origins of psychology

• in order for psychology to be considered a science, it had to adopt the scientific method. became a science in the 19th cent.
• Wundt


  -first person to call himself a psychologist

  -believed all aspects of nature could be studied scientifically

  -had first psychology lab where he studied only the parts of behaviour that could be strictly controlled under experimental conditions

  -his aim was to study structure of the mind and his method included breaking down behaviours e.g. sensation into their basic elements
• introspection


  the process of gaining knowledge about ones own mental and emotional states. ability to observe our inner world
• Wundt's introspection theory:

  he believed that mental processes (perception and memory) could be observed systematically as they occurred using introspection

  E.G. he presented participants with a controlled stimuli (visual images or audio) and asked them about their inner processes they experienced as they looked/listened. he compered the participant's reports to establish theories about perception
• emergence of psychology as a science

  the reliance on empiricism helped psychology emerge. EMPIRICISM is that knowledge comes from observation and experience alone, its not innate

  this new scientific approach was based on 2 major assumptions:

  1. all behaviour is CAUSED (determinism)
  2. if behaviour is determined, it should be possible to PREDICT how humans would behave in certain conditions (predictability)
• scientific methods in psychology

  • use of investigative methods that are objective, systematic and replicable.
  • objective that researchers don't allow preconceived ideas to influence their data and systematic in that experiments are carried out in an orderly way.
  • measurement and recording of empirical data are carried out accurately with due concentration for possible influence of other factors
  • if results aren't replicable, then they aren't reliable and cannot be seen as universally true
  • constant testing and refining of these theories through further observation completes the scientific cycle