origins of psychology Flashcards
From philosophy to a science
Who, when, where did psychology become a science?
In 1879 Wilhelm Wundt opened the first lab in Leipzig, Germany.
What was Wundts aim?
Try to analyse the nature of human consciousness and thus represented the first systematic attempt to study the mind under controlled conditions.
What was Wundts method called?
Introspection-the act of looking inward to examine ones own thoughts and emotions by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations.
How did Wundt utilise introspection?
he and 186 research assistants were trained to observe and report on their thoughts and feelings in a way that wasn’t biased by personal interpretation/past experiences . They then had to record their responses to environmental stimuli e.g a flower or ticking metronome. they would organise their responses into thoughts, images and sensations.
How was structuralism used in Wundts work
The stimuli that Wundt and his assistants used were always presented in the same order and the same instructions were issued to all participants.
What is a strength of Wundts work?
Some of his methods are systematic and well-controlled(scientific). All introspections were recorded in the controlled environment of the lab , ensuring that the possible extraneous variables were not a factor. Procedures and instructions were carefully standardised so that all participants received the same information and were tested in the same way. This suggests that Wundt’s research can be considered a forerunner to later scientific approaches in psychology, such as the behaviourist approach
What is a limitation of Wundt’s work?
Some of his methods would b considered unscientific by today’s standards. Wundt relied on participants self-reporting their mental processes. Such data is subjective. Also participants may have hidden some pf their thoughts. It is difficult to establish meaningful ‘laws of behaviour’ from such data. And general laws are useful to predict future behaviour , one of the aims of science. This suggests that some of Wundts early efforts to study the mind were flawed and would not meet the criteria of scientific enquiry.
What is a science?
building knowledge through systematic and objective (unbiased) measurement. The aim is to discover general laws.
what is a strength of psychology being a science?
Modern psychology can claim to be scientific. Psychology has the same aims as the natural sciences-to describe, understand, predict and control behaviour. The learning approaches, cognitive and biological approach rely on the use of scientific methods, for example, lab studies to investigate theories in a controlled and unbiased way. This suggests that throughout the 20th century and beyond, psychology has established itself as a scientific discipline.
What is a limitation of psychology being a science?
Not all approaches use objective methods. The humanistic approach, preferring to focus on individual experiences and subjective experience. The psychodynamic approach makes use of the case study method which does not use representative samples. Finally, the subject of study-human beings- are active participants in research, responding for example demand characteristics. therefore a scientific approach to the study of human thought and experience may not always be desirable or possible.
