Origins of Psychology Flashcards
Wilhelm Wundt (1832 - 1920)
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first to call himself a psychologist
believed that all aspects of nature, including the human mind, could be studied scientifically
his approach paved the way for the acceptance of psychology as a science and experimental psychology as the preferred method of studying human behaviour
he only studied aspects of behaviour that could be strictly controlled under experimental conditions — e.g. the study of reaction time (how long it takes people to react to various stimuli), sensation and perception
aimed to study the structure of the human mind by breaking down behaviours into their basic elements — this approach is referred to as structuralism and the technique is known as introspection
how did Wundt’s beliefs change?
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he originally believed that all aspects of human experience could be investigated experimentally
but he eventually realised that higher mental processes, like language and emotion, cannot be studied in this manner
such higher mental processes involve cultural psychology, rather than experimental psychology, which describes behaviours in terms of general trends in behaviour among groups of people
introspection
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from the Latin meaning “looking into”
the process by which a person gains knowledge about their own mental and emotional state by examining or observing their conscious thoughts and feelings — thus enabling us to observe our inner world
Wundt claimed that mental processes like memory and perception can be observed systematically, as they occur using introspection
for example, observers may be shown an object and asked how they perceive it, which may provide an insight into the nature of mental processes involved in perception
introspection: Wundt’s study of perception
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in Wundt’s study of perception, participants were presented with carefully controlled stimuli such as visual images and asked to describe their inner processes and experiences as they looked at the image
this made it possible to compare different participants’ reports in response to the same stimuli and establish general theories about perception and other mental processes
psychology as a science: how did psychology develop as a science?
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the success of natural sciences significantly influenced the emergence of psychology
particularly because the scientific methods used by them were regarded as the only reliable methods for discovering knowledge about the world
therefore, in order to be accepted, psychology had to adopt the methods of natural sciences, consequently scientific psychology emerged
psychology as a science: what does scientific psychology rely on?
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scientific psychology relies on empiricism, which is the belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience and observation alone, it is not innate
Wundt and his followers applied empirical methods to the study of humans and psychology emerged as a distinct identity
psychology as a science: define the scientific method
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scientific method = refers to the use of investigative methods that are objective, systematic and replicable
also refers to the formulation, testing and modification of hypotheses based on these methods
psychology as a science: explain the scientific method
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objective — researchers do not let preconceived ideas or biases influence the collection of data
systematic — observations and experiments are carried out in an orderly way, measurement and recording of empirical data is carried out accurately while considering how other factors may influence the results obtained
replicable — observations can be repeated by other researchers to see if the same results are obtained, if results are not replicable then they are not reliable and cannot be accepted as being universally true
the research process is not restricted to empirical observation alone, reason should also be used to explain the results of observations
psychology as a science: what assumptions is scientific psychology based on?
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scientific psychology is based on two major assumptions….
1) all behaviour is caused (determinism)
2) all behaviour can be predicted (predictability)
behaviour is determined, meaning that it can be predicted — the scientific method explores these assumptions
the scientific cycle
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objective, systematic and replicable observation
building, refining or falsifying
development of a scientific theory
testing
repeat
(theories are constantly developed, tested and refined through further observation)
x4 evaluation points
can be used for Wundt, introspection and the scientific approach
Wundt’s methods were unreliable
introspection is inaccurate
strengths of the scientific approach
weaknesses of the scientific approach
evaluation
WUNDT’S METHODS WERE UNRELIABLE
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Wundt’s structuralist approach is often criticised for relying primarily on non-observable responses
many participants could report on their conscious experiences but the processes being studied (memory, perception, etc) are considered to be unobservable constructions
for instance, we can’t physically see a participant remember or perceive something
this led to his approach failing — his methods lacked reliability and his introspective experimental results were not reliably reproduced by other researchers in other laboratories
meanwhile, early behaviourists like Pavlov were already producing results that were being reliably reproduced and generalised to all human beings, which highlights Wundt’s lack of reliability
evaluation
INTROSPECTION IS INACCURATE
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most psychologists accept the claim that we have very little knowledge of the causes and processes underlying our behaviours and attitudes
this claim challenges introspection, which believes that we can gain knowledge of our inner world through observation
for instance, Nisbett et al (1977) found that participants were remarkably unaware of factors that influenced their choice of a consumer item
therefore, introspection is inaccurate as it relies on us reflecting on our thoughts and feelings, which we may have limited understanding of
this inaccuracy is especially problematic when introspection is used to study implicit attitudes that we are unaware of
for example, if a person is implicitly racist this will influence how they react to ethnic minority groups, but such attitudes exist outside their conscious awareness so the self-report used in introspection would not uncover them
evaluation
STRENGTHS OF THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH
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relies on objective and systematic methods of observation, so knowledge acquired using the scientific method is more than just the passive acceptance of fact, it is much more accurate
relies on a belief in determinism, so the approach is able to establish the causes of behaviour through the use of empirical and replicable methods, which also allows us to predict behaviour
allows scientific theories to be refined or abandoned if they no longer fit the facts, essentially meaning that this approach is self corrective as more observations can be made and theories can be constantly developed or refined
evaluation
LIMITATIONS OF THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH
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lacks ecological validity as it focuses on objectivity and observations in controlled environments
researchers are essentially creating contrived situations that tell us little about how people would behave in their real life, natural environments, meaning that findings are hard to generalise to real life
cannot accurately measure all aspects of human behaviour because much of this is unobservable
it’s probably true to say this of all sciences but it applies to psychology the most there as there is a far bigger gap between the actual data obtained in research investigations and the theories put forward to explain this data
many psychologists don’t believe that all human behaviour can be explored through scientific methods, instead suggesting that not all behaviour is subject to the laws and regularities implied by the scientific method
so predictions of behaviour are not always possible, decreasing the usefulness of the scientific method
