Origins Of Psycholgy Flashcards
Wilhelm Wundt established the first
Psychology lab
Where did Wundt open his lab?
Leipzig, Germany
When did Wundt open his lab in Liebzig, Germany?
1879
What was the aim of Wundt’s lab?
To describe the nature of human consciousness in a carefully controlled and scientific environment - a lab
Introspection was the first systematic experimental attempt to
Study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
Isolating the structure of consciousness in this way is called
Structuralism
The same standardised instructions were given to
All participants
Because everyone got the same standardised instructions, experiments could be
Repeated
Participants were given a ticking metronome so they could
Pace their responses
In Wundt’s study participants would report their
Thoughts
Images
Sensations
How could Wundts early attempts to study the mind be described today?
Naïve
Wundts work was significant as
It marked the separation of modern scientific psychology from its broader philosophical roots
John. B. Watson Date
1913
What did John. B. Watson argue?
He argued that Introspection was subjective and it varied from person to person
According to the behaviourist approach
‘Scientific’ Psychology should only study phenomena that can be observed and measured
B. F. Skinner date
1953
B. F. Skinner bought the
Language and rigour of the natural sciences into psychology
The behaviourists focus on learning and the use of carefully controlled lab studies this …
Would dominate psychology for the next few decades
When Scientific approach dominated psychology?
1930’s
When did the Cognitive approach start (used scientific procedures to study mental processes)
1950s
When did the biological approach introduce technological advances
1990s
1900s
Early behaviourist rejected Introspection
What happened following the cognitive revolution in the 1990’s
The study of mental processes were seen to legitimate within psychology
although mental processes remain ‘private’ cognitive psychologists …
are able to make inferences about how these work on the basis of tests conducted in a controlled environment
Biological psychologists have taken advantage of recent advances in technology including …
Recording brain activity
Using scanning techniques (fMRI & EEG)
Advanced genetic research
Wundts method was highly scientific because
He recorded the introspections within a controlled lab environment and used standardized procedures.
Wundt standardised his procedures so that
All participants received the same information and were tested in the same way
Wundts research can be considered a forerunner to the later
Scientific approaches in psychology that were to come
Wundt relied on participants
Self-reporting their ‘private’ mental processes
Self reporting is a problem as it is
Subjective and participants may not be truthful
In Wundt’s study participants would have also not had exactly the same thoughts every time so establishing general principles would…
general principles would not have been possible
General laws are useful to
Predict future behaviour, one of the aims of science
Wundts early efforts to study the mind were
Naïve and would not meet the criteria of scientific enquiry
Psychology has the same aims as
The natural sciences - to describe, understand, predict and control our world
The learning approach, cognitive approach and biological approach all rely on the use of
scientific methods
