2. Origins of Psychology

Question 1

The origins of psychology
- Wundt

Answer 1

the origins of psychology date back to the ‘father of psychology’, Wundt, who set up the first psychology laboratory in Germany in the 1870s

Wundt believed all aspects of the mind could be studied scientifically by breaking down human behaviour into its basic elements (eg, sensations, emotional reaction, etc.)

He developed a technique to scientifically test mental processes called introspection

Question 2

what is meant by introspection?

Answer 2

introspection is a technique developed by Wundt to scientifically test mental processes

it literally means ‘looking inward’ and involved the systematic analysis of your own conscious experience of a stimulus

in other words, it involves training g participants to report on their own mental processes as they occur

for example, mental processes Wundt trained his ppts to report in included memory, perception and emotion

Question 3

Introspection (Wundt)
- process of introspection

Answer 3

the focus of introspection, for Wundt was in training ppts how to be objective about analysing our own mental processes

Wundt would then ask ppts to:

(1) focus on a stimulus (eg an object, visual image or auditory tone

(2) reflect on different mental processes (eg sensations and emotions) they experience as they focused on the stimulus

(3) provide a systematic description of the inner processes they were experiencing

(4) it is then possibke to compare different ppts reports in response to the same stimuli and propose general theories about mental processes

Question 4

contributions of Wundts research

Answer 4

Wundt’s research paved the way for the acceptance of psychology as a distinct science and introspection is still used today in areas such as therapy and studying emotional states demonstrating its value as one way mental processes can be investigated.

It was pioneering in that it influenced many other scientists (eg Skinner) to adopt a scientific approach and use empirical methods to develop the field further, catalysing a paradigm shift in psychology.

Question 5

psychology timeline

Answer 5

17th - 19th century - Psychology is a branch of philosophy

1979 - Wundt opens the first experimental lab in Germany and psychology emerges as a distinct discipline in its own right.

1900’s - The psychodynamic approach is established, where Freud emphasised the influence of the unconscious mind.

1913 - The behaviourist approach is established (Watson and Skinner).

1950s - Rogers and Maslow develop the humanistic approach, rejecting the views preferred by the behaviourist and psychodynamic approach. They emphasised the importance of self-determination and free will.

1960s - The cognitive approach was introduced (at the same time as the digital computer), which compared the human mind and mental processes to a computer.

1960s - Around the same time as the cognitive approach being introduced, Bandura proposed the social learning theory, which draws attention to the cognitive factors involved in learning

1980s onwards - The biological approach begins to establish itself as the dominant scientific perspective in psychology (due to advances in technology).

End of 21st century - Cognitive neuroscience emerges as a distinct discipline bringing together the cognitive and biological approaches.

Question 6

what is a paradigm

Answer 6

a set of assumptions, theories, methods and terminology shared by psychologists

Question 7

what is a paradigm shift

Answer 7

when an established paradigm is challenged to the point that a different one takes place

eg, a major paradigm shift is from the cognitive approach to the biological approach

Question 8

outline the emergence of psychology as a science (1)

Answer 8

Wundt’s work followed an empirical approach to studying the mind and this was highly influential in psychology’s emergence as a science.
Empirical methods involve acquiring knowledge through direct experience (such as introspection) rather than reasoned argument.
His focus was on trying to understand psychological processes of perception rather than looking at biological processes.

Question 9

outline the emergence of psychology as a science (2)

Answer 9

However, Wundt later recognised that higher mental processes were difficult to study using his procedures and this encouraged others to look for more appropriate methods and techniques, paving the way for approaches such as scanning.

Question 10

Outline the emergence of psychology as a science (3)

Answer 10

Watson was critical of Wundt’s focus on ‘private’ mental processes and argued a true science should focus on behaviours observable to all.
Watson (1913) and later Skinner (1953) developed the behaviourist approach which focused on observable learned behaviour in controlled laboratory experiments.
This took the scientific assumption that all behaviour is caused (determinism) and therefore can be predicted (predictability).

Question 11

outline the emergence of psychology as a science (4)

Answer 11

However, the rise of the cognitive approach in the 1960s saw the study of mental processes being seen as highly scientific once more.
Although mental processes remain
‘private’, cognitive psychologists made inferences about how these processes work using laboratory experiments.

In the 1980s, the biological approach to psychology took advantage of advances in technology to investigate observable brain activity using scanning techniques such as fMRI and EEG

Question 12

Wundts research: Strengths

Question 13

Wundts research: limitations

Question 14

approaches in psychology: introduction

Answer 14

the study of…