origins of psych - essay plans

Question 1

strength of Wundt’s work

Answer 1

N - some aspects of his methods would be classed as scientific today, recorded the introspections within a controlled lab environment

A - wundt also standardised his procedures so that all participants would receive the same info and be tested in the same way, increasing the reliability of his investigation

E- Wundt therefore can be considered a forerunner to the later scientific approaches in psychology that were to come

Question 2

weakness of wundt (Un)

Answer 2

N- could be considered unscientific today, relied on self-reporting private mental processes. This data is subjective and participants may not have wanted to reveal some of the thoughts they were having

A- participants also wouldn’t have had the same thought each time, so establishing general principles wouldn’t have been possible. General laws are useful to predict future behaviour

E- Wundt’s early efforts to study the mind were naive and wouldn’t meet the scientific criteria

Question 3

weakness of wundt (W)

Answer 3

N - watson and other early behaviourists rejected introspection. He argued that introspection was subjective in that it varied from person to person

A- watson was also critical of of introspections focus on private mental processes and proposed that a truly scientific psychology should only study phenomena that can be observed and measured

E- 1930s behaviourist approach also rejected Wundt’s introspection. Skinner brought the methods, language and rigour of the natural sciences. Behaviourists focus on controlled lab studies dominated psychology for the next few decades

Question 4

emergence of psychology as a science - strength

Answer 4

N - research in modern psychology can claim to be scientific. Psychology has the same aims as the natural sciences - to describe, understand, predict and control behaviour.

A- the learning approaches, cognitive approach and biological approach all rely on the use of highly controlled and standardised scientific methods, such as lab experiments

E-allows theories to be investigated in a controlled, objective and unbiased way. Throughout the 20th century and beyond, psychology has established itself as a scientific discipline

Question 5

emergence of psychology as a science - weakness

Answer 5

N - not all approaches use objective, scientific methods

A - humanistic approach is unscientific and doesn’t attempt to formulate general laws of behaviour. It is concerned with only documenting unique, subjective behaviour. Psychodynamic approach uses case study method which is based on interview techniques and is thus open to bias and subjectivity. No attempt is made to gather a representative sample of the population

E - many claim that a scientific approach to the study of human thought is not possible