origins of psychology V2

Question 1

Psychology’s early philosophical roots
Rene Descartes contribution

Answer 1

(1600s)
Descartes was a French philosopher who suggested that the mind and body were separate and independent from each other, this was known as Cartesian dualism. This view suggested that the mind could be an object of study in its own right. He demonstrated he can know the existence of his own mind through the famous quote “I think therefore I am”

Question 2

John Locke’s ideas

Answer 2

(1630s)
John Locke was an empiricist, meaning he thought that we can have knowledge of the world through observation of external events and behaviours. This formed the foundation for the behaviourist approach that the world can be understood by investigating external events that are observed and measured.

Question 3

Charles Darwin’s ideas

Answer 3

(1800s)
Darwins evolutionary theory is the notion that all human and animal behaviour has changed over successive generations, so that individuals with the stronger, more adaptive genes survive and reproduce.
The assumption that many human behaviours have evolved due to their adaptive value is deeply rooted in the biological approach.

Question 4

Wilhelm Wundt’s lab

Answer 4

Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory in 1879 in Germany. He used it to document and describe the nature of human consciousness. This method became known as introspection, he did this in controlled environments as he focused on aspects of the mind that were observable and measurable.
His approach became known as ‘structuralism’ as he was breaking down the structures of the mind into their constituent parts, isolating the structures of the consciousness.

Question 5

Introspection general

Answer 5

Wundt used introspection to study sensations and perceptions in individuals, by asking them to describe their experiences, thoughts and feelings in response to stimuli.
Sometimes he would record their reaction times, assuming that the longer it took them to respond, the more processes were involved.
The same standardised instructions were used which allowed the procedures to be repeated/replicated.
Wundt’s work was significant as it marked the separation of scientific psychology from its broader philosophical roots.

Question 6

Introspection process

Answer 6

1. presented with stimulus
   - eg. the sound of a metronome, turning on a light
2. Inspect own thoughts
   - report back emotions, sensations and thoughts that resulted from the stimuli
3. Draw conclusions
   - compare all the responses from the participants to see what was similar and what was different.

Question 7

Strength of introspection (psychology as a science)

Answer 7

One strength of Wundts introspection is that it separated psychology from philosophy and paved the way for the subject to become recognised as a science. Wundt became known as the first psychologist

Question 8

Strength of introspection (lab)

Answer 8

One strength is that the approach makes use of lab experiments. They were conducted in a controlled environment and used standardised instructions and therefore are replicable, suggesting that this was the first paradigm to move psychology toward a more scientific status.

Question 9

Weakness of introspection (method)

Answer 9

one weakness is that it relies on self reported information which is highly subjective and therefore reduces the validity of the findings

Question 10

weakness of introspection (replicable)

Answer 10

One weakness of Wundt’s introspection is that there are no opportunities to assess the reliability of Wundt’s interpretations. This is because they are reporting their own experiences so there is no way to validate or dispute them.

Question 12

The emergence of psychology as a science:
what was John B Watson’s problem with introspection and what did he propose instead which lead to the emergence of psychology as a science.

Answer 12

By the beginning of the 20th century, the scientific status and value of introspection was being questioned by many, most notably the behaviourist John B Watson. Watson’s main problem with introspection was that it produced data that was very subjective as it varied from person to person, so was very hard to establish general principles of behaviour.
Watson was also highly critical of introspections focus on ‘private’ mental processes and proposed that a truly scientific psychology should restrict itself to only studying phenomena that could be observed and measured. Thus, the behaviourist approach was born and with it the emergence of psychology as a science.

Question 13

what is a paradigm

Answer 13

a paradigm consists of basic assumptions, ways of thinking, methods of study that are commonly accepted by members of a discipline or group.