The origins of psychology

Question 1

who is known as the father of modern psychology

Answer 1

Wilhelm Wundt

Question 2

what did wundt use as his method to document and describe the nature of human consciousness

Answer 2

introspection

Question 3

explain what introspection is

Answer 3

examine your own thought processes

Question 4

explain what is meant by inference

Answer 4

when you make decisions about what someone is thinking based on their outwardly observable behaviour

Question 5

where was the first lab dedicated to psychology located

Answer 5

Leipzig, Germany

Question 6

outline Wundts role in the emergence of psychology as a science

Answer 6

• He moved psycology from its philosophical roots
• Wundt built the first lab in Leipzig, Germany
• The lab served to be a controlled location for researchers to study behaviour using Wundts approach. This allowed people to learn psycology, making psychology a possible field to study
• wundt employed a structuralist approach. He used controlled environments using a standard stimulus such as a metronome, This decreases the ipact of confounding variables. This made psycology fit into the criteria of “what a science should be”

Question 7

give a strength of wundts role into the emergence of psychology a a science

PEEL

Answer 7

• moved psychology away from its philosophical roots. He used controlled environments with a standardised procedure
• eg, Metronome as a stimulus
• this increases the ability to replicate the research
• this increases the reliability and increases psychologys status

Question 8

give a limitation of wundts role into the emergence of psychology as a science

PEEL

Answer 8

• introspection is too subjective
• eg, pavlov and watson thought introspection focused too much on private mental processes that couldnt be observed
• behaviour cannot be measured with a high degree of accuracy
• reducing the validity of wundts research