Wundt and the scientific method

Question 1

what is introspection

Answer 1

the systematic analysis of ones own conscious experience thought processes , feelings, emotions and sensations. introspection involved training people to analyse and report in detail their inner thoughts and then break them down into separate parts

Question 2

what is Wundt’s method of introspection

Answer 2

• Wundt and his colleagues recorded their own conscious thoughts with the aim of breaking them down into constituent parts
• the researchers were presented with carefully controlled stimuli and were asked to provide a description of the inner processes they were experiencing
• all introspections were recorded under controlled conditions using the same stimulus every time

Question 3

what are the features of science

Answer 3

• the empirical method
• objectivity
• replicability
• falsifiability
• theory construction and hypothesis testing
• paradigms and paradigm shifts ( distinct set of concepts or thought patterns within a specific domain)

Question 4

what is a limitation of Wundt and the scientific method (not scientific)

Answer 4

many psychologists criticised wundts use of introspection because it is non empirical and subjective- although ppts could report their unconscious experiences, the processes themselves were considered to be unobservable - limitation as he did not use scientific methods, meaning they cannot be replicated and the introspection results were not reelable produced by researchers

Question 5

what is a strength of using wundts method (scientific today)

Answer 5

some of the aspects would still be considered scientific today- for instance he recorded introspection in a controlled lab, and standardised the procedures. for this reason wundts research can be considered a forerunner to the later scientific approaches in psychology that were to come

Question 6

what is a limitation of using the scientific method (ecological validity)

Answer 6

many psychologists believe that concentrating purely on objective and controlled methods dos not reveal a great deal about how people behave in natural settings particularly as much of the subject matter of psychology is unobservable and therefore can’t be measured in an empirical way- limitation as although its likely to produce reliable data it is unlikely to be valid as psychologists aim to investigate realistic human behaviour and is arguably pointless to adopt a purely scientific approach