Wundt & Introspection

Cards (5)

  • WILHELM WUNDT:
    • FATHER of psychology
    • Opened the WORLD’S first psychology LAB in 1879
  • What is introspection?
    • A method used to try to investigate the nature of awareness and consciousness
  • How did Wundt do this?
    • Recorded CONSCIOUS thoughts and broke them down into STRUCTURES
    • Introspections were recorded under STRICTLY CONTROLLED conditions (all participants were TRAINED) using the SAME STIMULUS each time (e.g. a ticking METRONOME)
    • STANDARDISED instructions were used- procedures could be REPLICATED each TIME
    • OBSERVATIONS- divided into 3 categories (THOUGHTS, IMAGES and SENSATIONS) this was called STRUCTURALISM
  • STRENGTHS:
    • CONTROLLED environment using STANDARDISED INSTRUCTIONS (all participants had the same EXPERIENCE) and used the same STIMULI (reduces EXTRANEOUS variables)
  • WEAKNESSES:
    • UNRELIABLE method for finding out about MENTAL states- can only report a FRAGMENT of what we are thinking
    • Method would be considered UNSCIENTIFIC today as participants self-report (SUBJECTIVE data) Therefore it is difficult to establish UNIVERSAL laws of BEHAVIOUR- aim of SCIENCE