Approaches in Psychology - William Wundt and Introspection Flashcards
Who was the first person to be called a psychologist?
Wilhelm Wundt
What were Wundt’s aims?
To explore the human ‘mind’
What book did Wilhelm publish in 1873 and what were his aims for it?
He published the first book on psychology “principles of physiological psychology’ to establish the subject as an independent branch of science
What did Wundt do in 1879?
He opened the first psychology lab in Germany
What institution did Wundt found?
The Institute of Experimental Psychology
What was the focus of Wundt lab experiment on?
Trying to understand psychological processes of perception
What is introspection?
A method of people examining their own conscious thoughts under lab conditions
What was Wundt’s approach-structuralism?
Isolating the structure of consciousness, using scientific methods and studying the structure of sensation and perception.
What did Wundt use introspection to do?
To investigate the human mind asking participants to reflect on their own cognitive processes to describe them
What did Wundt’s work on introspection do?
It paved the way for later controlled research and the study of mental processes
What were the cons of Wundt’s work?
-People could feedback socially desirable responses during the metronome experiment as they have the fear of their thoughts being wrong. This takes away the validity of the experiment.
Where does the word introspection come from?
Latin and means “looking into”
