Origins of Psychology

Question 1

What is known about Wundt’s lab?

Answer 1

• Opened in 1879 - first lab ever dedicated to Psychology in Leipzig, Germany
• Significant as it marks the beginning of scientific Psychology, separating it from it’s philosophical roots
• Wundt’s aim was to try to analyse the nature of Human consciousness, his method became known as introspection

Question 2

What was Wundt pioneering method?

Answer 2

• Introspection means ‘looking into’ and refers to the process of observing and examining your own conscious thought and emotions

Question 3

What method did Wundt use and how did he use it?

Answer 3

• He used Standardisation by getting himself and his co-workers to record their experiences of various stimuli and they would then divide the observations into three categories: thoughts, images and sensations

Question 4

What Structure did Wundt use and how did he use it?

Answer 4

• Isolating the structure of consciousness in this way is called structuralism
• The stimuli that Wundt and is co-workers experienced
  were always presented in the same order and the same instructions were issued to all participants

Question 5

What were the three historical elements of Psychology?

Answer 5

1900’s Behaviourists:
- Watson questioned introspection as it was subjective, so difficult to establish general laws
- Watson/Skinner thought findings should be measurable and observable, so focused on behaviour in lab studies

1950’s Cognitive:
- Likened the mind to a computer and tested their predictions using experiments

1980’s Biological:
- Taken advantage of advances in technology to investigate physiological processes as they happen e.g fMRI’s and EEG scans . Also genetic testing

Question 6

What is one Strength and one Weakness of Wundt’s research?

Answer 6

Strength:
- Methods were systematic and controlled. Lab studies (lack of extraneous variables) also procedures were standardised
Weakness:
- Relies on self-reporting mental processes (subjective). Pps may be dishonest, difficult to establish general laws. Flawed and not scientific

Question 7

What is one Strength and one Weakness of Modern Psychology?

Answer 7

Strength:
- Can claim to be scientific, has same aims of natural sciences (describe predict control behaviour). Approaches rely on the use of scientific methods e.g lab studies
Weakness:
- Not all approaches use objective methods e.g humanistic approach focuses on individual and objective experiences. Humans actively participate - may respond to demand characteristics