AO1 - Wundt

• Wundt is known as the 'Father of Psychology'
• He set up the first psychology lab in Germany in 1879 and published one of the first books on psychology - helps to establish psychology as an independent branch of science
• He used controlled environments to establish general theories about mental processes
• Wundt used scientific methods to study the structure of sensation and perception using introspection, arguing that human experiences should be analysed in terms of its components, e.g. sensations, emotions and reactions
• His work and ideas were later developed by cognitive psychologists
• Introspection:

  • Focuses on present experiences
  • An individuals conscious experience is systematically analysed
  • The individual focuses on an object whilst listening to a stimulus e.g. metronome, and looks inwards to notice sensations, feelings and images
  • Analysis is broken up into components of thoughts, images and sensations