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The word ____________________ comes from the Latin for the " study of the soul . " And while its formal definition has evolved over the last several decades , today we can safely call it the science of ____________________ and ____________________ . This term wasn't coined until around the turn of the sixteenth century , and the practice that we would actually call science today wasn't established until the mid - 1800's . - - - - - - - - - - The science got its start in 1879 in Germany when physician ____________________ set up the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig . - - - - - - - - - - He and his student Edward Bradford Titchener took cues from chemists and physicists and argued that if those people could break down all matter into simple elements or structures , why couldn't they do the same for the brain ? They tried to understand the structures of consciousness by getting patients to look inward , asking them how they felt when they watched the sun set , or smelled a coffee . Titchener named this approach ____________________ , but despite its rigid sounding name , it really relied so much on introspection that it became too subjective . I mean , you may sense and feel something different than I do . Psychologists , of course , can't actually observe a patient's inner thoughts or feelings , so ultimately , this school of thought was fairly short - lived . - - - - - - - - - - By contrast , American physician and philosopher ____________________ proposed a different set of questions , focusing on why we think and feel and smell . This approach , ____________________ , was based on Charles Darwin's idea that adaptive behaviors are conserved throughout the evolutionary process . He published his seminal bookin 1890 , defining this science as the science of mental life . - - - - - - - - - - ____________________ was one of the most tremendously influential and controversial thinkers of his time , maybe of all time . His theories helped build our views on childhood , personality , dreams and sexuality . And his work fueled a legacy of both support and opposition . He began his medical career at a Viennese hospital , but in 1886 , he started his own practice , specializing in nervous disorders . During this time , he witnessed his colleague Josef Breuer treat a patient called Anna O with a new talking cure . Basically , he just let her talk about her symptoms . The more she talked and pulled up traumatic memories , the more her symptoms were reduced . It was a breakthrough , and it changed him forever . - - - - - - - - - - From then on , he encouraged his patients to talk freely about whatever came to mind , to free associate . This technique provided the basis for his career , and an entire branch of the science . In 1900 he published his book The Interpretation of Dreams , where he introduced his theory of ____________________ . A radical kernel of it was the theory that our personalities are shaped by unconscious motives . Basically he suggested that we're all profoundly affected by mental processes that we're not even aware of . - - - - - - - - - - But the other important part of this scientist's theory was that the unconscious , literally the thing below consciousness , was still discoverable . Even though you weren't aware of it , you could come to understand it through a therapeutic technique that used dreams , projections and free association to root out repressed feelings and and gain self - insight . So what he was really saying was that mental disorders could be healed through talk therapy and self - discovery . And this was a really big breakthrough . Because prior to this , people with mental illnesses would be confined to sanatoriums and at best given menial labor to do and at worst , shackled to a bed frame . - - - - - - - - - - The next big shake - up rolled in during the first half of the 20th century when a new approach to the science gained a higher profile . Scientists like ____________________ , were key players here . They focused on the study of observable behavior . You may remember ____________________ as the dude who put rats and pigeons and babies in boxes and conditioned them to perform certain behaviors . Ushering in the era of ____________________ which remained all the rage well into the 1960s . - - - - - - - - - - The other major force at the time was , the Viennese scientist's approach of course , and its many descendents collectively known as the ____________________ theories . These focused on the importance of early experiences in shaping the unconsciousness and how that process affects our thoughts , feelings , behaviors , and personalities . - - - - - - - - - - By the mid - 20th century , other major forces in the science were also brewing - - schools we'll explore later in this course including ____________________ , which focuses on nurturing personal growth ; ____________________ and neuroscience , all of which contributed their own unique takes on the study of mind . - - - - - - - - - - Because again , the point I really want you to take home is that the science is an ____________________ science . Yes , folks still get grumpy and disagree plenty , but the essence of the discipline has everything to do with creating different ways of asking interesting questions and attempting to answer them through all kinds of data - gathering methods . The human mind is complicated . There is no single way to effectively crack it open ; it must be pried at from all sides .