Origins

• Wundt-

  • ‘father of modern scientific psychology’
  • 1873- ‘principles of the physiological psychology’
  • 1879- opened the first psychological lab in Leipzig Germany- beginning of a scientific path
  • studying the structure of the human mind, consciousness, by breaking down behaviours into their basic elements (structuralism)
• Wundt evaluations-

  • S- systematic and well controlled methods (controlling extraneous variables, standardised procedures)
  • W- considered unscientific today due to his relying on self-report for mental processes (participants could have hidden some thoughts, making it difficult to establish meaningful laws)
• Introspection-

  • used to examine ones mind
  • focused on being objective
  • Systematic analysis of conscious experiences
  • participants are focused on an everyday object/stimulus, and asked to look inwards
  • asked to reflect on sensations/feelings/images that they are experiencing from the stimulus
• 1900’s Behaviourists-

  • John B Watson
  • introspection was subjective, making it difficult to establish general principles within
  • scientific psychology should focus on measurable phenomenons
  • using: metrical methods, only direct observations, controlled environments
• 1950’s Cognitive approach-

  • digital revolution
  • cognitive psychologists likened the mind to a computer
  • studied cognitive functions using lab experiments
• 1980’s Biological approach-

  • advancements in technology
  • studying physiological processes
  • using brain scans and genetic testing
• 19th Evaluations-

  • S- modern psychology can claim to be scientific due to having the same aims as natural sciences
  • W- not all approaches and methods use objective methods
  • W- Kuhn said that science must have a paradigm (principles/assumptions/methods that all people within the subject agree on), which psychology doesn't have not making it a science