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A Level Psychology > Origins of psychology > Flashcards

Origins of psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

What is psychology defined as?

A

The scientific study of the mind and behaviour

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2
Q

Why is psychology considered a science?

A

It uses a structured and scientific approach to test theories about behaviour and mental processes

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3
Q

What are the five features that make something a science?

A

Objectivity Control Predictability Hypothesis testing Replication

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4
Q

Who is considered the father of experimental psychology?

A

Wilhelm Wundt

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5
Q

What did Wundt do in 1879?

A

He opened an Institute for Experimental Psychology in Germany

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6
Q

What approach did Wundt use to study the mind?

A

A structuralist and reductionist approach

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7
Q

What method did Wundt use to uncover what people were thinking and experiencing?

A

Introspection

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8
Q

What is introspection?

A

A psychological method that involves analysing your own thoughts and feelings internally

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9
Q

Why did Wundt use introspection?

A

To explore the inside workings of the brain by studying and describing reactions to set stimuli

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10
Q

What were participants asked to do during introspection?

A

Describe their experiences when presented with a set of stimuli and explain their reaction times

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11
Q

What were the two key goals of Wundt’s work?

A

To analyse the structure of the human mind and measure its parts

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12
Q

What are two problems with introspection?

A

It does not explain how the mind works and it is not entirely objective

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13
Q

What does reductionism assume?

A

That things can be reduced to simple cause-and-effect processes

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14
Q

How did Wundt apply reductionism?

A

By believing that the human mind could be broken down into smaller measurable parts

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15
Q

What are the arguments for psychology as a science?

A

It uses scientific procedures to investigate theories and has the same aims as science to predict understand and control

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16
Q

What are the arguments against psychology as a science?

A

Some approaches in psychology don’t use objective methods findings are hard to reliably generalise and experiments are subject to extraneous variablesQuestion

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17
Q

What did Wundt separate psychology from?

A

Philosophy

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18
Q

What did Wundt focus on in his experiments?

A

Studying the mind in a much more structured and scientific way

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19
Q

What did Wundt believe about human experiences?

A

They could be broken down into their basic components

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20
Q

What does structuralism involve?

A

Breaking down human thoughts and experiences into their basic components

21
Q

What is the idea of reductionism?

A

The belief that things can be reduced to simple cause-and-effect processes

22
Q

What does reductionism help with in psychology?

A

To measure and study processes scientifically

23
Q

What are the limitations of introspection?

A

It does not explain how the mind works and is not entirely objective

24
Q

Why can introspection findings not be considered reliable?

A

Because people describe their thoughts and feelings which are unobservable

25
Q

What were the methods Wundt used classified as?

A

Experimental psychology

26
Q

What is the scientific method used for in psychology?

A

To test theories about behaviour and mental processes

27
Q

What do controlled conditions ensure in psychology experiments?

A

That they are unbiased and scientifically tested

28
Q

Why is it difficult to make psychology a true science?

A

Because of the use of unreliable methods and extraneous variables

29
Q

What are extraneous variables in psychology experiments?

A

Factors such as demand characteristics which can affect results

30
Q

Why is generalisation hard in psychological studies?

A

Because it is very hard to get a representative sample of the population

31
Q

Why do psychologists use scientific procedures?

A

To ensure their studies are controlled and unbiasedQuestion

32
Q

What did Wundt aim to do by separating psychology from philosophy?

A

To study the mind in a more structured and scientific way

33
Q

What did Wundt’s work influence?

A

The behavioural cognitive and biological approaches in psychology

34
Q

What does the structured and scientific approach of psychology help achieve?

A

To uncover what people were thinking and experiencing

35
Q

What was Wundt’s method of introspection used to study?

A

Reactions to a set of stimuli and reaction times

36
Q

How did Wundt’s work contribute to modern psychology?

A

It laid the foundation for experimental methods used in psychology

37
Q

Why can introspection findings vary?

A

Because people describe their experiences differently

38
Q

What is one advantage of Wundt’s approach?

A

It enabled psychology to influence other areas such as behavioural approaches

39
Q

Why is introspection criticised for being subjective?

A

Because it relies on personal thoughts and feelings which are unobservable

40
Q

What does objectivity in science ensure?

A

Observations are not influenced by other factors or people

41
Q

Why is control important in scientific observations?

A

To make sure studies take place under controlled conditions

42
Q

What does predictability in science refer to?

A

The ability to predict future behaviour based on scientific results

43
Q

Why is replication important in science?

A

To ensure experiments can be repeated to confirm results

44
Q

What is hypothesis testing in science?

A

The process of generating predictions and testing them to strengthen or disprove a theory

45
Q

What did Allport argue about psychology?

A

That it has the same aims as science to predict understand and control

46
Q

What is one key argument against psychology as a science?

A

Many approaches use unreliable methods such as interviews

47
Q

Why can findings in psychology sometimes lack generalisability?

A

Because representative samples of the population are hard to achieve

48
Q

What are demand characteristics in psychology?

A

Clues participants pick up that may reveal the aim of a study

49
Q

What issue arises from extraneous variables in psychology experiments?

A

They can make it hard to control studies effectively

A Level Psychology (19 decks)

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