Origins of Psychology (8 marker`)

Question 1

AO1: Introspection

Answer 1

a self-report technique where people would record their thoughts, images and sensations. To break up conscious awareness into these basic structures.

Question 2

AO1: Wundt (1879)

Answer 2

he opened the first lab for psychological enquiry and he believed in structuralism of the mind. His work was significant as it marked the beginning of psychology being recognised as scientific. This was due to the many controls he used (e.g. same stimulus) and the same standardised instructions given to all participants.

Question 3

AO1: the emergence of Psychology as a science

Answer 3

The scientific approach
R: Replicable; can be recreated
O: Objective; based on facts rather than opinion
C: Controlled; limiting the effect of any external variables
E: Empirical; hard evidence
T: Theory Construction; the use of a theory to make a prediction

1900s behaviourist: Watson questioned the value of introspection as it produced subjective data. So he focused of behaviours that can be observed.
1950s cognitive approach: compared mind to a computer and tested predictions about memory and attention. Ensured it was legitimate and highly effective.
1980s biological approach: using scanning techniques to study live activity in the brain

Question 4

AO3: strength- Wundts methods were scientific

Answer 4

P- Wundt’s methods were systematic and well controlled
E/E- all introspections were recorded in a controlled setting of a lab, which meant there were no extraneous variables. Procedures and instructions were also standardised which meant all participants were tested in the same way.
L- suggests his research was an influence for later scientific approaches
HOWEVER,
P- some aspects of his research is unscientific
E/E- as introspection is self report, the dat is subjective (influenced by a personal perspective). Participants could have also hidden their thoughts.
L- suggests some of his research is flawed and would not meet the criteria of scientific enquiry

Question 5

Strength: used in contemporary research

Answer 5

P: used in contemporary research
E: researchers in 2003 used introspection as a way of measuring happiness
E: they found that when teenagers were engaged in a challenging task, they were more upbeat, in comparison to an everyday task.
L: this suggest that introspection has some relevance in contemporary research and is still a useful tool for measuring a certain behaviour.