origins of psychology Flashcards
What year did Wilhelm Wundt open the first lab dedicated to psychological enquiry?
1879
Where was Wundt’s lab located?
Leipzig, Germany
What significant milestone in psychology is marked by Wundt’s lab?
The beginning of scientific psychology
What was the primary aim of Wundt’s work?
To analyse the nature of human consciousness
What method did Wundt develop for studying the mind?
Introspection
What was one of Wundt’s main objectives in his research?
To develop theories about mental processes
What types of stimuli did Wundt and his co-workers use in their experiments?
Different objects or sounds
Into how many categories did Wundt and his co-workers divide their observations?
Three categories
What were the three categories of observations in Wundt’s introspection method?
- Thoughts
- Images
- Sensations
What is the term for isolating the structure of consciousness as practiced by Wundt?
Structuralism
How were the stimuli presented to participants in Wundt’s experiments?
In the same order with the same instructions
What is one strength of Wundt’s work?
Some methods were systematic and well-controlled
In what environment were Wundt’s introspections recorded?
Controlled environment of the lab
What was the purpose of standardising procedures and instructions in Wundt’s research?
To ensure all participants received the same information
What does Wundt’s research suggest about later scientific approaches in psychology?
It can be considered a forerunner to the behaviourist approach
What is one limitation of Wundt’s research?
It relied on participants self-reporting their mental processes
What type of data did Wundt’s research primarily utilize?
Subjective data
What influences subjective data in Wundt’s research?
Personal perspective
Why is it difficult to establish meaningful ‘laws of behaviour’ from Wundt’s data?
Participants may have hidden some of their thoughts
What is one of the aims of science that Wundt’s research fails to meet?
To predict future behaviour
True or False: Wundt’s early efforts to study the mind are considered scientifically sound today.
False
What is science?
Science involves building knowledge through systematic and objective (unbiased) measurement
The aim is to discover general laws.
Who questioned the value of introspection in psychology?
John B. Watson
He was a prominent behaviourist.
What type of data did introspection produce?
Subjective data
This made it difficult to establish general laws.
What did behaviourists propose about studying psychology?
A truly scientific psychology should only study phenomena that can be observed objectively and measured
This led to a focus on observable behaviors.
What approach dominated scientific psychology for the next 50 years after the behaviourist movement?
Behaviourist approach
This approach emphasized controlled experiments.
What metaphor did cognitive psychologists use to study the mind in the 1950s?
The mind as a computer
This was exemplified by the multi-store model.
What did cognitive psychologists test using experiments?
Predictions about memory and attention
This made the study of the mind a legitimate scientific aspect.
What significant advances did the biological approach utilize in the 1980s?
Advances in technology to investigate physiological processes
Techniques like fMRI and EEG were used to study brain activity.
What is an example of a method used in the biological approach to understand behavior?
Genetic testing
This method helps clarify the relationship between genes and behavior.
Fill in the blank: The behaviourist approach focuses on _______.
observable behaviors
True or False: The cognitive approach emerged after the behaviourist approach.
True
Fill in the blank: The digital revolution of the 1950s influenced the _______ approach in psychology.
cognitive
What is one strength of modern psychology?
Research in modern psychology can claim to be scientific
Psychology aims to describe, understand, predict, and control behaviour, similar to natural sciences.
What methods do the learning approaches, cognitive approach, and biological approach in psychology rely on?
Scientific methods, such as lab studies
These methods are used to investigate theories in a controlled and unbiased way.
What does the success of psychology as a scientific discipline suggest?
Psychology has established itself as a scientific discipline throughout the 20th century and beyond.
What is a limitation of psychology regarding the methods used?
Not all approaches use objective methods.
Which approach in psychology rejects the scientific approach?
The humanistic approach
This approach focuses on individual experiences and subjective experience.
What method does the psychodynamic approach use that limits its objectivity?
The case study method
This method does not use representative samples.
What is a challenge in studying human beings in psychology?
Human beings are active participants in research, responding to demand characteristics.
True or False: A scientific approach to studying human thought and experience is always desirable.
False
A scientific approach may not always be desirable or possible.
What is introspection?
The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations.
Introspection was a key method in early psychological research.
Define psychology.
The scientific study of the mind, behaviour and experience.
Psychology encompasses a variety of subfields, including clinical, cognitive, and social psychology.
What is science?
A means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation. The aim is to discover general laws.
Science relies on empirical evidence and experimentation.
