origins of psychology

Question 1

introspection

Answer 1

first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations

Question 2

psychology

Answer 2

the scientific study of the mind, behaviour and experience

Question 3

science

Answer 3

a means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation

the aim is to discover general laws

Question 4

wundt’s lab

Answer 4

opened first lab in 1879 dedicated to psychological enquiry

work was significant as marked beginning of scientific psychology - separating from philosophical roots

analyse nature of human consciousness - represented first systematic attempt to study the mind under controlled conditions

pioneering method known as introspection

Question 5

standardised procedures

Answer 5

wundt’s main object to try and develop theories about mental processes

divide observations into three categories, thoughts, images and sensations

participants given ticking metronome to standardise time

Question 6

structuralism

Answer 6

isolating structure of consciousness is called structuralism

stimuli that wundt used always present in same order and same instructions

Question 7

wundt evaluation - scientific

Answer 7

methods were systematic and well controlled

all introspections recorded in controlled environment of lab - any possible extraneous variables not a factor

standardised

wundt’s research can be considered a forerunner to later scientific approaches in psychology, eg behaviourist approach

Question 8

wundt eval - subjective data

Answer 8

limitation
other aspects considered unscientific

relied on self-report -could have hidden thoughts - difficult to establish meaningful laws of behaviour from data

flawed and did not meed criteria of scientific enquiry

Question 9

wundt eval - contributions

Answer 9

produced first academic journal of psychological research and wrote the first textbook

often referred to as the founder of modern psychology

pioneered research set foundations for approaches particularly behaviourist and cognitive

Question 10

17th C - 19th C

Answer 10

psychology is a branch of the broader discipline of philosophy

if psychology has a definition during this time it is as experimental philosophy

Question 11

1879

Answer 11

wilhelm wundt open first experimental psychology lab in Germany, and psychology emerges as a distinct discipline in its own right

Question 12

1900s

Answer 12

freud emphasises the influence of the unconscious mind on behaviour (the psychodynamic approach)

he also develops his person-centred therapy, psychoanalysis, and shows that physical problems can be explained in terms of conflicts within the mind

Question 13

1913

Answer 13

Watson writes psychology as the behaviourist views it and later, with Skinner, establishes the behaviourist approach

the psychodynamic and behaviourist approaches dominate psychology for the first half of the 20th C

Question 14

1950s - 1st

Answer 14

Rogers and Maslow develop the humanistic approach, the so-called ‘third force’ in psychology, rejecting the behaviourist and psychodynamic view that human behaviour is determined by outside factors

humanistic psychologists emphasise the importance of self-determination and free will

Question 15

1950’s - 2nd

Answer 15

introduction of the digital computer gives psychologists a metaphor for the operations of the human mind

the cognitive approach reintroduces the study of mental processes to psychology but in a much more scientific way than wundt’s earlier investigations

Question 16

1960s

Answer 16

bandura proposes social learning theory

this draws attention to the role of cognitive factors in learning, providing a bridge between the newly established cognitive approach and traditional behaviourism

Question 17

1980s onwards

Answer 17

the biological approach begins to establish itself as the dominant scientific perspective in psychology

this is due to advances in technology that have increased understanding of the brain and biological processes

Question 18

21st C

Answer 18

cognitive neuroscience emerges as a distinct discipline bringing together cognitive and biological approaches

cognitive neuroscience investigates how biological structures influence mental state

Question 19

emergence of psychology - behaviourists

Answer 19

1900s

introspection was questioned by many, esp Watson

introspection produced subjective data - hard to establish general laws

Watson and later Skinner proposed that a truly scientific psychology should only study phenomena that can be observed objectively and measures

behaviourists focus on behaviours they see - controlled experiments

Question 20

emergence of psychology - cognitive approach

Answer 20

1950s

digital revolution - new generation of psychologists

likened mind to a computer eg msm - tested predictions about memory and attention using experiments

study of mind - legitimate and scientific aspect of the discipline

Question 21

emergence of psychology - biological approach

Answer 21

scientific psychology to new levels

researchers taken advantage of advances in technology to investigate physiological processes as they happen - eg fMRI and EEG

Question 22

eval emergence of psychology - modern psychology

Answer 22

strength

modern psychology - scientific
same aim as natural sciences - describe, understand , predict and control behaviour

psychology established as a scientific discipline

Question 23

eval emergence of psychology - subjective data

Answer 23

limitation

not all approaches use objective methods

humanistic rejects scientific approach - focuses on individual and subjective experiences

psychodynamic approach - case studies - not representative

Question 24

eval emergence of psychology - paradigm

Answer 24

Kuhn said any science must have a paradigm - set of principles, assumptions and methods that all people who work within that subject agree one

psychology is not a science