origins of psychology Flashcards
What year and in which country did wilhelm wundt open his lab?
1879, in Lezpig, Germany
What is Introspection?
The study of one’s own conscious thoughts
What was the main problem with introspection?
It relied on the subject’s own subjunctive interpretation of their thoughts, meaning that results were often biased and/or inaccurate.
What did Rene Descartes suggest which sparked the idea of studying the mind? (very early 1600’s)
The mind and body are independent from each other (this was part of a concept called Cartesian Dualism)
What idea did John Locke propose which later formed the basis of the behaviourist approach? (late 1600’s)
Empiricism-the idea that all behaviour (knowledge and instincts) are obtained by experience through the senses from the environment. “the mind is a blank slate”
Why is Darwin’s theory of evolution significant within psychology? (1800’s)
The idea that characteristics could be passed down through genes formed the basis of the biological approach as it suggested that behaviour could be influenced by a person’s genetic makeup.
Why was introspection significant in changing early psychology’s status from ‘experimental philosophy’ to a science?
Being able to conduct replicable psychological tests in a controlled lab environment made psychology get recognised as something that can actually be studied, rather than just debated. (despite the fact that the test is very subjective)
What was Watson’s view on Wundt’s introspection?
He saw that the data was very subjective and varied between people, and so the data gained was generally not very useful.
What did Watson propose in opposition to introspection and what did this influence?
He proposed that a scientific study should only study objective, measurable phenomena, this influenced the behaviourist approach as a way of studying the mind in a more objective, deterministic way
What is the etymology behind the word psychology? (absolutely not running out of ideas for cards)
‘Psyche’-Greek word meaning ‘mind’
‘Logos’-Greek word meaning ‘study of’
What are the benefits of using scientific method?
- It is replicable
- external factors are controlled
- it is self-corrective (if something doesn’t work, it can be changed and improved)
What are the limitations to using scientific method?
- At times it can be unethical
- Low ecological validity (people would act differently if they weren’t being studied
- Not always applicable
