Darwin's Influence On Psychology, 1945-1960

Paul Ekman lived during several important world events that potentially influenced and impacted psychology. One major event that happened during his lifetime was the post World War II economy during the years 1945-1960. Greater demands for products and services fueled strong economic growth in the United States during this time. Reasonable mortgages for returning military members stimulated and attributed to a housing boom, the middle class grew and families were having more children (“baby boom”). Another post WWII situation was the Cold War relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. This period began with fears of future military conflict in vulnerable and devastated areas affected by WWII in Europe (“Post War Economy,
His theory of evolution altered the focus and shifted psychology from the structure of consciousness to the purpose of its functions. He created ideas for the functionalist school of thought and a new scientific basis for psychology. Darwin’s research on animal psychology founded the idea of comparative psychology, which subsequently affected behaviorism. His work opened up the acceptance of using methodology and information acquired by other fields (Schultz et al., 2010, p. 111).
Another important person that impacted numerous psychological fields is Wilhelm Wundt. He is historically accredited as the founding father of modern psychology because of his publication Principles of Physiological Psychology (Schultz et al., 2010,p. 66). Although he was a proponent of structuralism, his work established an independent science of psychology that became unrestricted from the constraints of philosophy. It was the first school of thought established and it created a basis for oppositions of other subsequent schools of thought (p.
Woodworth was one of the earlier psychologists that failed in his endeavors to understand and gain knowledge concerning facial expressions (Ekman, 1986, p. 5). He introduced an additional theory into functionalism called dynamic psychology. This concept focused upon what influenced motivation from feelings and behavior; emotions and feelings lead to observable behavior (Schultz, 2012, p.155).
Reading Sigmund Freud’s’ books while at the University of Chicago also impacted Ekman’s decision to pursue a career in Psychology (Ekman, 1986, p. 7-8). Freud was the founding father of psychoanalysis and a major influence in modern psychology. Ekman was able to understand some of the puzzling events that occurred in his life (i.e. his mothers’