Approaches - 01 Origins of psychology : Wundt, introspection and the emergence of psychology as a science Flashcards
Who is known as the father of psychology?
Wilhelm Wundt
Where was the first psychological laboratory set up and when?
Leipzig, Germany
1879
What does introspection mean?
A psychological method which involves consciously analysing your own thoughts and feelings internally through self-observation
What are two examples of stimulus used when studying introspection
1-the sound of a metronome
2-the turning on of a light
Why did Skinner argue that Wundt’s methods were not scientific?
Because he was not studying observable behaviour and so his research was highly subjective
Why did Wundt provide the starting point for psychology?
He trained 186 students who went on to study the mind and behaviour in an objective way.
What did Wundt do to psychology and philosophy?
He separated them and focused on studying the mind in a much more structured and scientific way
What did Wundt use introspection for?
To try to uncover what people were thinking and experiencing
What are the 3 steps in inteospection?
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
How was Wundt’s research conducted in a systematic way?
standardised procedure
p’s given same stimulus, physical surroundings and instructions
allowed procedure to be repeated to establish reliability
Positive of Wundt and introspection
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
negative of Wundt and introspection
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
What was Watson’s main issue with introspection?
it produced data that was subjective , so it became difficult to establish general principles
What did Watson propose?
that a truly scientific psychology should restrict itself to only studying phenomena that could be measured and observed
what 2 assumptions was the new scientific approach to psychology based on
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
Define objective (key feature of scientific method)
Researchers do not let biases or preconceived ideas influence the collection of data
Define control (key feature of scientific method)
Scientific observations should take place under controlled conditions lab or controlled observation
Define systematic (key feature of scientific method)
Observations or experiments are carried out in an orderly way via the use of standardised procedure and standardised instructions
Define predictability (key feature of scientific method)
scientist should be able to use the results and knowledge gained from experiments to predict future behaviours
Define hypothesis testing (key feature of scientific method)
Theories generate predictions/hypothesis which can be tested to either strengthen the support for the theory, or else disprove it
Define replicable (key feature of scientific method)
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`
