Origins of psychology

Question 1

psychology

definition

Answer 1

• the scientific study of the human mind and its functions

- especially those functions affecting behaviour in a given context

Question 2

introspection

Answer 2

• a systematic method used to study the mind
• by breaking up conscious awareness
• into basic structures of thoughts, images, and sensations

Question 3

Wundts lab

Answer 3

• first lab dedicated to psychological enquiry

- opened by Wundt in Leipzig Germany (1879)

Question 4

introspection

person

Answer 4

-Wundt

Question 5

Wundt

Controlled methods

Answer 5

-introspections recorded under controlled conditions
└same stimulus every time (e.g. ticking metronome)
└same standardised instructions
└so procedures can be repeated/replicated

-separated modern scientific psychology from broader philosophical roots

Question 6

Emergence of psychology as a science

Watson and early behaviourists

Answer 6

-introspection was questioned by behaviourist Watson (1913)
└subjective data so can’t establish general principles
└private processes can’t be observed and measure

Question 7

science

definition

Answer 7

a means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation. It aims to discover general laws

Question 8

Emergence of psychology as a science

scientific approach

Answer 8

-Watson (1913) and later skinner (1953)
└brought the language, rigour and methods of natural science into psychology
└behaviourists focus on scientific processes involved in learning
└carefully controlled lab experiments
└dominated for 5 years
└experimental method still used today
└cognitive scientific as inferences (cognitive revolution of 1960s)
└biological approach
└scanning techniques fMRI, EEG

Question 9

Psychology through time

list

Answer 9

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
John Locke (1632-1704)
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)- biological approach
1879- Wilhelm Wundt
1900s- Sigmund Freud- psychodynamic approach
1913- John B Watson- behaviourist approach
1950s - Carl Rodgers and Abraham Maslow- humanistic approach
1960s- cognitive approach
1960s- Albert Bandura
1980s onwards - biological approach - social learning theory
Eve of 21st century - cognitive neuroscience

Question 10

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

Answer 10

-mind and body separate from each other
└Cartesian dualism
└mind studied as its own right
└”I think therefore I am”

Question 11

John Locke (1632-1704)

Answer 11

-empiricism
└all experience obtained through senses
└humans don’t inherit knowledge or instincts
└basis of behaviourist approach
└investigating external events that can be observed and measured

Question 12

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

Answer 12

-evolutionary theory
└all human and animal behaviour has changed over successive generations
└individuals with stronger more adaptive genes survive to reproduce (survival of the fittest)
└basis of biological approach

Question 13

17th-19th century

Answer 13

-psychology is branch of philosophy

└experimental philosophy

Question 14

1879

Answer 14

Wilhelm Wundt
└opens first psychology lab in Germany
└psychology is own discipline

Question 15

1900s

Answer 15

Sigmund Freud
└published “the interpretation of dreams”
└psychodynamic approach established
└influence of unconscious mind on behaviour
└development of person centred therapy- psychoanalysis
└argued psychical problems could be explained in terms of conflict within the mind

Question 16

1913

Answer 16

John B Watson
└writes “psychology as the Behaviourist views it”
└behaviourist approach established
└watson and skinner
└psychodynamic and behaviourist approach dominate for next 50 years

Question 17

1950s

Answer 17

Carl Rodgers and Abraham Maslow
└develop humanistic approach
└self-determination and free will

Question 18

1960s

1

Answer 18

-cognitive revolution
  └digital computer
  └metaphor for human mind
└cognitive approach
  └reintroduces study of mental processes
  └more scientific than Wundt

Question 19

1960s

2

Answer 19

-cognitive revolution 
Albert Bandura
└social learning theory 
  └role of cognitive factors in learning
  └bridges behaviourism and cognitive approach

Question 20

1980s onwards

Answer 20

-biological approach dominates
└technology advances
└increased understanding of brain/biological processes

Question 21

Eve of 21st century

Answer 21

-cognitive neuroscience
└cognitive + biological
└how biological structures influence mental states