Sheet 1 - origins of psychology: Wundt, introspection

Who was the founding father of psychology?

Wilhelm Wundt

When did Wundt open the first psychology laboratory?

1879

Where was the first Psychology Lab?

Germany (Leipzig)

Why was Wundt's work significant?

It marked the separation of modern scientific psychology from its broader philosophical roots.

What was Wundt's aim?

to analyse the nature of human consciousness

What was Wundt's pioneering method called?

introspection

What is introspection?

The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations

What did Wundt claim about introspection?

that with sufficient training, mental processes such as memory and perception could be observed using it.

What did Wundt do in his experiment?

Presented participants with carefully controlled stimuli. Then asked them to describe inner processes they were experiencing. It was recorded under strictly controlled conditions

What is structuralism?

Isolating the structure of consciousness

How did Wundt ensure structuralism was met?

Stimuli were always presented in the same order and the same instructions were issued to all participants.

What was Wundt's background in?

Physiology

What was Wundt's background reflected in?

His study of reaction times, sensory processes and attention

What did Wundt argue about conscious mental states?

That they could be scientifically studied using intospection

What is an example of a highly practiced form of self-examination?

Wundt's introspection

What did Wundt do to prepare psychology students?

trained them to make observations that were bases by personal interpretation.

What did Wundt use the results to do?

develop a theory of conscious thought

What would the highly trained assistants do?

They would be presented with a controlled sensory event/stimulus and reflect on the experience (thoughts and feelings)

What did Wundt believe about the assistants?

That they needed to be in a state of high attention to the stimulus and in high control of the situation.

How was the observation controlled?

Repeated multiple times, took place in a controlled setting, same stimulus, physical surroundings and instructions given to each person being exactly the same (standardised procedure)

What did Wundt believe the two key components of the human mind were?

sensations and feelings

What did Wundt believe researchers had to do?

They needed to do more than simply identify the structure or elements of the mind. Essential to look at the processes and activities that occur as people experience the world around them.