Origins of Psychology Flashcards
What was psychology once known as?
experimental philosophy
Who are three key people who influence early pyschology?
- Rene Descartes
- John Locke
- Charles Darwin
What were most people’s beliefs about behaviour before Wundt?
- all behaviour was governed & given by God
- no need to study or question human behaviour as it was God’s will
What did Wudnt believe about how behaviour should be specifically studied?
should be broken down into its constituent parts & analysed systematically
What are 2 assumptions of the scientific method?
- all behaviour has a cause & is determined
- future behaviour is predictable
What did Wundt believed about psychology as a science?
psychology should be studied like “hard sciences” (eg. Bio, Physics, Chemistry) using a scientific method
What was so special about Wundt?
- first person to call himself a psychologist
- published first book about psychology (Principles of Physiological Psychology)
- founded Institute for Experimental Psychology, first person to study behaviour in a lab
What idea in psychology did Wundt come up with?
introspection
What is introspection?
where participants reflect on their own feelings, emotions, sensations and mental states
What did Wundt use introspection as a method for?
learning more about mental processes (eg. memory, perception, sensation & reaction)
What are the 4 key principles for methods of introspection?
- participant must know when stimulus will be presented
- participant must be in state of strained attention
- process must be repeatable
- strength & quality of stimulus must be able to be varied
What are 2 weaknesses of introspection?
- ptcpts are only able to report on conscious mental processes (Nisbett & Wilson)
- introspection could not be used to study children & animals, don’t have enough self-awareness to reflect on their emotions or are unable to verbally express them
What are is a strength of introspection?
paved the way for emergence of cognitive approach
Define objectivity.
basing finding on a fact, rather than an opinion
Define subjectivity.
basing findings on an opinion, rather than a fact
Define replicability.
the ability to repeat a study & achieve the same findings
Define empirical methods.
the use of objective, quantitative observation in a systematically controlled, replicable situation, in order to test or refine a theory
What are approaches?
different perspectives of approaches
What are the 5 steps of the scientific method?
- ask a question
- state a hypothesis
- conduct an experiment
- analyse the results
- make a conclusion
What are the 5 approaches in psychology?
- psychodynamic approach
- Learning approach (behaviourist & social learning theory)
- cognitive approach
- biological approach
- humanistic approach
What are all approaches based on?
assumptions
What are assumptions?
beliefs, held without proof, that something is a fact
How did Wundt contribute to the emergence of psychology as a science?
showed that empirical methods could be applied to mental processes
How did Watson & Skinner and the behaviourist approach contribute to the emergence of psychology as a science?
emphasised the importance of rigorous scientific processes & carefully controlled lab experiments
How has the cognitive approach contribute to the emergence of psychology as a science?
showed that internal mental thoughts are an important area of study & human behaviour in lab setting can be used to makes conclusion about cognitive processes
How has the biological approach contribute to the emergence of psychology as a science? (2 points)
- used advanced technology, like brain scanning techniques eg. fMRI & EEGs
to understand structure & function of the human brain & how this influences human behaviour - used scientific methods to make objective observations to then be replicated & refine theories
How is Wundt’s approach idiographic? Who found this an issue?
introspection can not generate universal principles used to explain human behaviour due to the focus on each individual
- behaviourists heavily criticised this
