ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces what is commonly viewed as the formal founding of psychology in 1879 by Wilhelm Wundt. The chapter opens with a review of psychophysics, the study of the relationship between physical stimuli and psychological perceptions, including psychophysicists such as Ernst Weber and Gustav Fechner who, among others, provided methods and optimism for the science of psychology. The work then examines the larger contributions of Hermann von Helmholtz, first to measure the speed of conduction of a nervous impulsey. The remainder of the chapter presents Wundt’s mature system of psychology, voluntarism, before turning to contributions of his students, such as Emil Kraepelin and Lightner Witmer, who contributed extensively to applied psychology
