Introduction/ Wilhelm Wundt Flashcards
Summarise the chronology of the introspection side of psychology
1900-1920, Sigmund Freud – psychodynamic
1950s, humanist approach (individualism)
1960s- flower power, hippees
Summarise the chronology of the scientific side to psychology
1910-1950, behaviourists, in 1940s computer was developed.
1950s, cognitive approach, 1960s, SLT,
1970s, Biological approach
1980s, Cognitive neuroscience
what are the differences between introspection and science regarding psychology?
introspection - non -evidence based, subjective
science- evident based, objective.
What did Wundt intend to do?
He wanted to evolve the original interest in behaviour related to the brain through philosophy, to become more scientific.
How did Wundt turn the philosophy of the brain into a more scientific approach?
He used systematic and objective methods empirically, i.e observation / experimentation
Define empiricism
scientists collecting data elsewhere
When and where did Wundt open the first psych lab?
1879, Leipzig University
What two things interested Wundt and what did 2 theories did these then allow him to propose?
The structure of sensation and perception
He proposed ‘Introspection’ and ‘Structuralism’
What is Wundt known as and why?
‘the founding father of psychology’ as he established it as an independent field of scientific research.
define structuralism
This is the attempt to analyse nature of human consciousness in a controlled / scientific lab
define introspection
this breaks up conscious awareness into basic structure of thoughts, feelings, perceptions and sensations.
What were the four steps to the method of introspection carried out by Wundt?
- ppts trained to report conscious experience as objectively as possible
- they then focus on a sensory object, e.g metronome
- they focused inwards to how it made them think/feel.
- they systematically report their experiences
What are the four strengths to Wundt’s introspection method/ theory?
- for his time, he was very scientific due to his controlled experiments, large samples + transparent methods
-lead to other researcher findings
-procedures were standardised
-made a significant contribution to science.
What were the two things that Wundt did from the reports of the ppts in his study?
-recorded patterns of behaviour to develop general theories of mental processes
-made inferences, not directly observing the brain but making guessing / assumptions.
What are the three weaknesses to Wundt’s method / theory?
Subjective, e.g ppts show demand characteristics/ SDB
His study is not replicable
Behaviourism rejects introspection
What did Watson (1913) criticise against Wundt’s theory + method?
He stated that his findings were subjective and that these cannot be generalised.
