Origins of psychology Flashcards
What is psychology?
The scientific study of the human mind and behaviour
What is science?
Means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation
What is the aim of a science?
To discover general laws that can be applied to other situations
What are features of a science?
(6x)
- Objectivity (recorded without bias)
- Control of bias
- Predictability (results predict future behaviours)
- Hypothesis theory (based on theories)
- Replication (to determine reliability)
- Shared paradigm
What is a shared paradigm?
A set of principles, assumptions and methods all those in a field agree on
What did Thomas Kuhn say?
Any science must have a shared paradigm
What is introspection?
The first systematic attempt to study the mind by breaking up one’s own conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
What did Wilhelm Wundt do?
In 1879, he opened the institute for experimental psychology in Germany, officially separating psychology from philosophy
What are the problems wiht introspection?
- Does not explain why experiences occur
- Relies on people describing their thoughts and feelings which is not objective (training)
What are good things that came with Wundt and introspection?
- Wundt’s scientific method paved the way for the later processes
- Modern scanning technologies still seek to study internal processes
- Wundt published the first psychological journal and wrote the first textbook
Prominent approaches
Why is behaviourist approach scientific?
Circa 1900s
- John Watson criticised introspection for its subjectivity
- This made it difficult to establish any general laws of behaviour
- Watson and B.F Skinner proposed that psychology should only focus on observable phenomena
- This approach dominated psychology for the next 50 years
Prominent approaches
What is the cognitive approach scientific?
Circa 1950s
- The 1950s brought digital revolution with many technological advancements
- Cognitive pschologists linked the brain to a computer
- They often use theoretical models that are then tested using experiments
- This expanded on the behavioural approach by including the study of internal processes
- The use of experiments ensures the cognitive approach is equally as scientific
Prominent approaches
What is a summary of the biological approach?
Circa 1980s
- This approach argues that all things psychological are first biological
- This focuses on the impact of genes, hormones, neurotransmitters and evolution on behaviour
- Technologies now allow us to better track physiological processes
- Advanced brain scans such as FMRI’s and EEGs show live brain activity
- Improvements in genetic testing and sequencing allow us to link genes to behaviour
What are reasons psychology is a science?
AND HOWEVER
Yes:
- Prominent approches are scientific
- They are all reliable methods
However:
- Humans aren’t reliable
- They may respond to demand characteristics in an experiment
What are reasons psychology isn’t a science?
- The humanistic approach argues humans are too complicated to ignore individual experience
- The psychodynamic approach relies on case studies which lack generalisability
Lack of shared paradigm:
- Behaviourists assume animals and humans learn in the same way so we use them as test subjects
- Biopsychologists emphasise the physiological differences
- Kuhn: psychology is not a science
