🔵 Approaches - Origins of Psychology Flashcards
Psychology
The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those functions affecting behaviour in a given context
Science
A means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation. The aim is to discover general laws
Introspection
A systematic method used to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basics structures of thoughts, images and sensations
Who created the first ever psychology lab, where and when
Wilhem Wundt created the first ever psychology lab in leipzig, Germany in 1879
What was the objective of the psychology lab?
The objective that wudnt set himself was to document and describe the nature of human consciousness and this led to introspection
What did introspection lead wudnt to do
Wudnt and his scientists recorded their own conscious thoughts, with the aim of breaking these down into parts
What is structuralism
This means to isolate the structure of consciousness and break down conscious thoughts into constituent parts
What were some scientific views on wudnts method then and now
Back then, many scientists saw the method as naive but today, some methods used would be seen as scientific today
What made wudnts methods scientific
- all introspections were recorded under strictly controlled conditions using the same stimulus every time
- the same standardised instructions were issued to all participants which allowed the procedures to be repeated
Who was rene Descartes and what did he suggest
He was a French philosopher who suggested that the mind and body are independent from each other
What is Cartesian dualism
A philosophical stance which states that the mind and body are separate from each other
Rene Descartes years
1596-1650
Years john Locke
1632-1704
What did john Locke suggest
Locke proposed empiricism which was the idea that all experiences can be obtained through senses and that human beings inherit neither knowledge nor instincts - later known as the behaviourists approach
Psychology in the 17th-19th century
Psychology was a branch of philosophy
Psychology in the 1900s
Sigmund freud published the interpretations of dreams and the psychodynamic approach is established
What did Freud do for psychology
He emphasises the influence of the unconscious mind on behaviour, alongside development of his person centred therapy; psychosanalysis
What did john b Watson do for psychology and in what year
He wrote the ‘psychology as the behaviourist views it’. And later, him and skinner contribute to the establishment of the behaviourist approach
Psychology in the 1950s
Carl rogers and Abraham Maslow develop the humanistic approach
What was the humanistic approach
An approach which rejected the behaviourist approach and the psychodynamic approach and suggested that human behaviour was not determined by the individual. It emphasises the importance of self determination and freewill
What was a big turn in point for psychologists in the 1960s
The development of the digital computer
When did the cognitive approach come and what was it
1960s - reintroduces the study of mental study of mental processes to psychology but in a much more scientific way to wudnts approach
What other theory came around in the 1960s
Social learning theory
When did the biological approach become dominant and why
1980s this is due to advances in technology and understanding of the brain and biological processes
What was the difference between the cognitive approaches and the biological / behaviourists approaches
The cognitive approaches focus on mental processes and underlying behaviour rather than the biological / behaviourist appraoches focused on observable behaviour and biological facts
What’s happens in the eve of the 21st century to do with psychology
Cognitive neuroscience emerges which brings together cognitive and biological approaches
What was J B. Watsons problem with wudnts introspection
It was that it produced data that was subjective meaning that it varied greatly from person to person so it meant that it became very difficult to establish general principles. This led to the behaviourist approach being born
What was J B. Watsons problem with wudnts introspection
It was that it produced data that was subjective meaning that it varied greatly from person to person
Behaviourist approach
The behaviourist approach created by Watson and skinner focuses on the fact that all behaviours are learned from interaction with the environment. It states that behaviours are learned from the environment and that innate characteristics have very little influence on behaviour
Biological approach
Take advantage of today’s technology and investigate physiological processes through techniques like scanning. More of a scientific approach
