Origins Of Psychology Flashcards
What did psychology begin as?
A branch of philosophy
Who was the first person to separate modern psychology from its broader philosophical roots?
Wilhelm Wundt
What did Wundt do?
- Opened the first lab
- Introduced method of introspection
- Introduced use of standardised procedures
What was Wundt’s aim?
To study the nature of the human mind and consciousness in a controlled environment, using more scientific methods
What was Wundt’s lab?
‘Institute for Experimental Psychology’ in Leipzig, Germany
When did Wundt open his lab and start up modern scientific psychology?
1879
What is introspection?
The first systematic attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures (structuralism) of thoughts, images + sensations that ppts describe
What is structuralism?
The breaking up of conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images, sensations (for study as part of introspection)
Outline briefly the process of introspection
- Ppts told to focus on everyday object + ‘look inwards’ to notice own thoughts and feelings
- Ppts systematically report these thoughts + feelings
- Wundt recorded the reports + combined them to generate theories about how the mind works
Did Wundt think introspection was scientific?
Yes
- Encouraged individuals to ‘look inwards’ with focus on objectivity
- Findings were systematically reported + recorded
Was Wundt actually scientific?
Partially
- Broke down consciousness into categories
- Recorded systematically
- Completed introspection in controlled environment (lab)
- Used standardised procedures to make his results more reliable
Not completely
- Introspection (main method) relied on ppts self-reports being objective + them not lying about private inner thoughts
- Relied on Wundt’s interpretation of results being objective
How did Wundt use standardised procedures?
- Used same standardised instructions for ppts
- Used same stimulus in same environment
- Used same categories of observation: thoughts, images, sensations
What was the significance of Wundt’s work?
- Started the movement towards scientific, modern psych
- Laid the foundations for future approaches (particularly behaviourist + cognitive)
Give a positive evaluation point for Wundt
Made a significant step in paving way for modern psych
- Increased scientific nature (E.g. using lab)
- Introduced some methods still used (e.g. standardisation)
- Paved way for Behaviourist + Cognitive approaches
Give a negative evaluation point for Wundt
Criticised by later psychologists for not being scientific enough
- Watson criticised Wundt for being too idiographic + subjective, despite his step towards being more scientific
- Idiographic: tried to make general laws based on reports of few ppts
- Subjective: relied on self-report of private feelings + his interpretation
- So, there was more work to be done to make psychology more scientific
What was Wundt’s main method of research?
Introspection
Outline the timeline of psychological approaches development
1900s - Behaviourist + Psychodynamic 1950s - Cognitive + Humanistic 1960s - SLT 1980s - Biological Recently - Cognitive neuroscience (bridged Cognitive + Biological)
Describe the introduction of the Behaviourist Approach
- 1900s
- Pioneered by Watson + built upon by Skinner
- Cause: thought Wundt’s psychology needed to become more scientific, objective + nomothetic
- Methodology: rejected introspection + focused on taking an empirical approach to determine cause-effect from observable behaviour
Describe the introduction of the Psychodynamic Approach
- 1900s
- Less popular than Behaviourism
- Pioneered by Freud
- Focused on looking at the unconscious + its influence on behaviour
Describe the introduction of the Cognitive Approach
- 1950s
- Cause: digital revolution birthed a new metaphor for the mind (computers)
- Reintroduced focus on internal mental processes, but made inferences based on much more objective research than Wundt
Describe the introduction of the Humanistic Approach
- 1950s
- Pioneered by Maslow + Rogers
- Cause: rejected the determinism of previous approaches (e.g. Behaviourist + Psychodynamic) - wanted focus on human free will
Describe the introduction of the SLT Approach
- 1960s
- Pioneered by Bandura
- Focus on role of cognitive factors in learning
- Bridged the Cognitive + Behaviourist approaches
Describe the introduction of the Biological Approach
- 1980s
- Cause: technological advances were taken advantage of (e.g. brain scans + genetic research) to make psych more scientific
- Focus on the physiological cause of psychological behaviour
Describe the introduction of Cognitive Neuroscience
- Recently
- Cause: further technological advancements
- Bridged the Biological + Cognitive approaches
Is psychology a science?
Some argue it is and some argue it isn’t
Some approaches are often seen as less scientific - Humanistic + Psychodynamic
Give 2 arguments FOR psychology being a science
Arguably HAS a paradigm
- Mutual agreement on definition of psychology
- Has been a paradigm shift towards more objective research (Wundt -> Watson)
Has contributed to accepted sciences + the healthcare profession
- E.g. Structure of brain/Wernicke + Broca’s areas - Biology
- E.g. CBT + other therapies - healthcare, treating mental disorders
Give 2 arguments AGAINST psychology being a science
Arguably DOESN’T HAVE a paradigm
- Various approaches mean there are no recognised set of assumptions + methods
- Humanistic + Psychodynamic approaches rejected paradigm shift towards objectivity
Theories are constantly changing
- Human behaviour is constantly changing as social/cultural norms change
- Theories quickly become outdated + lack temporal validity
- So, psychological theories aren’t set forever like most ‘normal’ accepted scientific theories (e.g. gravity)
