Origins of psychology Flashcards
1
Q
Who is Wilhelm Wundt?
A
- first person to call himself a psychologist
- believed psychology could be studied scientifically
- his approach helped legitimise psychology as a science + identify experimental psychology as the preferred way of studying human behaviour
- only studied aspects of behaviour that could be strictly controlled under experimental conditions e.g reaction time to various stimuli
- interested in the STRUCTURE of the mind
2
Q
What was Wilhelm Wundt’s introspection technique?
A
- an individual gains knowledge about their own mental states
- wanted individuals to observe their ‘inner world’ using introspective ability the same way we can perceptually observe our outer work
- participants shown objects and asked HOW they were perceiving it AKA asked individuals to reflect on the mental processes they were using
- this gave insight into and was used to develop theories about mental processes
3
Q
What is empiricism in regards to how psychology emerged as a science?
A
- knowledge comes from observation/experience-not innate
- psychology is based on two assumptions: determinism (all behaviour is caused) + predictability (if we know cause then we should be able to predict resulting behaviour)-method used to explore assumptions is known as ‘scientific method’
- scientific method is objective (collection of data isn’t influenced by own belief), systematic (carries out orderly, accurately), replicable (able to be repeated by others to determine if the same results are obtained
4
Q
Evaluation of the origins of psychology (Wundt’s introspection theory + empiricism)
A
(-) Wundt’s introspection method was unreliable + unobservable, cannot replicate
(-) Nisbett and Wilson - introspection is inaccurate as people typically are unaware of their own processes, can’t say why they do what they do, self report is flawed!
(+) introspection still relevant, used to make ‘happiness’ a measurable phenomenon
(+) scientific method determines cause + effect
