Approaches- Wundt Flashcards
What did Wundt do and when?
In 1879 Wundt open the first psychology laboratory in Leipzip, Germany. He is often considered the ‘father of psychology’.
In 1873 Wundt published the first book on psychology ‘ principles of physiological psychology’.
He use controlled standardised procedures which separated psychology from its roots of philosophy.
How did psychology emerge as a science?
(Emergence of psychology as a science).
Wundt attempted to use objective methods.
Participants were given the same standardised instructions and the same stimuli.
One example is a ticking metronome and participants would report their images and sensations which were systematically recorded.
What did Wundt study?
Introspection.
What is introspection?
Wundt use introspection to investigate the human mind. Participants were asked to reflect on their own cognitive processes and describe them.
People were trying to report in detail on their inner experiences when presented with a stimulus such as a problem to solve or something to be memorised.
What is structuralism?
Introspection paved the wave structuralism.
This is identifying consciousness by breaking down behaviours into their basic elements of thoughts images and sensations.
Structuralism marked the beginning of the scientific psychology separating it from broader philosophical route.
[AO3 PEEL]
What is one strength of Wundts work in a peel structure?
P: a strength of Wundts world is that his methodologies attempted to be scientific as he used standardised procedures in controlled lab experiments.
E: this means all participants could be tested in the same way to check for reliability of findings.
L: this paved the way for psychology to establish itself as a science as it is known today with the reliance on the experimental method.
[AO3 PEEL]
Identify limitation of Wundts work in a peel structure?
P: a limitation of some aspect of Wundt’s work is that they were subjective and lacked scientific rigour of today.
E: Wundt relied on self-report methods of introspection whereby participants reported on their own mental processes. This may have been affected by individual biases and also participants could not report on their unconscious thoughts.
E: this makes it difficult to establish meaningful laws of behaviour in line with the aims of science.
L: by standard methods were naive and would not meet the standards of scientific enquiry.
[AO3 PEEL]
What is a strength of Wundt’s contribution to psychology in a peel structure?
P: a strength of Wundt’s contribution to psychology is that his research significantly shaped the future of psychology.
E: he was the first person to attempt to study human behaviour and ass scientific way using controlled and standardised methodologies e.g. recording reaction times in a systematic way to present stimuli.
E: without his contributions, maybe psychology would not be the distinct academic subject it is today.
L: most universities have psychology department which have gained scientific status.
