In the following essay I will explain the development of major schools in terms of distinguishing features and historical context.

Scientific study is a valid way of coming to an understanding of life, and can be very useful in every area of life. Science develops theories based on what is observed. It examines each theory with rigorous and scrupulous tests to see if it describes reality. The scientific method works well in observing and recording physical data and in reaching conclusions which either confirm or nullify a theory.

During the mid-19th century, scholars (although at that time probably termed philosophers) wanted to study human nature with the aim of applying the scientific method to observe, record, and treat human behaviour that was deemed as unnatural. They believed that if people could be studied in a scientific manner, there would be a greater accuracy in understanding present behaviour, in predicting future behaviour, and, most controversially, in altering behaviour through scientific intervention. There are many areas of psychology, each attempting to explain behaviour from slightly different perspectives; Social psychology is concer

ned with the effects of social situations on human behaviour. Personality theorists study individual behaviour. Comparative psychologists study animal behaviours across the range of species Physiological psychologists are concerned with the biological basis of behaviour. Cognitive psychologists investigate memory, thought, problem solving, and the psychological aspects of learning. Analysis of behaviour studies the conditions under which a behaviour can be learned and the situations that cause that behaviour to occur. Learning is an area of psychology exploring how new behaviours are learned and maintained. Clinical psychologists study ways to help individuals and groups of individuals change their behaviour.

In Germany, a school of psychology developed which became known as Gestalt psychology, after the German word for a complete unit or form. Gestalt psychologists investigated those aspects of human experience that they felt were complete and couldn't be reduced to constitute parts. In particular, they believed that the way that we gain a sudden insight into the nature of the problem, or that we perceive objects, could not be understood in the terms of chains of stimulus response, but represent something far more fundamental in human psychology. "Gestalt psychologists proposed six principals or properties that lead the perceptual system to 'glue' raw sensations together in particular ways, organising stimuli into a world o

Some common words found in the essay are:
Essay Development, Psychology Germany, Edward Tolman, Nobel Prize, BF Skinner, JB Watson, Cognitive Cognitive, human behaviour, type behaviour, scientific method, cognitive psychology, Method Research, conditioning stimulus, gestalt psychology, lab rats, stimulus response, psychologists study, stimulus-response explanation,
Approximate Word count = 968
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)