Origins of Psychology Flashcards
The emergence of psychology as a science
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) is known as the ‘Father of Psychology’ as he moved psychology away from its philosophical roots to controlled research. He set up the first psychology laboratory in Liepzig, Germany, in the 1870s. Wundt also founded the Institute of Experimental Psychology and published one of the first books on psychology, helping to establish the subject as an independent branch of science.
Wundt developed a scientific method to study mental processes, such as the structure of sensation and perception. He called this method introspection, which is a systematic analysis of one’s own conscious experience of a stimulus. An experience was analysed in terms of its components parts e.g. sensations, emotional reaction etc.
Introspection was used in highly controlled studies. The use of controlled environments enabled Wundt to establish general theories about mental processes. His work paved the way for later controlled research and the study of mental processes e.g. by cognitive psychologists. However, Wundt later identified higher mental processes (such as learning, language, emotions, etc.) that could not be studied in a strictly controlled manner.
Wundt’s work led to the development of the field of cultural psychology, based on general trends in behaviour of groups of people.
Advantages of the emergence of psychology as a science
+ Wundt was the first to open a laboratory designated to the scientific study of psychological enquiry under controlled conditions facilitating accurate measurements and replication.
+ Wundt was the first psychologist to focus on understanding the psychological processes of perception etc. rather than philosophical or biological processes.
+ Wundt later recognised that higher mental processes were difficult to study using his procedures and this encouraged others to look for more appropriate methods and techniques, paving the way for approaches such as brain scanning techniques.
Disadvantages of the emergence of psychology as a science
- Many modern psychologists argue that early behaviourists (e.g. Pavlov) made a greater contribution to the development of psychology as a science than Wundt did. They produced reliable findings, which Wundt did not, with explanatory principles that were generalisable – much more in keeping with the scientific approach.
Introspection
Introspection is a systematic analysis of our own conscious experiences of a stimuli. An experience is examined in terms of its component parts e.g. sensations, feelings, images etc.
Wundt claimed that with sufficient training an individual’s conscious mental processes, such as perception, could be objectively reported by the individual as they occurred. For example, Wundt would ask people to focus on an everyday object (such as a metronome) and encourage them to look inwards and reflect on the sensations, feelings and the images that came to mind. This information could then be used to gain insight into the mental processes involved in perception.
Advantages of introspection
+ Focus on mental processes through introspection can be seen as the forerunner of the cognitive approach.
+ Introspection is still sometimes used in modern scientific psychological research (e.g. Csikszentmihalyi & Hunter, 2003), and in areas such as therapy and studying emotional states. This demonstrates its value as one way mental processes can be investigated.
Disadvantages of introspection
- Studies using introspection may not be valid. Many psychologists would argue that several aspects of our mind are outside of our conscious awareness (e.g. research by Nisbett & Wilson, 1977) and so cannot be reported by an individual.
