Origins of Psychology

• what is introspection?

  means “looking into” and is the process in which a person examines their inner world, by consciously observing their thoughts and emotions.
• what is structuralism?

  used scientific methods to study human consciousness by breaking its structure down into smaller components, such as sensations and perceptions.
• describe the emergence of psychology as a science

  • Wundt showed that empirical methods could be applied to mental processes. However, Watson and Skinner criticised the subjective nature of the personal observations which made it difficult to make generalisations from the research. Watson and Skinner emphasised the importance of rigorous scientific processes and carefully controlled laboratory experiments, which many psychologists still rely on today.
• strength of psychology as a science

  • Over the years, psychology as a discipline has become more scientific due to the modernisation of methods used when studying the human brain. The use of experimental methods in biological psychology, such as brain imaging techniques, demonstrate the scientific and technological advances that psychologists are now utilising.
• limitation of the origins of psychology

  • Wundt’s approach to psychological experimentation, using the method of introspection, is idiographic in nature. However, this was heavily criticised by the behaviourists, as universal principles that could be applied to explain human behaviour cannot be generated from introspection. Behaviourists suggest that a nomothetic approach to psychological investigations is more advantageous because it overcomes these limitations.