Origins Of Psychology Flashcards
What is introspection?
Process by which person gains knowledge about their own mental and emotional states
Enables us to observe our inner world
What is structuralism?
Isolating structure of consciousness
What is Volkerpsychologie?
Cultural psychology - Wilhelm Wundt learned higher mental processes (learning, language, emotions) couldn’t be studied in strict manner
What is the scientific method?
Use of investigative methods that are:
Objective - researchers don’t let preconceived ideas or bias influence collection of data
Systematic - observations and/or experiments carried out in orderly way
Replicable - observations can be replicated by other researchers to determine whether same results obtained
Why is replicability so important in research?
If results aren’t replicable they can’t be accepted as universally true
What are strengths of the scientific approach to psychology?
RELIANCE ON OBJECTIVE & SYSTEMATIC METHODS:
Knowledge acquired using this method more than just passive acceptance of facts
SCIENTIFIC METHODS RELY ON BELIEF IN DETERMINISM:
Able to establish causes of behaviour through both empirical & replicable methods
PSYCHOLOGISTS ALWAYS REPEATING OTHERS’ EXPERIMENTS:
Hard for theory that doesn’t explain facts to hang on for long
What is empiricism?
Belief all knowledge derived from sensory experience
Generally characterised by use of scientific method in psychology
What are the weaknesses in introspection?
LAB EXPERIMENTS:
By concentrating on objectivity & control in observations, psychologists create unnatural environments
MUCH SUBJECT MATTER IN PSYCHOLOGY IS UNOBSERVABLE:
Thus, can’t be measured accurately
Big gap between data obtained in research & theories to explain data
NOT ALL PSYCHOLOGISTS SHARE VIEW HUMAN BEHAVIOUR CAN BE EXPLORED BY SCIENTIFIC METHODS:
If human behaviour isn’t subject to laws & regularities implied by scientific methods, then predictions impossible & methods inappropriate
