Wundt and introspection

Question 1

origins of psychology

Answer 1

• established around 1879 as an established area.
• before was philosophy and theology to use reason and logic
• psychology introduced methodological study based on evidence, testing and analysis

Question 2

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 2

• german
• first person to call himself a psychologist
• 1879- founded the first formal laboratory

Question 3

key assumptions

Answer 3

• all behaviour has a cause and is determined

- future behaviour is predictable.

Question 4

scientific method

Answer 4

1- researcher is objective
2-process/method should be able to be refined, falsified and built upon
3- develop a theory based on evidence
4-test the theory

Question 5

introspection

Answer 5

‘looking into’
ppts reflect on their own feeling, emotion, sensations and mental state
used this method to study internal processes

Question 6

evaluation- Wundt- introspection is limited

Answer 6

Nisbett and Wilson 1977 criticise the use of introspection because Ppts are only able to report on their conscious mental processes. Conducting a study into consumer choice of items many were unable to articulate “why” they selected items. Some behaviours and processes are out of reach (unconscious) and so introspection would never uncover them.

E.g. – Implicit racism

Question 7

weakness of introspection

Answer 7

Behaviourists criticise the work of Wundt 🡪 specifically introspection. They argue that Introspection focuses on the study of non-observable behaviours and Wundt’s findings from his “lab” were unreproducible by other researchers.

Question 8

strength of introspection

Answer 8

Wundt’s focus on the inner workings mental processes paved the way for the emergence of the cognitive approach and his methods (although adapted) are still used today. Csikazentmihlyi and Hunter (2003) used introspection to measure happiness. Where participants had to write down their mood when a buzzer went off in their pocket during their day.

Question 9

psych as science strengths

Answer 9

can establish the causes of behaviour through replicable and empirical studies.
false theories can be abandoned and the truth will thrive

Question 10

psych as science weaknesses

Answer 10

Reliance on control and objectivity in science often results in artificial or contrived settings

Many causes of behaviour are internal and complex and cannot be measured with a great degree of accuracy – inferences still have to be made

Shared paradigms –Kunh argues that psychology cannot be a science because there are too many conflicting theories of behaviour (cognitive, biological, behaviourist) so true objectivity is never possible.