US High School Psychology Practice Exam 2025 – Your All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

The field of philosophy is recognized as the primary contributor to psychological theory development in the 19th century due to its profound influence on the foundational concepts of psychology. Philosophers such as René Descartes and John Locke explored significant ideas regarding the mind, cognition, and human behavior, laying the groundwork for psychology as a separate discipline. During this time, many psychological theories emerged from philosophical discussions about the nature of consciousness, perception, and the self.

Philosophy posed critical questions about human experience and knowledge, which shaped early psychological inquiry. As these ideas evolved, they eventually transitioned into empirical research, marking the transition of psychology into a more scientific discipline. While the other fields, such as neuroscience, sociology, and anthropology, have contributed to psychology's development, they did so significantly later on in the 19th and 20th centuries as psychology began to establish itself as a scientific field.