approaches 1.1

Question 1

when did Wunt set up his first lab?

Answer 1

1879

Question 2

introspection

Answer 2

a means of learning about one’s own currently ongoing mental states or processes

Question 3

3 conditions of introspection

Answer 3

mentality condition

first-person condition

temporal proximity condition

Question 4

mentality condition

Answer 4

aims to generate beliefs about mental states and events

Question 5

first-person condition

Answer 5

aims to generate beliefs about the individual’s own mind

Question 6

temporal proximity condition

Answer 6

generates beliefs and describes the individual’s current mental life

Question 7

structuralism

Answer 7

isolating conscious thoughts into basic structures of thoughts, processes and images

this method was highly scientific allowing for replication under standardised condition which creates reliable data

Question 8

why did Skinner disagree with introspection?

Answer 8

due to the subjective nature

the findings differed greatly from individual to individual making it difficult to establish general laws and unifying principles of behaviour and cognition

therefore in the 1930s Skinner’s idea of radical behaviourism was tested using a lab experiment

this allowed for the objective measurement of observable behaviour providing reliable data through controlling extraneous and confounding variables

Question 9

dualism

Answer 9

in the 17th century Descartes suggested that the mind and the body represented a dualism and that the two interact in different ways to produce different behaviours and thoughts

this was the basis for the nature vs nurture debate

Question 10

psychology

Answer 10

the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes and how these are affected by internal and external factors

Question 11

science

Answer 11

the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world, following a systematic methodology based on evidence

Question 12

features of a science

Answer 12

a universal paradigm

theory construction

hypothesis testing

deduction

falsification

replicability

objectivity

empirical method

Question 13

strengths of Wunt’s methods

Answer 13

self corrective ideas as theories can be adapted should they be found incorrect

is is one of the earliest methods used which formed the foundation for current therapies including cognitive behavioural therapy

Question 14

limitations of Wunt’s methods

Answer 14

methods aren’t reliable, subjective and is difficult to report on behaviour that cant be seen as researchers are reliant on the participants report of what they think

introspection isn’t particularly accurate as there could be other factors involved in their thoughts of processing

not everything is observable so can’t explain evert behaviour including our views of oral and justice

Question 15

explain how being highly subjective is a limitation of introspection

Answer 15

getting participants to self report what is going on in their mind through self observations is highly subjective

there is no way of verifying that what was going on in their thoughts was actually going on

B.F Skinner argued Wunt’s introspection wasn’t truly scientific because he wasn’t studying observable behaviour

can’t observe = can’t be objective

Question 16

explain how a strength of introspection is that it was a starting point for Psychology

Answer 16

he trained 186 graduate students throughout his academic career

116 of them specialised in Psychology

these students went on to other countries in Europe and around the world to develop research into human behaviour and the mind

Catherine Collin - “the foundations were laid for the next generation of Psychologists at the turn of the century to develop a truly objective study of the mind and behaviour and to appply their own new theories to the treatment of mental disorders”