Paper 2: Psychology in context-The origins of psychology Flashcards
Who is considered the father of psychology?
Wilhelm Wundt
What is introspection?
The examination or observation of ones own mental and emotional processes.
How did Wundt use introspection and what did he show?
Wundt trained his participants to ‘observe’ and reflect their inner mental processes and also presented them with controlled stimuli (such as a picture) and asked them to describe what they experienced.
Wundt showed that a scientific approach could be applied to the study of some aspects of psychology. His work paved the way for later controlled research and the study of mental processes e.g. by cognitive psychologists.
Why is Wundt considered ‘the father of psychology’?
- Wundt delivered the first university course on scientific psychology.
- Wundt wrote the first textbook on psychology.
- Wundt set up the first laboratory dedicated to experimental psychology.
- Wundt separated Psychology from philosophy and biology.
- Wundt was the first person to be called a phsycologist.
What is Science?
Science is a system of obtaining knowledge. This knowledge covers general truths, general principles and laws.
What is the ‘scientific method’?
A systematic process of obtaining objective(i.e not biased) information and testing theories/hypoeses.
What are the steps of the emergence of psychology as a science?
1* Wundt set his lab up, set up the first psychology uni course and wrote the first psychology textbook.
2* Wundt used the method of introspection to try and measure thought processes.
3* he demonstrated that studying human mental processes can be done in a controlled systematic way, and can be used to make rational inferences about these processes.
4*wundts work paved the way for later controlled research.
What are the weaknesses of introspection?
Introspection is not reliable. We cannot objectively measure a person’s responses because they are unobservable responses. Although participants could report on their conscious experiences, the processes themselves (e.g. memory, perception) are considered to be unobservable constructs.
Describe classical conditioning.
