origins/introspection

• Wundt opened the institution for experimental psychology in Germany in 1879
• wundt's aim was to study the structure of the human mind by breaking down behaviours such as sensation and perception into their basic elements. this is known as structuralism
• structuralism


  breaking down behaviours such as sensation and perception into their basic elements
• wundt argued that conscious mental states could be scientifically studied using introspection
• introspection


  the process of examining one's own conscious thoughts and feelings to gain knowledge about their own mental and emotional state.
• some examples of introspection:

  • meditation
  • journalling
  • councilling/therapy
• wundt claimed that with sufficient training, mental processes such as memory and perception could be observed systematically as they occurred. this was done using standardised procedures
• one critisism is that introspection is not particularly accurate. nisbett and wilson found that people are often unaware of the factors that influence their decisions. without this, it can not be revealed through introspection. it led to the conclusion that we have no introspective access to our decision making processes, therefore introspection may not be accurate.
• however introspection is still being used in psychology today and is seen as useful. it helps us understand why people think and act certain ways. knowledge gained by introspection can not be gained any other way. this matters because it accesses crucial processes and information about the mind
• emergence of psychology

  1. introspection - wundt 1800
  2. behaviourist approach - skinner and Pavlov 1900
  3. cognitive psychology (tech advances) 1950s
  4. biological approach (fMRI & PET scans) 1980s
  5. cognitive neuroscience
• behaviourists such as skinner and pavlov questioned the objectivity of introspection and suggested psychology should rely on evidence gained through direct observation alone. they developed the concept of conditioning and undertook a clear scientific approach and dominated psychology for the next 50 years
• 1980s - the bio approach became extremely important again and the development of brain scanning techniques like fMRI and PET scans allowed us to have a better understanding of the link between mind and body
• 1950's - cognitive psychology developed alongsi

  de the digital revolution and they likened the mind and its processes to that of a computer. they tested these predictions (e.g. multistore model) using experiments