Lesson 1: The Origins Of Psychology

Question 1

What is psychology?

Answer 1

Is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour.

Question 2

Role of Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 2

• first person to call himself a psychologist
• known as the father of psychology
• opened first experimental psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany in 1879 to aid the scientific study of psychological inquiry
• he devised introspection
• introspection still used today in areas of therapy
• focused on psychological processes of perception and structuralism
• wanted to investigate psychology in same way as traditional sciences

Question 3

What is introspection?

Answer 3

• Introspection is the first systematic attempt to study the mind/ mental processes
• breaking down conscious awareness into reflections, thoughts, sensations, images
• involves person saying everything that is going on in their mind whilst doing an activity
• focus of being objective
• breaking down thoughts about an object into separate elements

Question 4

What is structuralism?

Answer 4

Is a theory of consciousness.

Involves use of introspection, self-reports of sensations, views feelings and emotions

Question 5

Evaluation of introspection and emergence of psychology as a science.

Answer 5

GOOD- Helped to develop other approaches in psychology
GOOD- Extremely scientific
GOOD- Able to establish what causes behaviour, can make future predictions (high dopamine-ocd)
GOOD- Introspection still used in areas of therapy today
BAD- fails to explain how mind works and processes involved in thinking
BAD- Watson criticised introspection as it is subjective that varies from one individual to another
BAD- Wilson criticised lack of accuracy, little knowledge about behaviours that exist outside conscious awareness (racism)