Origins of psych - Wundt

• What is the scientific method 

  • All behaviour is seen as being caused (determinism)
  • If behaviour is determined, then it should be possible to predict how human beings would behave in different conditions (predictability)
• Wilhelm Wundt

  • In 1873 Wilhelm Wundt published the first book on psychology ‘Principles of Physiological Psychology’.
  • In 1879 opened the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany. He is often considered to be ‘the father of psychology’
  • His approach to psychology was to study the structure of the human mind, by breaking down behaviours into their basic elements, hence his approach became known as structuralism.  
• Introspection

  Introspection: Understanding Mental and Emotional State

  • aids in understanding mental and emotional states.

  • Wundt's team used introspection to record and analyze cognitive processes.

  • Scientific method established psychology as a science, leading to diverse perspectives.

  • Systematic observation of mental processes like memory and perception.

  • Information provides insight into perception and memory processes.

  • Participants' descriptions can establish general theories.
• Psychology: Moving towards a science and Wundt’s role in this.

  • Wundt and his team used scientific methods in introspections.

  • They recorded all introspections under controlled conditions using the same stimulus.

  • They issued standardized instructions to all participants, allowing procedures to be repeated.

  • This led to the study of mental processes by cognitive psychologists.
• The emergence of psychology as a science

  • In the early 20th century, the scientific status of introspection was being questioned
  • Watson (1913) claimed that introspection was too subjective and varied greatly from person to person. E.g. how one person describes their thoughts/perceptions might be different to how another person does this. 
  • According to Watson, this meant it was difficult to establish general theories or principles.
  • He claimed that a truly scientific psychology should only study phenomena that could be observed and measured. Not thoughts.
• The emergence of psychology as a science

  • Watson developed the behaviourist approach. Behaviourists like Skinner and Pavlov focused on the scientific processes involved in learning. 
  • They used carefully controlled lab experiments. This approach dominated psychology for the next 50 years
  • The legacy of behaviourism can still be observed today. Many modern psychologists still rely on the experimental method (controlled lab studies with IV and DV) as part of their research and practices. 
• Emer of psych - science

  • Since the 1960s, the study of mental processes through the cognitive approach has also been seen as highly scientific. Although mental processes are ‘private’, cognitive psychologists use inferences about how these work on the basis of lab tests. So they are scientific.
  • The biological approach also makes use of scientific experimental data. Since the 1990s, brain scanning techniques (fMRI and EEG) have been developed to investigate physiological processes as they happen, including live activity in the brain. There has also been an advance in genetic research.
• • One criticism of introspection is the focus on ‘non-observable’ thoughts.
  • Wundt’s approach required participants to report on their conscious experiences which are unobservable constructs, meaning he had to rely on inference to make assumptions about their thoughts.
  • For example, processes like memory and perception are impossible to observe
  • This matters because Wundt’s approach lacks validity as it relies on inference
• • Another criticism of introspection is its lack of accuracy
  • Nisbett and Wilson (1977) claim that individuals are not fully aware of what causes them to behave or think the way they do
  • This is problematic for introspection because it means that many of our behaviour and attitudes exist outside of conscious awareness and that introspection would not uncover them
• • However, one strength of introspection is its use in contemporary research 
  • Hunter (2003) used introspection as a way of measuring happiness 
  • He found that when teenagers were engages in a challenging task, they were more upbeat, in comparison to an everyday task
  • This suggests that introspection has some relevance in contemporary research and is still a useful tool for measuring certain behaviours
• extra AO3

  • PPs in Wundt’s introspection studies may not have wanted to report their thoughts so could have lied or withheld their thoughts
  • Wundt's methods are subjective as the interpretation and analysis of participants' reported thoughts is down to his opinion and may differ to how other researchers would analyse participants' reported thoughts; and finally
  • A strength - his methods paved the way for future scientific research in psychology, for example the cognitive approach used Wundt’s methods of strictly controlled standardised lab studies to study human cognition.