The emergence of psychology as a science

• John B. Watson was critical of introspection as it produced subjective data and could not establish general laws.
• Watson proposed that a truly scientific psychology should only study things that could be observed and measured, which led to the behaviourist approach.
• Watson and Skinner brought methods from the natural sciences into psychology such as controlled lab experiments.
• Following the Cognitive Revolution of the 1960s, the study of mental processes is now seen as a highly scientific area within psychology.
• The biological approach also makes use of experimental data. Recent advances in technology mean that imaging techniques investigate physiological processes such as 'live' activity in the brain.