Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (; ; 16 August 1832 – 31 August 1920) was a German physician, physiologist, philosopher, and professor, known today as one of the founding figures of modern psychology. Wundt, who noted psychology as a science apart from philosophy and biology, was the first person ever to call himself a psychologist. He is widely regarded as the "father of experimental psychology". In 1879, Wundt founded the first formal laboratory for psychological research at the University of Leipzig. This marked psychology as an independent field of study. By creating this laboratory he was able to establish psychology as a separate science from other disciplines. He also formed the first academic journal for psychological research, "Philosophische Studien" (from 1881 to 1902), set up to publish the Institute's research.
Theoretical psychology
A brief history into the field of theoretical psychology includes some prominent pioneers. To begin, Wilhelm Wundt (1874) originally worked as a professor of philosophy. His focus was on the subjective study of an individual's consciousness, he believed that this was a key factor to the field of psychology. This aspect of psychology was unable to be shown with a large amount of empirical evidence, but remained a theory throughout the history of Psychology. Next, William James (1890) worked as a psychologist and a philosopher. His career focused around the idea of free will, which is theoretical in nature. He also assisted in forming the James-Lange theory of emotion, which is based upon many theoretical factors.Sigmund Freud (1905) was also an important pioneer for theoretical psychology. Freud founded the psychoanalytic theory of psychology. He did not rely on empirical data when making his theories, but instead looked for philosophical explanations. Freud often shared his view that he did not need empirical evidence for his theory, because he simply knew it is true. Another pioneer was John B. Watson (1913). Watson founded the theory of behaviorism in psychology through the article "Psychology as a Behaviorist Views It". Although Behaviorism has a strong emphasis on empirical psychology, forming the methods cannot be empirically tested, and is therefore considered theoretical psychology.