Approaches - Origins of Psychology

Question 1

AO1

Answer 1

• Psychology – The scientific study of the human mind and behaviour
• Science – A means of Acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation
• Introspection – introspection means “looking into” and refers to the process of observing and examining your own conscious thoughts or emotion which can be shown through Wundt’s research
• Inference – going beyond the immediate evidence to make assumptions about mental processes that cannot be directly observed
• Empiricism – all knowledge of reality is gained from sensory experience

Question 2

AO3

Answer 2

• A strength of Wundt’s work in the origins of psychology approach is that some of his methods were strictly controlled
• For example, introspection was recorded in controlled environments of the lab using standardised procedures and instructions
• This is a strength because it made sure that possible extraneous variables were not a factor as all the participants received the same information and were tested the same way
• However some may argue that lab studies and standardised procedures do not represent the real world which shows that the results of introspection could be biased based on the unnatural setting of a lab and cannot be applied in the real world
• Despite this, Wundt’s research can be considered a forerunner to later scientific approaches in psychology, such as the behaviourist approach
• Thus increasing the validity of the approach
• A strength of Wundt’s contributions to psychology is his developments of introspection.
• Introspection involves studying the mind under controlled conditions, in an attempt to make psychology more scientific .
• This then later led to approaches such as the psychodynamic approach, using features of introspection to explain behaviour, such as the role of the unconscious, supporting Wundt’s role
• However, other approaches such as the behaviourist approach reject introspection due to its subjectivity, thus weakening his contribution to psychology
• Despite this, introspection has a large role in influencing other psychological theories
• Thus increasing the importance of Wundt’s role
• A weakness of Wundt’s contribution to Psychology is the reliance on self-report
• For example, his information is gathered completely by the participants themselves, leading to bias or untruths
• This weakens his contribution as his results can be deemed as unreliable due to his lack of scientific methods.
• However, self-report is still commonly used as a way of gathering data today, for example by the cognitive approach due to the complicated nature of thorough processes. It also reduces investigator effects because the investigator has no control over the participants responses meaning Wundt’s findngs are more credible than they seem at first glance
• Overall, self-report can be subject to social desirability, leading to inaccurate results in Wundt’s conclusion
• Thus decreasing the importance of Wundt’s role in Psychology

Question 3

Introspection

Answer 3

Introspection means “looking into” and refers to the process of observing and examining your own conscious thoughts or emotions

Question 4

Subjective

Question 5

Structuralism

Question 5

Standardised

Question 6

Scientific

Question 7

Approaches

Question 8

Psychology

Answer 8

The scientific study of the human mind and behaviour

Question 9

Science

Answer 9

A means of Acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation

Question 10

Empiricism

Answer 10

All knowledge of reality is gained from sensory experience

Question 11

Inference

Answer 11

Going beyond the immediate evidence to make assumptions about the mental processes that cannot be directly observed

Question 12

used the scientific method to study …

Answer 12

the structure of sensation and perception

Question 13

showed that introspection can be used to study …

Answer 13

mental states in replicable laboratory experiments

Question 14

Introspection (experimental one)

Answer 14

the systematic process of observing and examining your own conscious thoughts or emotions in response to a stimuli

An experience was analysed in terms of its component parts e.g. sensations, emotional reaction etc.
Wundt strictly controlled the environments where introspection took place

Question 15

The experiment

Answer 15

In Wundt’s lab, highly trained participants known as “observers” were presented with carefully controlled sensory events.
These individuals were asked to describe their mental experiences of these events.
Wundt believed that observers needed to be in a state of high attention to the stimulus and in control of the situation.
The observations were also replicated numerous times

Question 16

Empricism

Answer 16

Empiricists believe that knowledge is derived from sensory experience

this approach is based on the assumptions:
- behaviour has a cause (determined)
- behaviour can be predicted
- behaviour can be tested in different conditions

Question 17

Determinism

Answer 17

Scientific methods rely on a belief of determinism and are therefore able to use scientific methods to test hypotheses and establish the causes of behaviour through the use of empirical and objective methods