origins of psychology

Question 1

what is introspection?

Answer 1

• process of observing and examining your own conscious thoughts or emotions.
  first systematic experimental attempt to study mind.
  it breaks up conscious awareness to basic structures of thoughts, images + sensations.

Question 2

what is psychology?

Answer 2

study of mind, behaviour + brain

Question 3

define science

Answer 3

acquiring knowledge through systematic + objective investigation. Aim= discover general laws

Question 4

when and where did Wilhelm Wundt open his first lab?

Answer 4

1879- opens first ever lab dedicated to psychological research in Leipzig, Germany.

Question 5

why is Wilhelm Wundt important?

Answer 5

his work was beginning of scientific psychology separating it from philosophy.

Question 6

what did Wundt aim to analyse?

Answer 6

analyse the nature of human consciousness. he attempted to study mind under controlled conditions. pioneering method = introspection

Question 7

explain Wundt’s standardised procedures

Answer 7

• Wundt main aim= develop theories about mental processes (language + perception)
• he recorded experiences of various stimuli he and co-workers were presented with e.g. object, sound + he then divided observations into 3 categories:
  1. Thoughts
  2. Images
  3. Sensations

Question 8

what’s structuralism?

Answer 8

• isolating structure of consciousness and breaking them into most basic components (shown by categories in standardised procedures).
• stimuli Wundt and co-workers experienced= always presented in same order + same instructions were used for each participant.

Question 9

timeline of psychology?

Answer 9

17th-19th century
- psychology- an experimental philosophy
1879
- wilhelm wundt opens first psychology lab in Germany
1900s
- Freud- psychodynamic approach + person centre therapy psychoanalysis
1913
- behaviourist approach discovered. Psychodynamic and behaviourist approach dominate psychology
1950s
- humanistic approach developed + intro. of digital computer= cognitive approach developed
1960s
- social learning theory (Bandura)
1980s onwards
- biological approach established
21st century
- cognitive neuroscience emerges

Question 10

eval- point 1

Answer 10

wundts work + methods= systematic, well-controlled, scientific
introspection recorded in a lab= limits extraneous variables
standardised procedures= wundts research can be considered a forerunner to later scientific approaches e.g. behaviourism

Question 11

eval- point 2

Answer 11

subjective data as participants were self-reporting their mental processes so data= influenced by personal perspectives + maybe they had hidden thoughts = UNSCIENTIFIC
this makes it not replicable= limits reliability of introspection
- BUT subjective data has enhanced mundane realism as it draws inner thoughts + feelings