Psychology as a modern discipline has a short history, though it grew out of ancient philosophy concerned with questions of psychological significance. It is largely influenced by Western developments.

The formal beginning of modern psychology is traced back to 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt established the first experimental laboratory in Leipzig, Germany. Wundt was interested in the study of conscious experience and wanted to analyse the constituents or building blocks of the mind. Psychologists during Wundt's time analysed the structure of the mind through introspection and were therefore called structuralists. Introspection was a procedure in which individuals were asked to describe in detail their own mental processes or experiences. However, this method did not satisfy many other psychologists.

Several important developments followed. In 1890, William James published Principles of Psychology. Functionalism was formulated as a system of psychology in 1895. In 1900, Sigmund Freud developed Psychoanalysis. Gestalt psychology was born in Germany in 1912. In 1924, John B. Watson published 'Behaviourism', which led to the foundation of behaviourism.

In India, psychology developed with the establishment of the first Psychology Department at Calcutta University in 1916. Psychology was included in the Indian Science Congress Association in 1922, and the Indian Psychological Association was founded in 1924. These different approaches filled the history of modern psychology and provided multiple perspectives. Psychologists have developed theories of learning, memory, attention, perception, motivation and emotion. The evolutionary approach has also been used to explain psychological phenomena such as attachment and aggression.