Origins of psychology Flashcards
Who is Wilhelm Wundt?
The father of psychology
Set up the first psychology lab in Liepzig Germany 1870
What is introspection?
The systematic analysis of one’s own conscious experience, thought processes, feelings and emotions and sensations
what is the method of introspection?
ppts were presented with a stimuli (image/audio) and had to describe the inner thought processes
The same stimulus was used each time with the same standardised instructions
What are the features of science?
Empirical method
Objectivity
Replicability
Falsifiability
Theories/hypothesis
Paradgim and shifts
What is the empirical method?
empirical evidence is directly observable and can be verified by measurements
what is objectivity?
research that is free from bias and not influenced by personal opinion
What is replicability?
The extent which a study can be repeated so reliability can be judged
What is falsifiability?
when it’s possible to prove a hypothesis or theory wrong
Only possible if a study is replicable and the hypothesis is operationalised
what is theory construction and hypothesis testing?
it must be possible test and falsify
A theory hypothesis must be clear and operationalised
What are paradigms and paradigm shifts?
A paradigm is a distinct set of concepts within a specific domain
Shifts happen when the theory is falsified and a new paradigm is created
evaluate Wundts research not being scientific as a limitation
- not scientific
- Used a non-empirical subjectivemethod. Even though ppts reported their own contract experiences, the process was unobservable. Wundts approach lacked reliability.
- limitation bc he didn’t use scientific methods and his research can’t probably be replicated.introspection experimental results were not reliably reproduced by other researchers.
what are limitations of Wundts approach?
- Not scientific
- Low ecological validity
what are strengths of Wundts approach?
- can be considered scientific
- Introspection is a useful today
evaluate how Wundts method can still be considered scientific as a strength?
- some aspects would still be considered scientific today
- He recorded the introspection within a controlled lab and used to standardised procedures so all ppts were tested in the same way
- Strength as this means his research can be considered a forerunner to the later scientific approaches in psychology
Low ecological validity as a limitation of using the scientific method
- Low ecological validity
- Psychologist believe that concentrating on purely objective/controlled method doesn’t reveal a great deal about how people behave in natural settings particularly because the matter of psychology is unobservable and can’t be measured empirically
- Limitation because although scientific research is likely to produce reliable data, it’s unlikely to be valid.A psychologists aim to investigate realistic human behaviour It’s pointless to adopt a purely scientific approach. The most effective approach is to use a range of different methods. (triangulation)
evaluate the fact that introspection is still used today as a strength
- Introspection is still being used as a useful method by modern psychologists
- For example Hunter er al Used introspective methods as a way of making happiness measurable. They gave teenagers alarms that went off a random times and ppts how to write down their thoughts/feelings at that time.
Results indicated that most teens were unhappy, but it was also found that when their energies were focused on a challenging task they tended to be more upbeat. - Strength because such research demonstrates how introspection is a useful tool and can be used with scientific method to provide an understanding of human behaviour. The fact that inspection is still being used demonstrates the long lasting influence that Wundt had on psychology
