Origins of Psychology

• Wundt - 1st psychologist, moved psychology from its philosophical roots to controlled research. Believed human mind could be studied through experimental methods. Aim - study the structure of the human mind by breaking down behaviours into basic elements - known as structuralism.
• Introspection - Latin 'looking into'. Process - a person gains knowledge about their own emotional/mental states. - Considered scientific.
• Example using Introspection - Griffiths (1994) investigate the thought process of people who gambled regularly and those that did not gamble. Proposed - thought process of gamblers = irrational than non-gamblers. Ps asked to 'think aloud' while playing fruit machines - saying everything that went through their mind and by talking continuously. Told not to justify their thoughts. As expected gamblers = more irrational thoughts.