Section 5 : The Approaches in Psychology - The Origins of Psychology

Question 1

what is psychology

Answer 1

the scientific study of the mind and behaviour

Question 2

what are the different schools of thought called

Answer 2

the approaches

Question 3

what are the different approaches

Answer 3

behavioural, cognitive, biological, psychodynamic, humanistic

Question 4

who is considered the father of experimental psychology

Answer 4

Wilheim Wundt

Question 5

what did Wilheim Wundt do

Answer 5

opened an institute for experimental psychology, he separated the psychology and philosophy and focused on studying the mind in a much more structured and scientific way

Question 6

what approach did Wundt use when trying to uncover what people were thinking and experiencing

Answer 6

Structuralist and Reductionist approach

Question 7

what methods did Wundt use

Answer 7

introspection

Question 8

what is introspection

Answer 8

a psychological method which involves analysing your own thoughts and feelings internally

Question 9

what did Wundt use introspection for

Answer 9

to study sensation and percption

Question 10

What are the problems of introspection

Answer 10

-Doesn’t explain how the mind works - not objective, relies on people describing their thoughts
-Doesn’t provide data that can be used reliably, people accounts can’t be confirmed as they report on their experiences

Question 11

What is reductionism

Answer 11

The idea that things can be reduced to simple cause and effect processes.

Question 12

What are the features that make something a science

Answer 12

Objectivity
Control
Predictability
Hypothesis testing
Replication

Question 13

What does objectivity refer to

Answer 13

Scientific observations should be recorded without bias and not influenced by any other factors, or any other people

Question 14

What does control refer to

Answer 14

Scientific observations should take place under controlled conditions

Question 15

What does predictability refer to

Answer 15

Scientist should be able to use the results and knowledge gained from experiments to predict future behaviour

Question 16

What does hypothesis testing refer to

Answer 16

Theories generate predictions which can be tested to either strengthen or disapprove the support for a theory

Question 17

What does replication refer to

Answer 17

Each experiment should be able to be replicated exactly so people can have confidence in the results

Question 18

Is psychology a science

Answer 18

Wundt’s founding of experimental psychology kicked psychology into the scientific world but there is still lots of controversy around the idea that it is a true science

Question 19

What are the arguments for psychology is a science

Answer 19

-Allport (1974) said psychology has the same aims as science - to predict, understand and control
-Behvaiourist, cognitive and biological approaches to psychology use scientific procedures to investigate theories. Usually controlled and unbiased

Question 20

What are arguments against psychology is a science

Answer 20

-Other approaches in psychology don’t use objective methods to study behaviour
-They use unreliable methods e.g interviews which are subjective
-hard to get a representative sample of the population for a study so results can’t be generalised reliably
-psychological experiments are open to extraneous variables such as demand characteristics which can be hard to control

Question 21

What is demand characteristics

Answer 21

When participants try to guess the aim of the study