Summer Teacher/Coach Workshop Topic: Schools of Psychology - Seven Major Schools of Thought

Excerpts from Syllabus of Course: 

Students will compare and contrast the various schools of Psychology.

Students will explore the use of psychology in their professions.

Students will see possible changes and improvements in their professions.

The course will be led by Dr. Peter Pierro, Resident College Professor. There will be a visiting expert professor for each of the sessions. There will be . . . .

Structuralism: Regarded as the first school of thought in psychology - focuses on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method known as introspection.Significant Person: Wilhelm Wundt

Functionalism: Functionalism is an early school of psychology, rooted in Darwinian thought, that focuses on the purpose, utility, and adaptive functions of mental processes and behavior rather than their structure. It views consciousness as a continuous, functional stream designed to help individuals adapt to their environment. Significant People: Charles Darwin, William James

Psychodynamic: Psychodynamic theory explains behavior through unconscious processes, inner conflicts, and early childhood experiences, suggesting our past shapes our present actions and emotions.Significant Person: Sigmund Freud

Behaviorism: Behaviorism is a theory that states that all behaviors are learned through conditioned interaction with the environment. It is concerned only with observable stimulus-response behaviors, as they can be studied in a systematic and observable manner.Significant People: John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, B.F. Skinner

Cognitive Psychology    Cognitive Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes, including how people perceive, think, remember, learn, solve problems, and use language. This branch of psychology emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against behaviorism, focusing on internal mental operations rather than just observable behavior.Significant People: G. Stanley Hall, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget.

Humanistic Psychology: Humanistic Psychology emphasizes personal growth, free will, and self-actualization.a "third-force" approach (emerging in the 1950s-60s) that emphasizes the whole person, inherent goodness, free will, and the drive for self-actualization. It focuses on subjective experience, personal growth, and client-centered therapy, opposing the deterministic views of psychoanalysis and behaviorism.  Significant People: Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, Gordon Allport, Rollo May.

Gestalt Psychology: Gestalt psychology is a relatively new - 20th-century school of thought originating in Germany. It features holistic perception, asserting that the human mind perceives objects as whole patterns or configurations rather than just the sum of individual parts. Key principles include proximity, similarity, closure, and continuation, which describe how the brain organizes sensory input. Familiar thoughts - "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" and the phi phenomenon. Significant People: Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Koffka.

Final Session 

There will be a sharing of students’ thoughts and feelings about the course, about the course professor, and about the visitors. They will share what they learned that will improve their teaching and coaching.

Students will certainly ask Dr. Pierro what school or schools he prefers and is associated with. His answer will be, “I am what almost all psychologists are - an Eclectic - we subscribe to more than one school.

My choices are Cognitive and Humanistic - the Mind and the Heart. Since we are Thinking and have Feelings, you may hear us being referred to as “Flinkers”.