origins of psychology

Question 1

wundt’s lab

Answer 1

• in 1879 Wilhelm Wundt opened first lab dedicated entirely to psychological enquiry, in germany
• wundt’s work marked the start of scientific psychology, separating it from broader philosophical roots
• wundt’s aim was to try and analyse nature of human consciousness, represented first systematic attempt to study the mind under controlled conditions
• pioneering method became known as introspection

Question 2

standardised procedures

Answer 2

• one of wundt’s objectives was to develop theories about mental processes such as language and perception
• him and co-workers recorded experiences of various stimuli, such as objects or sounds, divided thoughts into thoughts, images and sensations

Question 3

structuralism

Answer 3

• isolating the structure of consciousness into component parts / isolating structures
• stimuli that wundt and co-workers were exposed to were always presented in the same way, and the same instructions were issued to all

Question 4

introspection

Answer 4

• first attempt to scientifically test conscious thought by attempting to break up specific thoughts and perceptions into basic structures of thought, image and sensation
• wundt asked participants to report on their own conscious thoughts and perceptions about the same stimuli straight after presentation
• observation of consciousness via self report and internal perceptions
• controlled any external stimuli and used a metronome to record timing of responses
• used standardised stimuli

Question 5

the emergence of psychology as a science - 1900s behaviourists

Answer 5

• value of introspection questioned by many, especially behaviourist John Watson
• problem was it produced subjective data so it was difficult to establish general laws
• watson and later skinner proposed that a truly scientific psychology should only study things that could be observed objectively and measured
• this is why behaviourists focused on behaviours they could see, and used controlled experiments
• behaviourist approach went on to dominate scientific psychology for the next 50 years

Question 6

the emergence of psychology as a science - 1950s cognitive approach

Answer 6

• digital revolution of 1950s gave psychologists a metaphor for studying the mind
• likened mind to a computer, and tested their predictions about memory and attention using experiments
• cognitive approach ensured that study of the mind was once again legitimate and highly scientific

Question 7

the emergence of psychology as a science - 1980s biological approach

Answer 7

• researchers within this area have taken advantage of advances in technology to investigate physiological processes as they happen
• for example in the use of fMRI and EEG to study live brain activity
• new methods such as genetic testing have also allowed us to better understand the relationship between genes and behaviour

Question 8

evaluation - scientific approach for perception studies

Answer 8

• we all have different experience and therefore make inferences, this is still subjective
• however, wundt still took a scientific approach because his method contributed to the emergence of psychology as a science
• used a ticking metronome, participants responded to stimuli, timed presentations of stimuli and overall used standardised methods to allow for replication

Question 9

evaluation - scientific approach for introspection

Answer 9

• data gathered under strictly controlled conditions, standardised instructions were used
• environment was highly controlled to establish general theories
• however scientific status was questioned because the data is subjective, and varies greatly between person so difficult to establish general principles
• focuses on private mental processes which are difficult to observe and measure