wundt 1870s Flashcards
what year
1879
what method
introspection
science definition
finding out systematically and objectively about the physical and natural world using observation and experimentation
psychology definition
the scientific study of mind and behaviour
systematic definition
working according to a fixed/controlled, standardised plan or system
empiricism
based on tested experimentation, not theory or logical argument
scientific methodology
systematic observation, measurement and experiment, and the formation, testing and modification of hypothesis
interference
after observing repeated instances of a behaviour to a stimulus, making conclusions about the fundamental nature of the mind on the basis of these observations
what is wundt known as and why
the father of psychology. he moved the study of the mind from its philosophical roots to controlled empirical scientific research
where did he set up the first psychology lab and when
Liepzig, Germany in 1870s
What is introspection
a process of looking inwards/self examination, it is a systematic analysis of own conscious experience of a standard stimulus, reporting present experience
what was the stimulus used?
a metronome
how was the inward experience analysed?
in terms of its component parts, eg sensations, emotional reaction, mental images, thoughts would be broken down into separate elements. And the participant would be asked to report these
how was the research systematic
it had the same stimulus, the same physical surroundings and the same instructions, the participants were also highly trained
why is the approach called structuralism
breaking thoughts about an object down into separate elements was an attempt to uncover the structure of the mind
strength of wundt
scientific
his methods were scientific and well-controlled
all introspections were recorded in a controlled environment of the lab, ensuring that possible extraneous variables were not a factor.
procedures and instructions were standardised
limitation of wundt
subjective data
relied on participants self-reporting their mental processes.
participants could have hidden some of their thoughts
difficult to establish laws with subjective behaviour
methods were flaws and did not meet criteria of scientific enquiry
problems with introspection
it doesnt explain how the mind works - it relies on people describing their thoughts and feelings, which usually isnt objective
it doesnt provide data that can be used reliably - because people are reporting on their experiences, their accounts cant be confirmed
wundt believed in reductionism
reductionism is the idea that things can be reduced to simple cause-and-effect processes - wundt came from a biological background, and so he believed that the underlying structure of human experience could be broken down into smaller, measurable parts - he used introspection to measure these parts
