Approaches - Wundt

Question 1

what is introspection ?

Answer 1

this is the systematic analysis of our own experience of a stimulus - experience is analysed in terms of its component parts

Question 2

what does introspection involve ?

Answer 2

involves asking participants to explain their mental processes when completing certain tasks

Question 3

what are the strengths of Wundt’s theory of introspection ?

Answer 3

+ Wundt paved the way for modern psychology - first to attempt use controlled research to study internal mental processes (beginnings of cognitive approach)
+ introspection old technique still used sometimes, Griffiths (1994) studied irrational beliefs of gamblers by asking them to think out loud while playing a fruit machine - valuable contribution to psychology

Question 4

what are the negatives of introspection ?

Answer 4

• reliant on the effort of the participant and also how well they articulate themselves
• assumes we are aware of our thoughts and reasoning (not conscious of all of our thoughts, auto pilot)
• Watson (1914) argued that introspection could never be verified as thoughts cannot be seen - developing behaviourism