willheim Wundt and introspection Flashcards
what did Wundt open in 1879 ?
he opened the institute for experimental psychology at the university of Leipzig in Germany
what is wundt often regarded as ?
the father of psychology
why is wundt important ?
he was the first to separate psychology from philosophy by seeking to carry out experiments and tests rather than coming up with a theory and backing it up with logic like philosophers do
what research method did wundt use to study mental processes ?
introspection
what is introspection ?
a systematic analysis of your own conscious experience of a stimuli
how was an experience ananlysed ?
an experience was analyzed in terms of its components parts including sensations and emotional reactions
what would wundt ask people ?
Wundt would ask people to focus on an everyday object and look inwards noticing sensations and feelings and images
what would wundt and his colleagues do ?
wundt and his colleagues would record their own conscious thoughts and focus on being objective through systematic reporting of an experience or object
what was the aim ?
to break down thoughts about an object down into separate elements / parts with a reflection of sensations , feelings and images
what 3 elements were described ?
- what do you feel - feelings
- what do you sense - sensations= hear/images
- what are your thoughts
what is meant by structuralism ?
isolating the structure of consciousness
benefits of introspection :
can be a great source of personal knowledge
by spending time focusing upon the inner working of your thoughts people come to better understand what they are feeling or the actions they wish to take
benefits of introspection:
the process provides knowledge that is not possible to gain in any other way
to know for sure how people are feeling or what they are thinking you need to ask them.
- wundt was the first to come up with a scientific method for doing this through the use of repeated standardized tests
benefits of introspection :
it can help people make connections between different experiences and responses
Wundt was the first to establish that this was the case rather than just assuming or arguing that it was true
criticism of introspection (8)
Blurt from notes
