lesson 1,2,3 origin of psychology Flashcards
definition of psychology
scientific study of the mind and behaviour
definition of science
the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence.
rene descartes (1596-1650)
french philosopher who suggested that the mind and body are independent from each other (catersian dualism). he found that the mind could be study in its own right, he demonstrated his own existence “i think therefore i am”.
wilhelm wundt
father of psychology, his ideas stem from philosophical roots.
opened the first experimental psychological laboratory in 1879, leipzig, germany
helped shape psychology as a science
lab was designed strictly for controlled conditions
devised introspection
introspection definition
the first systematic and experimental attempt to study the mind/mental processes by breaking down conscious awareness into basic structures of reflections, thoughts, images and sensations
what is introspection
a way of studying internal mental events
structuralism definition
proposes that the structure of conscious experience could be understood by analyzing the basic elements of thoughts and sensations.
what is structuralism in psychology
a theory of consciousness
structuralism method
involves use of introspection, self-reports of sensations, views, feelings, emotions. wundt and his workers recording their own conscious thoughts and breaking them down into their constituent parts.
what did wundt want from structuralism
he wanted to document and describe the structure of human consciousness.
he wanted to study psychology in the same way as the traditional sciences.
constituent parts
sensations, emotions, reactions
how did wundt investigate introspection?
he used scientific methods to investigate introspection. this lead to the development of cognitive psychology.
how was introspection recorded
under strictly controlled conditions in a laboratory using the same stimuli, reactions times and instructions for each of the participants and they had to focus on present experiences. involved one saying
john locke (1632-1704)
proposed empiricism which would later form the behaviourist approach
charles darwin (1809-1882)
his evolutionary throes that all humans and animals that are weaker will be weeded out but individuals with stronger and more adaptable genes will survive and reproduce
purpose of introspection
scientific method to study mental processes
what is introspection
systematic analysis is of ones own conscious experience of a stimulus
what is structuralism and why did wundt focus on this
a throes of consciousness involving introspection, self documentation, feelings and emotions, he wanted to do this to document and describe the structure of the human consciousness
why did wundt want to study psychology in the same way as traditional science?
because he wanted psychology to emerge as a traditional science and he scientific methods to stuffy introspection
why is introspection highly reliable
because the experiments were conducted under highly controlled conditions to be easy to replicate.
watson and early behaviours
early 20th century psychologists were starting to doubt the value of introspection, especially watson, who argued that it was subjective so varied from person to person so it was harder to develop general principles.
what did watson propose
that scientific psychology should be restricted to phenomena that could be measured and observed
strengths of introspection
paved the way for psychology as a science
extremely scientific due to high level of control
establishes what causes behaviour
used today in cognitive therapy
supports reductionism
weaknesses of introspection
watson criticised wundt as he believed that introspection was subjective
not very scientific
wilson claims we cant use introspection to uncover and understand all behaviours
fails to explain how the mind works and the process of thoughts.