Psychology: Introspection Flashcards
What was Psychology originally seen as?
Branch of philosophy known as experimental philosophy
17th to 19th century
Who were the first philosophers to consider psychological questions?
Rene Descartes - Cartesian Dualism
John Locke - Empiricism
Charles Darwin - Evolution
When did Psychology become a science?
The birth of Psychology is identified as 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychological laboratory in Germany.
When and by whom was the psychodynamic approach established?
Sigmund Freud established the Psychodynamic Approach in which emphasised the importance of the unconscious mind and conflicts that arise in childhood. the Behaviourist and Psychodynamic Approach dominated for 50 years.
When and by whom was the Behavioursit approach established?
John B Watson and B.F. Skinner established the Behaviourist approach in 1913 which emphasises the role of reinforcement in learning.
What tow approaches dominated Psychology between 1910-1960?
The behaviourist and Psychodynamic Approaches dominated for 50 years.
Who established the humanist approach and when?
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow in the 1950s rejected the Behaviourist and Psycholodynamic approaches and develop the Humanist approach which emphasises the importance of free will.
What investion led to the revelation to the revelation how psychologists think about the mind?
In the 1960s the cognitive revelation comes with the investion of the computer which provides the analogy of the human mind working like a computer does. The Cognitive approach emphasises the importance of studying internal mental processes in a scientific way.
What is the key principle of the cognitive approach?
We learn through our mental representation of everything that is related. Our mind is like a computer, processing information from the environment to form a response.
What led to the establishment of the biological approach? When did this happen?
In the 1980s the Biological Approach is established as the dominat approach due to technological advances allowing us to directly study the brain.
Who was Wilhem Wundt? What was he best know for doing?
Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychological lab in Leipzig Germany to study the mind using introspection in 1879.
What does Introspection mean?
We explain all behavoiur by looking into ourselves and measuring it as scientifically as possible.
How were Wundt’s ideas scientific?
Strict methods used. Only studied behaviour that could be strictly controlled in exptal conditions e.g reaction times.
Strengths of Wundt’s introspection
- It paved the way for psychology to become a science
- Easy to conduct
Limitations of Wundt’s introspection
- It can not be replicable
- It is subjective
