A01

• -         Wilheim Wundt was the ‘father of psychology’.

  -          He believed all aspects of nature, the human mind included, could be studied scientifically.

  -          He paved the way of psychology being recognized as a science.
• -          He developed a technique called introspection to study mental processes.

  -          Introspection is Latin for ‘looking within’ which means a person gains knowledge about their own metal and emotional states because of examination or observation of conscious thoughts.

  This was the first systematic research that attempted to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into fundamental structures of thoughts, feelings, in terms of intensity, quality and duration.
• -          Wundt opened the first experimental psychology laboratory in 1879 in Germany.
• -          In 1900 Freud published ‘the interpretation of dreams’ which enabled the establishment of the psychodynamic approach which emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on behaviour and led to the development of the psychoanalytical.
• -          In 1904 Pavlov won the Nobel prize for his work on classical conditioning, this marked the beginning of the behaviourist approach.
• -          In 1913 Watson and Skinner established the behaviourist approach based on the principles of operant conditioning this eventually led to behavioural therapies e.g. systematic desensitisation.
• -          In 1954 Maslow published the ‘theory of motivation’ this led to the humanistic approach that emphasized the importance of self- determination and independent decision – making for personal growth.
• -          In the late 1960s the cognitive revolution came with the introduction of the digital computer. It was metaphorical representation for the operations of the human mind and information processing e.g. how we select, perceive, store external information is similar that of a computer. This led to the cognitive approach which focused on the study of mental processes and behaviour.
• -          In 1961 Bandura introduced the SLT which combined cognitive factors and learning.
• -          In the early 1980s the emphasis was on the biological approach due to the advances in technology, leading to an increased understanding of the brain e.g. MRI scans.
• -          In the 21st century cognitive neuroscience emerged with a focus on how biological structures influence mental states.