Origins of Psychology (Approaches)

Question 1

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 1

“Father of Experimental Psychology”

Set up first psychological laboratory Leipzig, Germany 1890

Produced first academic journal that published psychological experiments

Question 2

Introspection

Answer 2

Internally analysing your own thoughts and feelings

Used by Wundt to study sensation and perception

Question 3

Evaluation of Wundt

Answer 3

Wundts work was highly scientific for his time where he used controlled experiments and large sample sizes

Introspection produced data that was subjective so it became very difficult to establish general principles.

Question 4

Arguments for psychology being a science

Answer 4

Allport 1947 said psychology has the same aims as a science- to predict, understand and control

Behaviourist, cognitive and biological approaches all use scientific procedures to investigate theories. Theses are usually controlled and unbiased

Question 5

Arguments against psychology being a science

Answer 5

Other approaches in psychology use non-objective, unreliable methods, such as interviews and case studies, which are subject to bias

It is very hard to get a representative sample of the population for a case study so findings can’t be reliably generalised