundt? Other people such as Hermann von Helmholtz, Gustav Fechner, and Ernst Weber were involved in early scientific psychology research, so why are they not credited as the father of psychology?

Wundt is bestowed this distinction because of his formation of the world's first experimental psychology lab, which is usually noted as the official start of psychology as a separate and distinct science.

By establishing a lab that utilized scientific methods to study the human mind and behavior, Wundt took psychology from a mixture of philosophy and biology and made it a unique field of study.

In addition to making psychology a separate science, Wundt also had a number of students who went on to become influential psychologists themselves. Edward B. Titchener was responsible for establishing the school of thought known as structuralism,

James McKeen Cattell became the first professor of psychology in the United States, and G. Stanley Hall established the first experimental psychology lab in the U.S.

Wilhelm Wundt was a German psychologist who established the very first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879. This event is widely recognized as the formal establishment of psychology as a science distinct from biology and philosophy.

Among his many distinctions, Wundt was the very first person to refer to himself as a psychologist.

He is often associated with the school of thought known as structuralism, although it was his student Edward B. Titchener who was truly responsible for the formation of that school of psychology. Wundt also developed a research technique known as introspection, in which highly trained observers would study and report the content of their own thoughts.

Wilhelm Wundt graduated from the University of Heidelberg with a degree in medicine. He went on to study briefly with Johannes Muller and later with the physicist Hermann von Helmholtz. Wundt's work with these two individuals is thought to have heavily influenced his later work in experimental psychology.

Wundt later wrote the Principles of Physiological Psychology (1874), which helped establish experimental procedures in psychological research. After taking a position at the University of Leipzig, Wundt founded the first experimental psychology lab in the world.

Although another psychology lab already existed—William James had established a lab at Harvard a few years before—James' lab was focused on offering teaching demonstrations rather than experimentation. After studying with Wundt, G. Stanley Hall founded the first American experimental psychology lab at John Hopkins University.

Wundt is often associated with the theoretical perspective known as structuralism, which involves describing the structures that compose the mind.

Structuralism is regarded as the very first school of thought in psychology. He believed that psychology was the science of conscious experience and that trained observers could accurately describe thoughts, feelings, and emotions through a process known as introspection.

However, Wundt made a clear distinction between everyday self-observation, which he believed was inaccurate, and experimental introspection (also called internal perception). According to Wundt, internal perception involved a properly trained observer who was aware when a stimulus of interest was introduced.

Wundt's process required the observer to be keenly aware and attentive of their thoughts and reactions to the stimulus and involved multiple presentations of the stimulus. Of course, because this process relies on personal interpretation, it is highly subjective. Wundt believed that systematically varying the conditions of the experiment would enhance the generality of the observations.

While Wundt is typically associated with structuralism, it was actually his student Edward B. Titchener who influenced the structuralist school in America. Many historians believe that Titchener actually misrepresented much of Wundt's original ideas. Instead, Wundt referred to his point of view as voluntarism. While Titchener's structuralism involved breaking down elements to study the structure of the mind, Blumenthal (1979) has noted that Wundt's approach was actually much more holistic.

Wundt also established the psychology journal Philosophical Studies. In a 2002 ranking of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, Wundt was ranked at number 93.

The creation of a psychology lab established psychology as a separate field of study with its own methods and questions. Wilhelm Wundt's support of experimental psychology also set the stage for behaviorism, and many of his experimental methods are still used today.

Wundt also had many students who later became prominent psychologists, including Edward Titchener, James McKeen Cattell, Charles Spearman, G. Stanley Hall, Charles Judd, and Hugo Munsterberg.

A number of other influential thinkers can also claim to be "fathers of psychology" in some way or another. The following are just a few of these individuals who are noted in specific areas of psychology:

William James: The Father of American Psychology; he helped establish psychology in the U.S., and his book, The Principles of Psychology, became an instant classic.
Sigmund Freud: The Father of Psychoanalysis; his theories and work established psychoanalysis as a major school of thought in psychology.
Hugo Münsterberg: The Father of Applied Psychology; he was an early pioneer of several applied areas including clinical, forensic, and industrial-organizational psychology.
John Bowlby: The Father of Attachment Theory; he developed the theory of attachment.
Kurt Lewin: The Father of Social Psychology; his work pioneered the use of scientific methods to study social behavior.
Edward Thorndike: The Father of Modern Educational Psychology; his research on the learning process helped establish the foundation for educational psychology.
Jean Piaget: The Father of Developmental Psychology; his theory of cognitive development revolutionized how research thought about children's intellectual growth.

Ulric Neisser: The Father of Modern Cognitive Psychology; the cognitive movement in psychology received a major boost from the publication of his 1967 book, Cognitive Psychology.
Lightner Witmer: The Father of Modern Clinical Psychology; he founded the world's first journal devoted to clinical psychology, The Psychological Clinic, in 1907.
Gordon Allport: The Father of Personality Psychology; he was one of the first psychologists to study personality.

Wundt was not only the very first person to refer to himself as a psychologist; he also established psychology as a formal discipline separate from philosophy and biology. While his introspective method does not meet the empirical rigor of research today, his emphasis on experimental methods did pave the way for the future of experimental psychology.

Thanks to his work and contributions, a whole new field was established and inspired other researchers to explore and study the human mind and behavior.

Obviously, not everyone is going to agree with these generalized titles. A few people might suggest that Freud is the father of psychology since he is perhaps one of its most "known" figures.

Others might suggest that Aristotle is the true father of psychology since he is responsible for the theoretical and philosophical framework that contributed to psychology's earliest beginnings. Still others might argue that those earliest researchers such as Helmholtz and Fechner deserve credit as the founders of psychology.

No matter which side of the argument you are on, one thing that is easy to agree on is that all of these individuals had an important influence on the growth and development of psychology. While the theories of each individual are not necessarily as influential today, all of these psychologists were important in their own time and had a major impact on how psychology evolved into what it is today.