Approaches: Origins

• Founders of Psychology
• Believed all aspects of the mind can be studied scientifically
• Created "Experimental Psychology" in 1879
• Aimed to study the - Structure of the mind, thoughts ans sensations and break them down into basic elements (Structuralism)

• Method of data collection
• Observing/Describing inner thoughts, feelings and sensations
• In terms of intensity, duration and quality

• OBSERVATION - Made of the phenomena in the world e.g. someone punching a wall after playing a violent video game
• THEORY - Developed to explain observation and a hypothesis is developed in line with the theory
• TEST - Hypothesis is tested using empirical methods
• RESULTS - Results are analysed to evaluate if it supports the hypothesis or not

• FALSIFIABLE - All theories must be disproved, if not it's not scientific
• REPLICABLE - When repeating there must be consistent findings (achieved by standardised procedures) if consistent it's reliable
• OBJECTIVE - When researchers don't let their own ideas/biases influence the collection of data (achieved by observable/measurable concepts)
• GENERAL LAWS - Using evidence to develop basic generalisable principles about behavior that applies to everyone (A deterministic approach thats says all behaviour has causes)
• SYSTEMATIC - Evidence of recordings e.g. introspection tasks - carried out in a controlled manner with direct observationa
  

• 1861 - Paul Broca
• 1879 - William Wundt
• 1886 - Sigmund Freud
• 1913 - Watsona and Skinner
• 1950 - Rodgers and Maslow
• 1960 - Cognitive Rev - Computers
• 1960 - Albert Bandura
• 1980 - Biological Approach
• 21st - Cognitive Neuroscience

ADVANTAGES

• Modern Researchers have used introspection successfully - Hunter et al (2003) used introspection on teenagers to identify what makes them happy or unhappy during the day. 

DISADVANTAGES

• Highly subjective - introspection introduces personal opinion/beliefs. Trying to create general laws about causes of behaviour would be limited, Lack of numeral data. Nowadays brain scans FMRI are more objective
• Lacks Validity/Accuracy - Introspection tasks are artificial, lacks EV
• Limitations of scientific approach - Small sample sizes (Not generalised) much of psyc's subject matter is unobservable and bland descriptions of sensations/perceptions is not Objective Research