The orgins of psychology Flashcards
Who was Wilhelm Wundt (5)
*One of the first people to study behaviour using scientific techniques
*Made Introspection
*Set up the world’s first laboratory for the use of psychology in Liepzig
*He produced one of the worlds first books on psychology
*Separated psychology from philosophy through the use of scientific methods
Define psychology
The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes and how these are affected by internal and external factors
Define introspection
A systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts images and sensations
Wilhelm Wundt(father of psychology) made this
Introspection is not a direct observation just an infernece
Define science
Discovering the physical and natural world systematically and objectively using methods such as observation and experimentation
Why is objectivity so crucial in Psychology
Psychologists study human behaviour which is subjective and can be interpreted in many different ways
Who disagreed with the subjective nature of introspection
John B Watson and Skinner.Skinner said that the findings differed from individual to individual and Watson said it produced subjective data
The two men were behaviourists
Why was introspection signifcant
It marked the separation of the modern scientfic psychology from its broader philosophical roots
How were introspections recorded
They were recorded under strict conditions using the same stimulus every time so it could be replicated every single time
What is empricism
SCienteists must test their ideaas and bease their conclusions on data collected from the real world and not just accept theories or logical arguements
What did empiricsm lead to
The behaviourst appraoch-the world can be understood by investigating external events that are observed and measured
Define systematic
Using a fixed or controlled method which decreses the intial result being due to chance
What is the process of introspection
- Participants are trained to report conscious experineces
- then they would be asked ro focus on a sensory object (usually a ticking metronome)
- Participants would then systematically report their expeirnce by vreaking thrir thoughts into separate elements
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the scientfic method
Strengths:experiments are repeatbale by anyone
Provides a framerowkr for undrdtanding
Reliable at finding the truth
WEaknesses:human error
Most subjective methods of psychology cant be observed so it cant be measured arrcuetly
loses ecological validdity
What is ecological validity
The extent to which bheviours observed and recorded in a study reflect the behaviours that actually occur in the real world
What is a negative to introscpection
It is based on inferences so very objective
Evaluations of Wundt and introspection Pros (3)
For his time Wundts work was high scientific which inspired later psychologsists to also stud the mind
His use of inferneces influeced cognitive psychologsists but rather than asking participants what’s happenng in their mind they ask ppts to complete tasks under experimental conditions
He was one of the first to argue that behvaiours are determined, so they have a cause that can be studied
Evaluations of Wundt and introspection(2) Cons
Compared to modern psychology Wundts work is not classified as scientific because of the subjective nature of introspection as participants cannot accruately report on their own mental states and could be biased(also demad chacrteristics
Wundts work is also not scientific because of his use of inferneces to identify internam mental states
What is a strength of the Scientific method
It strictly controls conditions which reduces and controls the effects of confounding and extraneous variables increasing the reliability
