Wundt & Introspection

• 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