Origins of Psychology

Wundt and introspection
1. Wilhelm Wundt established the first psych lab. It opened in Leipzig in 1879. The aim was to describe the nature of human consciousness in a controlled and scientific environment - a lab
2. Introspection - pioneered by Wundt -the first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations
3. Standardised instructions were given to participants. Procedures could be replicated
4. Wundt's work was significant as it marked the separation of modern scientific psych from its broader philosophical roots
Emergence of Psych as a Science
1. John B Watson (1913) argued introspection varied in people. The behaviourist approach says "scientific" psych should only study phenomena that can be observed and measured
2. Skinner (1953) brought the lang and rigour of natural sciences into psych. Behaviourist's focus on learning and controlled lab studies dominate psych for the next few decades
3. Following cognitive revolution of 1960s, the study of mental processes was seen as legit within psychology
4. 1990s - the biological approach introduced technological advances such as MRI and EEG
Evaluation
1. + Some aspects of Wundt's method would be classed as scientific today - recording introspections in a controlled environment
2. - Other aspects deemed unscientific today - produced subjective data
3. + Modern psych can claim to be scientific - same aims as natural sciences: understand, describe, predict and control behaviour
4. - Not all approaches use objective methods - humanistic is anti scientific

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