origins in psychology Flashcards
what is psychology
psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its function, especially those functions affecting behaviour in a given context
what is the definition of a science
science is a means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation.
The aim is to discover general laws
what is introspection
Introspection is the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
who opened the first lab dedicated to psychological enquiry
The first ever lab dedicated to psychological enquiry was opened by Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig, Germany in 1879
why did Wundt create the first psychological lab
The objective Wundt set himself was to document and describes the nature of human consciousness.
This pioneering method was came to be known as introspection, and involved Wundt and his co - workers recording their own conscious thoughts with the aim of breaking these down into constituent parts
isolating thee structure of structure of consciousness is called…
structuralism
why is Wundt’s work deemed as significant
Although the early attempt of the investigation into the mind may be regarded as naïve, some of the method and techniques Wundt and his co - worker used are considered/ recognised as scientific today
e. g. all introspections were recorded under strictly controlled conditions using the same stimulus every time such as a ticking metromere
- same standardised instructions were issued to all participants allow procedures to be repeated every time
Therefore, Wundt work was significant in that it marked the separation of the modern scientific psychology from its broader philosophical roots
why was the scientific status of introspection questioned at the beginning of the 20th century
John B Watson was one of the many people to question the scientific status of introspection
One of his main issues with introspection was that it produced data that was subjective, in that it varied from person to person, so it became very difficult to establish general principles
what did the criticisms of introspection lead Watson to do - the emergence of psychology as a science
Watson was so highly critical of introspection focus on “private mental processes” and proposed that a truly scientific psychology should restrict itself only to studying phenomenal that could be observed and measured
This lead to the birth of the “behaviourist approach” and with it psychology as a science
describe the emergence of psychology as a science
- Watson (1914) and Cater Skinner (1953), brought the language, rigour and methods of the natural science into psychology
- The behaviourist focus on the scientific processes involved in learning alongside the use of carefully controlled lab experiments, would go on to dominate the discipline for the next five decades
- behaviourism can still be observed today
e. g. many modern psychologists continue to rely on the experimental method as part of their research and practices - 1960:
the cognitive revolution of the 1960s, the study of mental processes, is now seen as a legitimate and highly scientific ae within psychology
Although mental processes remain “private”, cognitive psychologists are able to make interference about how these work on the basis of lab tests - The biological approach also makes use off experimental data. Researcher within this are have taken advantage of recent advances in technology to investigate psychological processes as they happen, including sophisticated technique fMRI
essentially scientific method has come a long way
what are the early philosophical roots of psychology
- Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650)
- John Locke (1632 - 1704)
- Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882)
what is the philosophical idea Rene Descartes proposed
Descartes, a French philosopher, suggested that that the mind and body are independent from each other a philosophical stance that came to be known as Cartesian dualism
This view has been challenged but it suggested that the mind and body could be an object of its own rights - Descartes demonstrated his own existence with the famous quote “I think therefore I am”
what philosophical ideas did John Locke propose
Locke proposed empiricism.
This is the idea that all expensive can be obtained through the senses that human beings inherit neither knowledge nor instincts
This view would later form the basis of the behaviourists approach that the world understand by investigated external events that are observed and measured
what philosophical ideas came about form Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution
Central to Darwin’s evolutionary theory is the notion that all human and animal behaviour has changed over successive generations, so that the individuals with stronger, more adaptive genes survive and reproduce and the individuals with weaker genes are “weeded out” (survival of the fittest)
The assumption that many human behaviours, such as behaviour, have evolved due to adaptive value is deeply rooted in many areas of psychology, especially the biological approach
Give a brief time line of the history of psychology
17th - 19th
century
-psychology is a branch of philosophy best understood as experimental philosophy at this time
1879
-Wilhelm Wundt
1900s
-Sigmund and Freund publishes “The Interpretation of Dreams”, and the psychodynamic approach
He argued that physical problems could be explained in terms of conflict within the mind
1913
-John B Watson writes “Psychology as the Behaviourist views” and BF Skinner establishes the behaviourist approach
Behaviourist approach and psychodynamic approach dominate the psychology for the next fifty years
1950s
-Carl Roger’s and Abraham Maslow develop the humanistic approach
1960s
COGNITIVE REVOLUTION
Albert Bandura proposes the social learning theory was developed around the same time.
1980s onwards
- Biological approach begins to establish itself as the dominant scientific perspective in psychology
This is due to advances in technology that led to increased understanding of the brain and the biological processes
Eve of the 21st century
-cognitive neuroscience emerges as a distinct discipline bringing together the cognitive and biological approaches
Cognitive neuroscience is built on the earlier computer models and investigates how biological structures influence mental states
