Origins of Psychology Flashcards
who opened the first ever psychology lab
Wundt
when did Wundt open his lab
his lab, dedicated entirely to experimental psychology, was opened in 1879
what did Wundt’s work mark the start of
scientific psychology (showed that empirical methods could be applied to the study of mental processes, not just philosophical beliefs)
what does empirical mean in the context of psychology
when a researcher uses their own senses to observe behaviour
what method did wundt use
introspection
describe introspection
when you examine your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences
what was one of wudnt’s main objectives
to develop theories about mental processes (like language and perception) through scientific methods
what is structuralism
isolating structures of consciousness to study them
what 3 divisions did wudnt seperate structures of consciousness into
- thoughts
- images
- sensations
give an example of how structuralism worked
wundt would present patients with a metronome, for example, and thy would describe their thoughts, images, and sensations around this
what was 1 way wundt studied mental processes
reaction time - the longer the reaction the more mental processes needed
give 2 strengths of Wundt’s methods and findings, and introspection
- wundts methods are quite reliable because they were systematic and well-controlled (in a lab environment - could control extraneous variables) . since each ppt was tested in the same way, the results can be seen as credible and reliable
- wundt’s large contributions to psychology arguably set the foundation for other approaches/psychologists. he produced the 1st academic journal and wrote the first psychology textbook
give a weakness of Wundt’s methods and findings, and introspection
some aspects of Wundt’s research are considered to be unscientific (relying on PPT self-reporting their mental processes). this can be very subjective and open to interpretation, especially if ppts hide some of their thoughts. therefore we don’t know if Wundt’s data is valid and reliable, so the findings may be difficult to generalise
give the basic timeline of psychology
1879 - Wundt started researching psychology scientifically
1800s-1900s - psychodynamic approach
1900s - behaviourism
1950s - humanistic approach
1950s - cognitive approach
1960s - social learning theory
1970s - cognitive revolution (new scanning techniques)
1980s - biological approach
1990s - cognitive neuroscience
what happened in the psychological timeline in 1879
1879 - Wundt opened the first experimental psychology lab and introduced standardised procedure to explain mental processes
what happened in the psychological timeline in the 1800s-1900s
1800s-1900s - Sigmund Freud developed ideas about the unconscious mind through case studies (less scientific), creating the basis of the psychodynamic approach
what happened in the psychological timeline in the 1900s
1900s - behaviourist psychology emerged (led by Skinner, Watson etc.) which believed that psychology can only be scientific if you study observable behaviours (through controlled lab studied - more scientific)
what happened in the psychological timeline in the 1950s (2 main things)
1950s - the humanistic approach emerged due to Rogers and Maslow being dissatisfied with others studying animals, so instead focused on human processes instead of determinism
1950s - due to the digital revolution, the cognitive approach also emerged during this time so psychologists could test for memory and attention etc. using controlled experiments
what happened in the psychological timeline in the 1960s
1960s - Bandura’s research highlighted the role of cognitive factors in learning which linked behaviourism and the cognitive approach together to create social learning theory
what happened in the psychological timeline in the 1970s
1970s - the cognitive revolution at this time allowed psychologists to use scanning technology to research the brain and study mental processes scientifically
what happened in the psychological timeline in the 1980s
1980s - the biological approach emerged and people focused on genetics alongside processes in the brain
what happened in the psychological timeline in the 1990s
1990s - fMRI is developed and cognitive neuroscience grows in popularity (there is still an element of interpretation, but a significant improvement in accuracy for 1879)
give 2 reasons why psychology should be emerging as a science
- modern psychological research can claim to be scientific due to its use of controlled, standardised procedures. therefore, people can put trust in research findings because they are credible
- psychology has become much more objective over time due to the technological developments (not as open to interpretation as it was previously). this means replicability is easier and results can be seen as more reliable and valid
give 2 reasons why psychology shouldn’t be emerging as a science
- arguably not scientific enough because it doesn’t have a paradigm (a set of methods and principles that all experts in the field agree on)
- not all approaches use objective methods meaning it is unscientific and some samples are unrepresentative (some findings may not be entirely valid)
