The Origins of psychology Flashcards
Who was the first person to establish a psychology labrotary experiment?
Wilhelm Windt in 1879, Germany
How did Windt investigated?
- Windt and his co-workers tried to investigate the mind through introspection
What is Introspection?
Examining one’s own mental activity and breaking down consious awarness into basic thoughts and sensation
How was the experiment controlled
Introspection was recorded under strict controlled condition using same stimulus every time - a clicking metronome
What allowed the procedures to be repeated exactly the same way (replicate)?
The same standardised intructions were given to all p’s
Was Windt’s work scientific?
His work created a new, scientific psychology, distinct from philosophy
What is science
Discovering the physical and natural world through systematically and objectively using emperical methods such as observation
Why is introspection considered an unreliable method in psychology?
P: Introspection is unreliable.
E: Different participants provided varying introspective reports for the same stimulus.
E: Even well-trained subjects showed inconsistent responses.
L: This supports behaviorism’s emphasis on observable and reproducible experiments, like those by Pavlov.
Why is introspection unsuitable for studying children and animals?
P: Introspection is limited for studying children and animals.
E: Children’s limited vocabulary and inability to express feelings appropriately hinder introspection.
E: Animals’ thoughts cannot be introspected.
L: Behaviorism’s focus on observable behavior makes it more suitable for studying such subjects.
Why can introspection not be used to study complex psychological topics?
P: Complex psychological topics cannot be studied through introspection.
E: Learning, development, and mental disorders require objective methods.
E: Watson argued that psychology should adopt scientific, objective methods to emulate natural sciences.
L: This highlights introspection’s lack of scientific validity.
How can introspection be useful despite its limitations?
P: Introspection has some useful applications.
E: Griffiths used introspection to study gamblers’ irrational thoughts by having them think aloud.
E: It provided insights into their behavior while gambling.
L: Despite its limitations, introspection can complement scientific methods.
