Wundt + introspection

• Who was Wundt?


  A German researcher
• What significant textbook did Wundt publish in 1873?


  Principles of Physiological Psychology
• Where did Wundt open the first Institute of Environmental Psychology?


  Leipzig, Germany
• What was Wundt's contribution to the field of psychology?


  He separated psychology from philosophy, establishing it as its own academic discipline
• What method did Wundt come up with for studying the mind?


  Introspection
• What does introspection break down?


  Conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images, and sensations
• How did Wundt use the metronome experiment to demonstrate introspection?


  He exposed different people to a metronome and recorded their reports of thoughts, sensations, and feelings
• What were the conditions of the metronome experiment conducted by Wundt?


  Same instructions and conditions for each person
• What are the strengths of introspection?

  Strengths:

  • Standardized and systematic
  • Data recorded under controlled conditions
  • Scientific methods that can be replicated
• What is the Halo Effect?


  When an initial positive impression influences the perception of other traits
• What was the aim of Nisbett and Wilson's experiment regarding the Halo Effect?


  To address people's awareness of the halo effect
• How were students divided in Nisbett and Wilson's experiment?


  Into two groups shown different interviews of the same instructor
• What were the characteristics of the instructor in the two videos shown to students?


  In one video, he was likeable and enthusiastic; in the other, he was unlikeable and cold
• What did students rate after watching the videos of the instructor?


  They rated the lecturer on physical appearance, mannerisms, and accent
• What did the results of Nisbett and Wilson's experiment reveal about students' awareness of the Halo Effect?


  Students were unaware of the halo effect's influence on their ratings
• What does Wundt's approach of structuralism involve?


  Breaking down thoughts, sensations, and perceptions into basic elements
• What methods did Wundt use in his approach structuralism?

  Experimental methods
• What did Wundt investigate in his structuralism approach?


  How thoughts, sensations, and perceptions interact
• What are the limits of introspection?


  LIMITS

  ·       Relied on self-report methods

  ·       Participants may withhold information due to social desirability

  ·       Subjective data - disallows general laws from being established as results can’t be generalised

  ·       Question of validity as many aspects of our mind are outside our conscious awareness e.g. Wilson & Nisbett research 1977

  ·       Wundt identified more complex mental processes e.g. language, learning, emotions that could NOT be studied in a controlled manner