Wundt and Introspection

• Wilhelm Wundt

  • 1832-1920
  • the 'father' of experimental psychology
  • first person to usher in psychology as an academic discipline
• In 1875 Wundt established the first laboratory dedicated to experimental psychology at Leipzig University
• Wundt’s approach became known as structuralism

  • He applied this model of objective scientific investigation to the study of the mind/cognition
  • Wundt's approach was to break down the structure of the mind into two broad components: sensations + perceptions
• Wundt developed a technique, known as introspection, the literal definition of which is 'to look within'
• Introspection is the process used to examine the inner world of sensations and perceptions
• Introspection works by a person consciously observing and being aware of their sensations and perceptions (in the form of thoughts and emotions)

  
  

  Once this process of introspection has been made,it is followed by the cataloguing and reporting of the detail involved
• Wundt's introspective sessions took place in a controlled environment (both he and his colleagues participated)

  • Wundt introduced stimuli (images or sounds) which participants then considered

  Wundt used the findings from introspection to illuminate and identify the processes involved in human consciousness
• What is structuralism?

  breaking down mental processes into their most basic components
• Strength - subjective methods

  Wundt used subjective methods in his pursuit of the scientific process (which can be viewed as a strength)

  as it places real human experience at the forefront of the objective study of cognitive processes

  • This sets his work apart from the 'hard' sciences as it draws from inner thoughts and feelings, enhancing its mundane realism
• Strength - cognitive approach

  Wundt's focus on mental processes through introspection can be seen as a forerunner of the cognitive approach

  This is a strength as it paved the way for researchers to find ways to test what is not observable e.g. thoughts, feelings, memory, perception
• Limitations - replication

  • process of introspection is not replicable as it relies on subjective focus on individual sensations + perceptions
  • Wundt himself encountered difficulty replicating sessions of introspection
  • This in turn limits the reliability of introspection as a scientific method
• Limitations - Pavlov > Wundt

  Argued that early behaviourists such as Pavlov contributed more to the origins of psychology than Wundt did

  • Behaviourist methods are reliable as they adhere more to the features of science which is what Wundt intended but failed to fully realise