Approaches - 01 Origins of psychology : Wundt, introspection and the emergence of psychology as a science

Question 1

Who is known as the father of psychology?

Answer 1

Wilhelm Wundt

Question 2

Where was the first psychological laboratory set up and when?

Answer 2

Leipzig, Germany
1879

Question 3

What does introspection mean?

Answer 3

A psychological method which involves consciously analysing your own thoughts and feelings internally through self-observation

Question 4

What are two examples of stimulus used when studying introspection

Answer 4

1-the sound of a metronome
2-the turning on of a light

Question 5

Why did Skinner argue that Wundt’s methods were not scientific?

Answer 5

Because he was not studying observable behaviour and so his research was highly subjective

Question 6

Why did Wundt provide the starting point for psychology?

Answer 6

He trained 186 students who went on to study the mind and behaviour in an objective way.

Question 7

What did Wundt do to psychology and philosophy?

Answer 7

He separated them and focused on studying the mind in a much more structured and scientific way

Question 8

What did Wundt use introspection for?

Answer 8

To try to uncover what people were thinking and experiencing

Question 9

What are the 3 steps in inteospection?

Answer 9

1-Presenting a stimulus like the sound of a metronome or the turning on of a light

2-inspecting own thoughts and reporting back on emotions, sensations and thoughts

3-Drawing conclusions by comparing responses to see what was similar and different

Question 10

How was Wundt’s research conducted in a systematic way?

Answer 10

standardised procedure
p’s given same stimulus, physical surroundings and instructions
allowed procedure to be repeated to establish reliability

Question 11

Positive of Wundt and introspection

Answer 11

some aspects of Wundt’s methods would be classed as scientific today
-recorded within controlled lab setting
-used standard procedure so all p’s received same thing and tested in the same way

Question 12

negative of Wundt and introspection

Answer 12

some aspects of Wundt’s methods would be classed as unscientific today
-relied on p’s reporting their own private mental processes
-data is therefore subjective as they might not want to reveal some of their thoughts
-p’s not have the same thoughts every time so establishing general principles would not be possible

Question 13

What was Watson’s main issue with introspection?

Answer 13

it produced data that was subjective , so it became difficult to establish general principles

Question 14

What did Watson propose?

Answer 14

that a truly scientific psychology should restrict itself to only studying phenomena that could be measured and observed

Question 15

what 2 assumptions was the new scientific approach to psychology based on

Answer 15

1-All behaviour is seen as being caused
2-If behaviour is determined, then it should be possible to predict how human beings would behave in different conditions

Question 16

Define objective (key feature of scientific method)

Answer 16

Researchers do not let biases or preconceived ideas influence the collection of data

Question 17

Define control (key feature of scientific method)

Answer 17

Scientific observations should take place under controlled conditions lab or controlled observation

Question 18

Define systematic (key feature of scientific method)

Answer 18

Observations or experiments are carried out in an orderly way via the use of standardised procedure and standardised instructions

Question 19

Define predictability (key feature of scientific method)

Answer 19

scientist should be able to use the results and knowledge gained from experiments to predict future behaviours

Question 20

Define hypothesis testing (key feature of scientific method)

Answer 20

Theories generate predictions/hypothesis which can be tested to either strengthen the support for the theory, or else disprove it

Question 21

Define replicable (key feature of scientific method)

Answer 21

Can be repeated by other researchers to determine if the same results can be obtained. If results are not replicable, then they are not reliable and cannot be accepted as being universally true`