Origins Of Psychology

Question 1

What is psychology

Answer 1

The scientific study of the mind and behaviour

Question 2

What is science

Answer 2

Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence.

Question 3

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 3

• Known as the ‘Father of Psychology’ as he moved psychology away from it’s philosophical roots to controlled research.
• He set up the first psychology laboratory in Liepzig, Germany, in the 1870s.
• Wundt also founded the Institute of Experimental Psychology and published one of the first books on psychology, helping to establish the subject as an independent branch of science.
• Wundt developed a scientific method to study mental processes, such as the structure of sensation and perception. He called this method introspection.
• Introspection is the systematic analysis of one’s own conscious experience of a stimulus.
• An experience was analysed in terms of its components parts e.g. sensations, emotional reaction etc.
• His work paved the way for later controlled research and the study of mental processes e.g. by cognitive psychologists.

Question 4

Introspection

Answer 4

• Introspection is the first systematic and experimental attempt to study the mind or mental processes by breaking down conscious awareness into basic structures of reflections, thoughts, images and sensations.
• It involves reflecting on sensations, feelings and images
• It focuses on being objective
• Introspection was recorded under strictly controlled conditions in a laboratory using the same stimuli, same reaction times and the same instructions given to participants.
• For example, Wundt would ask people to focus on an everyday object (such as metronome) and encourage them to look inwards and reflect on the sensations, feelings and the images that came to mind.
• They must keep talking even if their ideas are not clear. They must not hesitate.