The emergence of psychology as a science

Question 1

1950s Cognitive approach

Answer 1

Cognitive psychologists believe that internal mental thoughts are an important area of study and they attempt to make inferences based on human behaviour, where they draw conclusions about cognitive processes based on human behaviour in scientific laboratory investigations

Question 2

1980s biological approach

Answer 2

The biological approach makes use of sophisticated technology, including brain scanning techniques, like fMRI and PET scans, to understand the structure and function of the human brain.

The cycle of scientific investigation is perpetuated by psychologists testing their concepts, making objective
observations which can be replicated and then refining their theories according to the findings, before testing once again.

Question 3

1900s behaviorists

Answer 3

Wundt showed that empirical methods could be applied to mental processes.
However, Watson and Skinner criticised the subjective nature of the personal observations which made it difficult to make generalisations from the research. Watson and Skinner emphasised the importance of rigorous scientific processes and carefully controlled laboratory experiments, which many
psychologists still rely on today.