Origins of Psychology Flashcards
What is psychology?
The scientific study of the mind, behaviour and experience
Who believed in Cartesian dualism?
Rene Descartes
What is Cartesian dualism?
The belief that the mind and body are independent (philosophical basis of psychology)
What is empiricism?
All experiences are gained through senses
Whose belief of empiricism formed the basis for the behaviourist approach?
John Locke
Which approach did Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution form the basis of?
The biological approach
What is introspection?
The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking down conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
Who is known as the founder of Psychology and opened the first psychology laboratory in 1879?
Wilhelm Wundt
What is structuralism?
Proposes that the structure of conscious experience can be understood by analysing the basic elements of thoughts and sensations
Who criticised introspection and what was the criticism?
John Watson criticised introspection, stating it was too subjective and difficult to establish general laws
What did Watson say psychology should focus on?
Observable and measurable behaviour
When did Wilhelm open the first psychological laboratory?
1879
What is the study exploring introspection?
Highly trained assistants would be given a stimulus, such as a ticking metronome, and would reflect on the experience. They would then be asked to report what the stimulus made them think and feel. The same stimulus, physical surroundings and instructions were given to each person.
What is one criticism of introspection
The data produced was too subjective and not objective
Who criticised introspection?
John Watson
What did Watson say psychology should focus on in order to be truly scientific?
Observable and measurable behaviour
Describe John Watson’s criticism of introspection led to psychology becoming more scientific
- Behaviourists made use of controlled lab experiments to study phenomena which produced objective data
- Cognitive psychologists made use of inference in order to scientifically study mental processes
- Biological psychologists utilised the advances in technology, such as the development of brain scanning techniques (eg. fMRI, EEG) which allowed live brain activity to be investigate
What is the timeline of psychological approaches?
17th-19th century: known as experimental philosophy
1879: Wilhelm Wundt opened first psychology laboratory
1900s: Psychodynamic approach by Sigmund Freud
1913: Behaviourist approach by B.F Skinner and John B. Watson
1950’s: Humanistic approach by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
1960’s: Cognitive approach
1963: Social learning theory by Albert Bandura
1980’s: Biological approach
Late 20th century: Cognitive neuroscience (cognitive + biological)
