origins of psychology

• what are the features of science?


  replication

  falsifiability

  control

  objectivity

  predictability
• what is replication?


  findings should be repeated when tested in different occasions
• what is falsifiability?

  hypotheses and theories must be able to be proven wrong. findings that contradict hypotheses are used to develop new theories
• what is control?

  tests involve holding variables constant in order to establish cause and effect
• what is objectivity?


  researchers are unbiased and not influenced by their personal feelings and experiences
• what is predictability?


  the aim is to be able to predict future behavior from research findings
• what is science?


  approach to studying the universe/natural world through observation and experimentation
• what did john locke suggest and when?


  in order to understand humans, we should directly observe and record our experiences

  mid 17th century
• when did wilhelm wundt perform his experiments?


  1879
• where was the first lab?

  leipzig uni in germany
• what was the aim of wundts work?

  to investigate the nature of human consciousness
• what was structuralism?


  breaking down a persons observations into separate parts
• what is introspection?


  gaining knowledge about an individuals own mental and emotional states
• who did wundt test introspection on?


  colleagues & students who he trained to make observations
• what was the process of wundts procedure?


  •pp’s were presented with carefully controlled stimuli

  •surroundings and instructions are standardised

  •asked to provide a description of inner processes they experienced
• how did wundts work contribute to psychology?

  •carefully controlled conditions encouraged others eg behavourists to follow the same scientific approach

  •had a large impact on later approaches - cognitive focused on the study of internal mental processes
• what were the critisms of introspection?

  •lacked scientific rigour - results are subjective and can’t be verified because only observable behaviour can be measured

  •unreliable because often subject reports differed to the same stimulus so couldn’t be replicated