Wundt (emergence of psychology as a science)

• Who was Wundt? (1879)

  First person to be called a psychologist.

  Established the first institute of experimental psychology in germany

  Separated psychology from Biology and Philosophy.

  Developed Introspection
• Wundt also developed methods to measure reaction times and investigate the relationship between stimuli and responses.
• What is Introspection?


  First systematic attempt at examining ones own thoughts, feelings and emotions.

  |-> systematic = using controlled conditions allowing replication/accurate measurements
• What was the aim of Introspection?


  To break down thoughts/ perceptions/ emotions into smaller parts to try and understand these mental processes
• What was the method used in Introspection?


  • Participants were instructed to listen to a metronome with their eyes closed.
  • They were then asked to record their conscious thoughts
  • This was done through standardised instructions