Origins of Psychology

• When did Wilhelm Wundt open the first psychology lab?


  In 1879
• What did Wundt's work signify in psychology?

  It marked the beginning of scientific psychology
• What was Wundt's aim in his research?

  To analyze the nature of human consciousness
• What method did Wundt use to study the mind?

  Introspection
• What does introspection involve?

  Breaking conscious awareness into basic structures
• What categories did Wundt divide his observations into?

  Thoughts, images, sensations
• What is structuralism in psychology?

  Isolating the structure of consciousness
• What are the strengths of Wundt's methods?

  • Systematic and well-controlled
  • Controlled environment reduces extraneous variables
  • Standardized procedures for all participants
• Why can Wundt's research be considered a forerunner to scientific approaches?

  It used systematic and controlled methods
• What is a limitation of Wundt's reliance on self-reporting?

  Data is subjective and may be biased
• Why is it difficult to establish laws of behavior from Wundt's data?

  General laws are needed to predict behavior
• What is the definition of science in this context?

  A means of acquiring knowledge systematically
• What is the aim of scientific inquiry?

  To discover general laws
• How is psychology defined in this study material?

  The scientific study of mind and behavior
• How does modern psychology compare to Wundt's approach?

  • Claims to be scientific
  • Shares aims with natural sciences
  • Uses scientific methods in various approaches
• What approaches in modern psychology rely on scientific methods?

  Learning, cognitive, and biological approaches
• What does the humanistic approach reject in research?

  The scientific approach focusing on objective data
• What is a limitation of the psychodynamic approach in research?

  Uses case studies without representative samples
• Why might a scientific approach not always be desirable in psychology?

  Human beings may respond to demand characteristics
• What is a limitation for Wundt’s research?

  • Subjective Data
  • Wundt relied on participants self-reporting their mental processes, however, such data is subjective, in addition to some participants possibly hiding some of their thoughts
  • It is difficult to establish meaningful laws of behaviour from such data, as general laws are useful to predict future behaviour, which is one of the aims of science
  • This suggests that some of Wundt’s early efforts to study the mind were flawed and would not meet the criteria of scientific enquiry
• What is a strength for Psychology as a Science?

  • Modern Psychology
  • Research in modern psychology can claim to be scientific, as psychology has the same aims as the natural sciences
  • The learning approaches, cognitive approach and biological approach rely on the use of scientific methods
  • This suggests that throughout the 20th century and beyond, psychology has established itself as a scientific discipline
• What is a limitation for Psychology as a Science?

  • Subjective Data
  • The humanistic approach rejects the scientific approach, preferring to focus on individual experiences, while the psychodynamic approach uses case studies, which does not make use of representative samples, and so it is fair to say that not all approaches use objective methods
  • Human beings are active participants in research, who may respond to things, such as demand characteristics
  • Therefore, a scientific approaches to the study of human thought and experience may not always be desirable or possible
• What is a strength for Wundt’s research?


  • Scientific
  • Some of Wundt’s methods were systematic and well-controlled
  • All introspections were recorded in the controlled environment of the lab, ensuring that all extraneous variables were not a factor, and procedures and instructions were standardised, so that all participants were tested the same way
  • This suggests that Wundt’s research can be considered a forerunner to later scientific approaches in psychology