Origins of Psychology

• 17th to 18th Century


  Psychology becoming branch of the broader discipline of philosophy
• 1879


  Wilhelm Wundt opens first experimental psychology lab in Leipzig Germany and psychology emerges as a distinct discipline
• 1900s


  Freud publishes the interpretation of dreams and the psychodynamic approach is born. Emphasises the influence of the unconscious mind, behaviour and psychoanalysis
• 1913


  Watson writes psychology as the behaviours that are observed, and Skinner establishes the behaviourist approach
• 1950


  Rogers and Abraham develop the humanistic approach. Emphasises the importance of self-determination and free will
• 1960s A


  The cognitive revolution came with the introduction of the computer. Reintroduces the study of mental processes in a scientific way
• 1960s B


  Bandura proposes the social learning theory approach. Draws attention to the role of cognitive factors in learning
• 1980s


  The biological approach begins to establish itself due to advances in technology (e.g., MRI and PET scans) creating more understanding of the brain and biological processes
• Eve of 21st century


  Cognitive neuroscience emerges (accidents, brain science) brings together the cognitive and biological approaches.
• What were Wundt's two goals of psychology?

  To identify components of consciousness

  
  

  To identify how those components combined to result in our conscious experience
• What is introspection?

  the informal process of exploring one's own conscious thoughts
• What was the method of Introspection

  Wundt conducted controlled experiments with a stimulus to get participants to explain their first thought with the stimulus (e.g., a light, image or sound).
• What were the results from introspection?

  Subjective experiences from participants were used to develop a theory of conscious thoughts.
• What is structuralism

  Isolating conscious thoughts into basic structures of thoughts, processes and images
• What are the pros of Wundt's study?

  Controlled methods, making it more scientific.

  
  

  Introspection experiment recorded in controlled environment.

  
  

  Standardised instructions helped forerun later scientific approaches.
• What are the cons of Wundt's study?

  Relied on participant self-reporting.

  
  

  Subjective data

  
  

  Participants may have hidden thoughts or made false claims to satisfy researcher.

  
  

  Difficult to draw general laws from subjective data.