The Origins Of Psychology (approaches) Flashcards
What are the 6 main approaches to psychology?
Biological
Behaviourism
Cognitive
Social learning
Humanistic
Psychodynamic
Rene Descartes
He was a highly influential french philosopher who argued that the mind and the body are separate but come together to form the human experience
This led people to consider that the mind is worthy of study itself
John Locke (1632-1704)
He was a famous philosopher who introduced the concept of tabula rasa, the belief that the mind is a blank slate at birth and we develop our own experiences in the environment
Wilhelm Wundt
Was a German physiologist who is considered to have changed the course of psychology by giving it scientific rigour
He set up the first psychology lab in 1879 ‘the institute for experimental psychology’
He separated psychology from philosophy by emphasising objective measurement and control, establishing psychology as a scientific method
What is introspection (Wundt)
The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, image sand sensations
Introspection means ‘looking into’ and refers to the process f observing and examining your own conscious thoughts or emotions
Before this introspection had been used by philosophers for studying how new ideas are created
In contrast, Wundt strictly controlled the environments where introspection took place
William James
James initially went into medicine but time in Germany in the late 1860s and a period of self-evaluation led to interest in philosophy and psychology after gaining his MD James taught the first ever experimental psychology course at Harvard in 1875
In 1878 James supervised and awardees the first ever PhD in psychology (to G Stanley Hall)
Again in 1878 James started writing his landmark book ‘Principles of psychology’ which was not published until 1890
G Stanley Hall
Hall was inspired by Wundt’s book
He was the first doctor of psychology in the world
He briefly worked under Wundt in his lab
In 1887 he founded the first experimental psychology journal (American Journal of Psychology)
Hall founded the American Psychology Association (APA) in 1892. The APA was the first organisation in the world for psychologists to test, publish and discuss their work
Should we treat psychology as a science?
(For)
It relies on objective and systematic methods, meaning that knowledge is backed up with evidence rather than just given/received
Can establish cause and effect, so is useful in understanding underlying triggers and can make predictions
If evidence no longer fits our understanding, we can test and refine our theories (scientific method). This means that psychology remains current and evidence based
Should we treat psychology as a science?
(Against)
Objectivity and control can lead to artificial and contrived experimental conditions, which lack validity
Psychology is about people in the real world, so we need mundane realism
Much of the subject matter is unobservable - we have to make inferences about most of what we test e.g correlating brain activity with behaviours
Might be difficult to make predictions about human behaviour - where does free will (if it exists) fit in
We don’t fully understand the brain and how we work, so what if behaviour is not governed bu normal scientific laws?
Behaviour is arguably more complex than things measured in more traditional sciences, and if we can never actually measure it, how can we apply the scientific cycle?
FORCE Q
Falsifiable
Objective
Replicable
Controlled
Empirical
Quantification
What is meant by falsifiable?
For a claim to be scientific it should be open to testing, such that it can be proven wrong
What is meant by objective?
Scientists expectations or bias should not affect their recordings
What is meant by replicable?
Chance results are always a possibility, so to demonstrate the validity of a finding we must repeat it. It is therefore that scientists record their results carefully
What is meant by controlled?
Carrying one factor (IV) and measuring its effect on another (DV) allows us to draw casual conclusions (if all other factors are constant)
What is meant by empirical?
Information must be gained through direct observation/experimentation as opposed to reason argument or belief (evidence based)
