Origins of Psychology (APPROACHES 6/6) Flashcards
Wundt
in 1879, Wundt opened first lab dedicated to experimental psychology in Leipzig, Germany
marked the beginning of scientific psychology, separating it from its philosophical roots, and showing that empirical methods could be applied to study of mental processes
made lots of inferences - not scientific
empirical methods
based on observable behaviours only
introspection
aim to analyse nature of human consciousness and represented first systematic attempt to study the mind under controlled conditions
developed theories about mental processes such as language and perception using scientific methods
his co-workers recorded own experiences of stimuli
structuralism
structures of consciousness were isolated and studied
divided observations into thoughts, images and sensations
e.g. participants given ticking metronome and told to report their thoughts, images and sensations
introspection process
stimulus exposure - researchers would present stimulus
internal examination - researcher would ask participant about thoughts, emotions and sensations
analysis - researcher analyse results and tries to explain behaviour
how Wundt used introspection
used experimental methods to find basic structures of the mind by breaking it down into constituent parts
used standardised procedure - stimuli presented in same order, same instructions
studied reaction time - systematically changing stimuli and measuring time took to respond
inferred that the longer it took to respond, more mental processes must be involved
inference
making assumptions
conclusion reached on basis of evidence and reasoning
Wundt and introspection strengths
reliable and scientific
introspection was systematic and well-controlled, data recorded in lab environment, controlled for extraneous variables, all participants tested in the same way, standardised procedures
more reliable than other approaches at the time
huge contributions that set foundations for other approaches to come - behaviourist and cognitive approaches
produced first academic journal and textbook
referred to as founder of modern psychology
other psychologists used his methodology to improve credibility and encouraged research to be more scientific
Wundt and introspection weaknesses
unscientific by today’s standard
relied on self-reporting mental processes - subjective, social desirability (hidden thoughts)
don’t know if data is valid and so ‘general laws of behaviour’ may not be valid
findings difficult to generalise to other people
definition of a science
involves building knowledge through systematic and objective measurement
aim to discover general laws about bejaviour
Wundt (emergence of psych)
1879
opened first experimental psychology lab in Germany
psychology emerges as a discipline in its own right
more scientific than before
used standardised procedures, controlled lab environments
psychodynamic approach (emergence of psych)
late 1800s - early 1900s
Sigmund Freud
case study research
ideas about unconscious mind - inaccessible without help of analyst
used subjective methods to study inner mental states
less scientific than before
only small sample size, subjective interpretations
behaviourism (emergence of psych)
1900s
Watson and Skinner - scientific psychology should only study observable behaviour which can be measured objectively
used carefully controlled experiments to focus on behaviour they could see
dominant psych until limitations discovered
Tolman found that rats in mazes could find food when usual route was blocked - had developed an internal map and reinforcement was not always required
importance of studying what goes on inside the head as well as observable behaviours
more scientific
standardised procedures and in controlled lab setting
humanistic approach (emergence of psych)
1950s
Rogers and Maslow
emerged from dissatisfactions from studying animals and applying findings to humans
focused on people rather than processes, free will rather than determinism
less scientific
no indication of lab research, small sample size, subjective, lack of numerical data
cognitive approach (emergence of psych)
1950s
digital revolution gave metaphor for studying the mind (comparing to a computer)
tested predictions about memory, attention and the mind using experiments
more scientific
used experiments and standardised procedures
however, some cases studies are difficult to generalise e.g. HM’s hippocampus was removed, memory wiped
social learning theory (emergence of psych)
1960s
Bandura (bobo doll)
drew attention to role of cognitive factors in learning
bringing cognitive approach and behaviourism together
same levels of being scientific
used larger samples (bobo doll 72 children), more easily generalised, controlled studies
cognitive revolution (emergence of psych)
1970s
scanning methods - CT, PET, MRI changed how behaviour and internal mental processes are studied
more scientific
more objective data - numerical data, scans
biological approach (emergence of psych)
1980s
advances in tech allow investigation of physiological processes as they happen
brain scanning to look more closely at structure and function of the brain
genetic testing allowed psychologists to better understand role of genes
more scientific (not by much)
new methods - genetic testing, controlled environment, objective methods
cognitive neuroscience (emergence of psych)
late 1900s
fMRI and other scanning techniques
bringing cognitive and biological approaches together
investigates how biological structures influence mental states
objective data
more scientific
some inferences still made, but can see on brain scans
emergence of psych strengths
modern psych is more scientific, more credible
learning, cognitive and biological approaches rely on use of scientific methods e.g. lab studies to investigate theories in controlled and unbiased way
psych has been scientific throughout 20th century - put trust in research findings and explanations
become more objective in research methods
development of new tech - not as open to interpretation
replicability is easier and check for consistency and reliability
become more credible in recent decades
emergence of psych weaknesses
arguably not scientific enough
philosopher Kuhn said that a science must have a paradigm - set of principles, assumptions and methods that all people within the subject agree on
therefore not a science - different explanations for human behaviour
not all approaches use objective methods - makes psych unscientific
humanistic - study individuals and subjective experiences
psychodynamic - built theories around case study evidence
samples are unrepresentative
research findings not entirely valid
