Wundt+ Scientific Approach Flashcards
Where does psychology have roots
in 17th and early 19th century philosophy
What was psychology once known as
experimental philosophy
In 1873 what happened
Wilhelm Wundt published the first book on psychology ‘Principles of Physiological Psychology’
What was the first book on psychology called
Principles of Physiological Psychology
in 1879 what happened
Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory
Where was the first psychology laboratory
Leipzig ,Germany
What is Wundt considered to be
the father of psychology
What is Structuralism
Wundt’s approach to psychology in which he studied the structure of the human mind by breaking down behaviours into their basic elements
What did Wundt use to investigate the human mind
introspection
introspection comes from Latin meaning
looking into
How did he use introspection
him and co workers recorded their conscious thoughts with the aim of breaking them down into their constituent parts
How did Wunt establish Psychology as a science
By using scientific methods in his investigations
Explain how Wundt used scientific methods
- all introspections recorded were under strictly
controlled conditions - used same stimulus everytime e.g ticking metronome
- same standardised instructions were given to each participant allowing procedures to be repeated (replicated every single time )
Why was Wundt’s work important in psychology
established psychology as a science
marked the seperation of modern scientific psychology from its broader philosophical roots
his ideas would lead to multiple different psycholgical perspectives
What does a scientific method refer to
use of investigstive methods that are
- objective
- replicable
- empirical
What does OBJECTIVE mean
basing findings on fact rather than opinion
What does SUBJECTIVE mean
basing findings on opinion rather than fact
What does REPLICABLE mean
ability to repeat a study and achieve the same findings
What are empirical methods
a phenomenon that can be observed and measured. Testing scientifically.
What two major assumptions were Wundt’s scientific approach to psychology based on
All behaviour seen as being caused (determined)
If behaviour is determined, it should be possible to predict how human beings would behave in different conditions (predictability)
What did the technique used to explore the 2 major assumptions become known as
the scientific method
What is the scientific method steps
ask a question state hypothesis conduct an experiment analyse results make a conclusion
What did Behaviour Psychologists such as Watson do
weakness of introspection
questioned the scientific status of introspection
Why did BP e.g Watson question scientific staus of introspection ?(weakness of introspection)
It produced subjective data
Elaborate on the subjective data of introspection
weakness of introspection
Participants were recalling their own conscious thoughts meaning results may vary from participant to participant
What was the other weakness of Introspection
weakness of introspection
Conscious thougts are mental processes that can’t be observed/measured.
So truly, scientific psychology should be focusing on the empirical method
(the phenomenon that can be OBSERVED and MEASURED testing scientifically)
