origins of psychology

• 17th-19th century


  branch of philosophy called experimental philosophy
• 1879 - Wilhelm Wundt


  opened the first psychology lab in Germany
• Introspection - Wilhelm Wundt


  - Where a person gains knowledge about their own mental and emotional states.

  - He did this by recording his colleagues and his own conscious thoughts.
• Strengths of introspection


  - Some of the methods were systematic and well-controlled

  - He used standardised procedures
• Weaknesses of introspection


  - Participants self-reported their mental processes which meant it was subjective

  - Participants may have hidden thoughts

  difficult to establish laws of behaviour
• 1900s


  - Freud emphasises the influence of the unconscious mind on behaviour and develops person-centred therapy

  - This showed that physical problems can be explained by the brain
• 1913 - John Watson and Skinner


  - Criticised Introspection saying it wasn'5 objective enough

  - They used scientific methods to show that behaviours are learnt
• Strengths of a scientific approach

  - Modern psychology is scientific which means it has become a scientific discipline
• Weaknesses of a scientific approach

  - Not all methods use objective methods

  - Humanistic approach refers to subjective experience

  - psychodynamic approach refers to case studies and cannot be generalised
• 1950s - Carl Rogers and Abraham Moslow


  - Develop a humanistic approach that emphasises the importance of of self-determination and freewill
• 1960s - Alberta Bandura


  proposes the social learning theory
• 1980s onwards


  the biological approach begins
• eve of 21st century


  Due to technological advancements cognitive neuroscience emerges, which refers to studying how biological structures influence mental states