Origins of psychology Flashcards
What did Wundt do?
Opened the world’s first psychology laboratory in Liepzig, Germany in 1879.
Used ‘introspection’ to try to investigate the nature of awareness and consciousness.
Use the scientific methods in his work - helped move psychology away from philosophy (for example the
works of Descartes and Locke).
What did introspection involve?
Recording conscious thoughts by noting them down, then attempting to break these thoughts down into structures.
Using scientific methods by giving participants the same procedure, same instructions, and tried to minimise the impact of extraneous variables.
Who were the people involved in the emergence of psychology as a science?
Early behaviourists such as John B. Watson began to criticise the method of introspection for being subjective.
Watson (1913) and later Skinner (1953) brought the language, rigour and methods of the natural sciences into psychology.
Why did Watson find introspection subjective?
Varying too much from person to person. He suggested that it was impossible to test people’s inward, private thoughts, and that psychology should focus on studying observable behaviour.
What psychologist is best known in relation to the emergence of psychology as a science?
Wundt
Describe Wundt’s role in the development of psychology. [A01 = 6 marks]
Wundt known as ‘the father of psychology’ – moved from philosophical roots to controlled research.
• Set up the first psychology laboratory in Liepzig, Germany in 1870s.
• Promoted the use of introspection as a way of studying mental processes.
• Introspection – systematic analysis of own conscious experience of a stimulus.
• An experience was analysed in terms of its component 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.
What happened from 17th-19th?
Psychology is seen as part of philosophy
What happened at 1879?
Wundt opens the first lab dedicated to psychological enquiry.
What happened in the early 1900s?
Sigmund Freud proposes psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theory, emphasising the role of the unconscious mind.
Watson and Skinner establish the behaviourist approach, emphasising the role of learning.
What happened in the 1950s?
Rogers and Maslow devise the humanistic approach, emphasising the ‘whole person; and their subjective experience, including the role of free will.
What happened in the 1960s?
The cognitive approach emerges, emphasising the role of thought processes.
Bandura proposes social learning theory, emphasising the role of observation and imitation.
What happened in the 1980s?
The biological approach becomes popular, emphasising the role of the brain and physical processes.
What happened at the end of 20th century?
Cognitive neuroscience emerges, combining elements of the cognitive and biological approaches, emphasising the role of biological structures in determining thought processes.
