Approaches - Origins in psychology: Wundt Flashcards
What was Wundt referred to as?
‘The father of psychology’
What did Wundt study?
Internal mental processing
Why was Wundt referred to as ‘The father of psychology’
He opened up the first lab and started controlled, empirical and scientific research
What is introspection?
- Looking inwards/Self-examination
- Reporting conscious experiences to standard stimuli
- Reporting sensations, emotional reactions and mental images
How was Wundt able to use a systematic approach?
- He used the same stimulus, surroundings and instructions
- The participants were highly trained
What is structuralism and how did Wundt use this method?
Breaking down thoughts about an object down into separate elements
This attempted to uncover the structure of the mind
What is a strength of Wundt’s research? (future impact)
Wundt paved the way for later scientifically controlled research in psychology
What is a weakness of Wundt’s research? (introspection)
Wundt’s research was criticised by behaviourists as introspection didn’t focus on observable inputs and outputs
What is a weakness of Wundt’s research? (introspection)
Newer psychologists studied internal mental processing without using introspection. Instead they used models of how systems such as memory worked using experimentation
