Origins of Psychology

Question 1

What is Perception?

Answer 1

The process of extracting meaning from what we see, hear, touch etc

Question 2

What is introspection?

Answer 2

A person gaining knowledge about their mental states by examining their conscious thoughts and feelings

Question 3

What are mental processes?

Answer 3

Things people can do/experience with their minds

Question 4

What is Empiricism?

Answer 4

The belief that all knowledge should be gained via sensory experience

Question 5

Who was Wilhem Wundt?

Answer 5

• First person to be called a psychologist
• He separated philosophy and psychology
• In 1879 he opened the first Psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany

Question 6

What was Wilhem Wundt’s focus?

Answer 6

Trying to understand psychological processes of perception etc. rather than biological processes. He did this through introspection.

Question 7

What are positives of Introspection?

Answer 7

• In controlled conditions allows experiments to be replicated
• Provides the only method to access our conscious thoughts and feelings, giving a good foundation of psychology

Question 8

What are negatives of introspection?

Answer 8

• Results of early experiments are not reliably reproducible
• There is no way to objectively verify the accuracy of introspection due to socially desirable responses and forgetfulness

Question 9

How is introspection still used today?

Answer 9

To gain access to cognitive processes

Question 10

Give an example of Introspection still being used recently:

Answer 10

• In 1994 Griffiths used introspection to study the cognitive processes of fruit machine gamblers
• He asked them to “think aloud” whilst playing a fruit machine into a microphone on their lapel
• Showing introspections validity