Origins of Psychology
- Created by: mayono1
- Created on: 02-05-18 13:45
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- Origins of Psychology
- Wundt and Introspection
- Wilhelm Wundt published the first book on psychology in 1873.
- His approach was to study the structure of the human mind, breaking down behaviours into their basic elements. This is known as structuralism.
- He used introspection. Introspection = the observation of ones own mental and emotional processes.
- The experiment was in controlled conditions, with the same stimulus each time and had standardised instructions.
- Wundt's new scientific approach was based on two assumptions.
- 1. All behaviour is seen as being caused (determined)
- 2. If behaviour is determined, then it should be possible to predict how humans would behave in different conditions (predictability)
- Wilhelm Wundt published the first book on psychology in 1873.
- The emergence of psychology as a science
- Introspection was questioned by John B Watson (1913). He thought that the data it produced was subjective.
- The study of mental processes is now seen as a legitimate and highly scientific area within psychology.
- Mental processes are still 'private' but cognitive psychologists can infer using lab tests.
- Biological researchers take advantage of recent technology to investigate physiological processes.
- Live activity in the brain can be seen using scanning techniques, such as fMRI + EEG.
- Wundt and Introspection
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