Origins Of Psychology

• Wilhelm Wundt is considered to be the father of experimental psychology
• Wundt constructed the first experimental psychology textbook
• Wundt separated psychology from philosophy and biology
• Wundt became the first person to be named a psychologist
• Wundt's method

  • Analysed the workings of the human mind in a structured and scientific way
  • Called introspection
• Introspection

  The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images, and sensations
• Introspection

  A way of studying mental processes through the analysis of one's own conscious experiences and then reporting of those experiences
• Introspection

  Looking in / reflection / self examination
• Wundt's contributions

  • Trained 186 graduate students, helping to disseminate his work
  • Set up the first psychology laboratory
  • Use of controlled environments to establish general theories
• Strengths of Wundt's method

  • Used scientific methods
  • Allowed study of consciousness
  • Used introspection
  • Used controlled environments
  • Did not require specialist equipment
• Limitations of Wundt's method

  • Only studied consciousness
  • Relied on honesty and subjective interpretations
  • Not appropriate for everybody
• Cognitive approaches focus on how people think about things rather than just what they do or say
• Cognition refers to all aspects of thinking including perception, memory, problem solving, decision making and language use.