The Emerence Of Psychology As A Science

Question 1

Who was Wilhelm Wundt?

Answer 1

He is known as the ‘father of psychology’ as he moved the subject away from its philosophical roots to controlled scientific study

Question 2

When, what and where did Wilhelm Wundt set up?

Answer 2

In 1879 he opened the first psychological laboratory at the university of Leipzig in German

Question 3

What was Wundt’s aim and what technique did he develop?

Answer 3

Aim- to study the nature of human consciousness (i.e. the awareness of your own thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations etc)
Technique- he developed a technique known as introspection

Question 4

What was Wundt’s experiment?

Answer 4

He trained psychology students to make observations about their experience when exposed to a certain stimuli e.g. a ticking metronome. Then he asked them to reflect on their experience objectively.
He divided their reports into three categories: thoughts, images and sensations as he believed consciousness be reduced to these three basic elements. He did this in a very structured way ensuring they all experienced the same stimuli in the same way