A History of Modern Psychology
The Quest for a Science of the Mind
2nd Edition
Published on 13. November 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-1-0719-2192-0 (ISBN)
Description
A History of Modern Psychology: The Quest for a Science of the Mind is a highly current text that incorporates recent developments in research as well as findings that transform our understanding of the past. Author David C. Ludden, Jr. helps students understand how philosophers, researchers, and academics influenced one another, shaping the rich and diverse landscape of modern psychology in a global context.
More details
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Thousand Oaks
United States
Publishing group
Sage Publications Inc Ebooks
Target group
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Dimensions
Height: 277 mm
Width: 218 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
1006 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0719-2192-0 (9781071921920)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
David Ludden is professor of psychology at Georgia Gwinnett College near Atlanta. He earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Iowa in 2002. Although a psycholinguist by training, he has also had a secondary interest in the history of psychology from early in his career. His first faculty position after graduation was at a small liberal arts college where he was responsible for teaching half of the psychology curriculum. This experience greatly expanded his appreciation for the enormous diversity of viewpoints within the field of psychology. In 2014, he moved to Georgia Gwinnett College, where his main teaching responsibility is the capstone History and Systems of Psychology course, which thus provided the impetus for writing this book. A History of Modern Psychology is his second book, and it was preceded by The Psychology of Language in 2016, also published by SAGE. David Ludden lives in the greater Atlanta area with his wife and intellectual companion of thirty years, Yawen Ludden, who is a musicologist. She fills his life with great music, wonderful food, and an inimitable joie de vivre.
Content
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Part I: Precursors to Modern Psychology
Chapter 1: Philosophical Roots of Psychology
Classical Period
Medieval Period
Modern Period: Continental Rationalism
Modern Period: British Empiricism
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 2: Nineteenth-Century Foundations
Charles Darwin
Francis Galton
Psychophysics
Early Experimental Psychology
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Part II: Early Schools of Psychology
Chapter 3: Structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt
Wundt's Students
Edward Titchener
Titchener's Students
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 4: Functionalism
Harvard School
Clark School
Chicago School
Columbia School
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 5: Behaviorism
Methodological Behaviorism
Neo-Behaviorism
Radical Behaviorism
Behaviorism in Transition
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 6: Gestalt Psychology
Forerunners of Gestalt Psychology
Berlin School
Kurt Lewin and His Students
Fritz Heider
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 7: Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud
First Generation
Second Generation
Anna Freud
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 8: French Psychology
Hysteria and Hypnosis
Alfred Binet
Jean Piaget
Piaget's Students
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 9: Soviet Psychology
Ivan Pavlov
From Pavlov to Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky
Alexander Luria
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Part III: Modern Disciplines of Psychology
Chapter 10: Physiological and Comparative Psychology
Brain and Behavior
Brain and Mind
Nature of Love
Ethology: Konrad Lorenz and Nikolaas Tinbergen
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 11: Cognitive Psychology
Early Approaches
Cognitive Revolution
Ecological and Social Approaches
Judgment and Decision Making
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 12: Social Psychology
Social Influence
Social Cognition
Social Perception
Social Relations
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 13: Developmental Psychology
Attachment
Social Learning
Nature and Nurture
Social Development
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 14: Personality Psychology
Trait Approach
Dynamic Approach
Factor Approach
Social Cognitive Approach
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 15: Humanistic Psychology
Carl Rogers
Abraham Maslow
Human Development
Positive Psychology
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 16: Neuroscience
Behavioral Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Affective Neuroscience
Neuroscience: The Future or the End of Psychology?
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Concept Glossary
Person Glossary
References
Author Index
Subject Index
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Concept Glossary
Person Glossary
References
Author Index
Subject Index
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Part I: Precursors to Modern Psychology
Chapter 1: Philosophical Roots of Psychology
Classical Period
Medieval Period
Modern Period: Continental Rationalism
Modern Period: British Empiricism
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 2: Nineteenth-Century Foundations
Charles Darwin
Francis Galton
Psychophysics
Early Experimental Psychology
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Part II: Early Schools of Psychology
Chapter 3: Structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt
Wundt's Students
Edward Titchener
Titchener's Students
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 4: Functionalism
Harvard School
Clark School
Chicago School
Columbia School
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 5: Behaviorism
Methodological Behaviorism
Neo-Behaviorism
Radical Behaviorism
Behaviorism in Transition
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 6: Gestalt Psychology
Forerunners of Gestalt Psychology
Berlin School
Kurt Lewin and His Students
Fritz Heider
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 7: Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud
First Generation
Second Generation
Anna Freud
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 8: French Psychology
Hysteria and Hypnosis
Alfred Binet
Jean Piaget
Piaget's Students
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 9: Soviet Psychology
Ivan Pavlov
From Pavlov to Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky
Alexander Luria
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Part III: Modern Disciplines of Psychology
Chapter 10: Physiological and Comparative Psychology
Brain and Behavior
Brain and Mind
Nature of Love
Ethology: Konrad Lorenz and Nikolaas Tinbergen
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 11: Cognitive Psychology
Early Approaches
Cognitive Revolution
Ecological and Social Approaches
Judgment and Decision Making
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 12: Social Psychology
Social Influence
Social Cognition
Social Perception
Social Relations
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 13: Developmental Psychology
Attachment
Social Learning
Nature and Nurture
Social Development
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 14: Personality Psychology
Trait Approach
Dynamic Approach
Factor Approach
Social Cognitive Approach
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 15: Humanistic Psychology
Carl Rogers
Abraham Maslow
Human Development
Positive Psychology
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Chapter 16: Neuroscience
Behavioral Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Affective Neuroscience
Neuroscience: The Future or the End of Psychology?
Looking Ahead
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Concept Glossary
Person Glossary
References
Author Index
Subject Index
Chapter Summary
Discussion Questions
On the Web
Concept Glossary
Person Glossary
References
Author Index
Subject Index