In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt opened the first lab dedicated entirely to psychological enquiry in Lepzig, Germany. Wundt's work is significant because it marked the beginning of scientific psychology, separating it from its broader philosophical roots. Wundt's aim was to try to analyse the nature of human consciousness, and thus represented the first systematic attempt to study the mind under controlled conditions. This became known as introspection.
Standardised procedures
One of Wundt's main objectives was to try and develop theories about mental processes, such as language and perception. He and his co-workers recorded their experiences of various stimuli they were presented with, such as different objects and sounds. They would divide their observations into three categories; thoughts, images and sensations. For example, participants may be given a ticking metronome and they would report their thoughts, feelings and sensations.
Structuralism
Isolating the structure of the consciousness in this way is called structuralism. The stimuli that Wundt and his co-workers experienced were always presented in the same order and the sameinstructions were issued to all participants.
