It is possible to objectively study the mental processes by foucusing on specific behaviors and interpreting the underlying mental processes. From its beginings in 1879 to today, many schools of cognitive study have been developed. Some of the older schools include structuralism, functionalism, gestalt psychology, and humanistic psychology. This school of psychology believed that the mind could be studied just as one would study fire or blood. Created by Wilhelm Wundt, this school uses a method of introspection to discover the basic elements of thought.
Structuralism brakes down thought into sensations, feelings, and images.
These elements combine to form experience. He adressed how experience permits people to function better in our environment. This school emphasizes the uses and functions of the mind rather than the elements of experience. Gestalt Psychology Gestalt psychologists believe that you can't explain human perception in terms of basic units. This school is based on the idea that humans tend to organize thier ideas and thoughts into patterns.