Wundt and the origins of psychology

What caused the emergence of psychology?

The success of the natural sciences (eg biology and chemistry)

So how did psychology become a subject in its own right?

It had to adopt the methods of the natural sciences.

When was scientific psychology finally born?

Towards the end of the nineteenth century.

Who was Wilhelm Wundt?

The first psychologist.

He paved the way for the acceptance of psychology as a science.

What did Wunt believe?

That all aspects of nature - including the human mind - could be studied scientifically.

How did Wundt study human behaviour?

His method of studying human behaviour was experimental psychology.

He studied in his laboratory only aspects of behaviour that could be strictly controlled under experimental conditions (eg reaction time)

What was Wundt’s approach to studying the human mind called, and Why?

Structuralism, as he aimed to study the structure of the human mind.

He found that the best way to study this was to break down behaviours (eg sensation, perception) into their basic elements.

What was the technique Wundt used for this?

Introspection - looking into oneself’s mind, gaining knowledge about their own mental and emotional states.

Wundt eventually found that some aspects of human behaviour could not be investigated experimentally (eg learning, emotions). What did he refer to this latter field as?

Völkerpsychologie (cultural psychology).

These topics could instead be described in terms of general trends in behaviour among groups of people.

How did Wundt build general theories of mental processes?

Participants used introspection to describe how they perceived controlled stimuli (e.g., images, tones). Comparing reports revealed insights into perception, reaction time, and memory.

What is empiricism?

The belief that all knowledge is derived from experience.

Empiricists believe that knowledge comes from observation and experience (rather than being innate).

What happened when empirical methods were first applied to psychology?

Psychology began to emerge as a distinct entity.

What two assumptions was this new ‘scientific’ approach to psychology based on?

The assumption that all behaviour is caused (determinism)

The assumption that it therefore should be possible to predict how human beings will behave in different conditions.

What did the technique used to explode these assumptions become known as?

The scientific method.

How does an experiment qualify as using “the scientific method” in psychology?

Must be objective, systematic and replicable.

What are the stages of the ‘scientific cycle?’

Scientific cycle -

Testing → Objective, systematic and replicable observation → Building, refining or falsifying → Development of a scientific theory

Wundt applied this cycle to psychology.

Evaluation - criticisms

Wundts methods were unreliable - as relied on introspection. This is unreliable as it is unobservable, Participants aren’t aware of the unconscious factors.

Scientific approach is not always appropriate - some things can’t be explained by this (eg conformity, it can’t be observed)

Wundt’s experiments lacked ecological validity - contrived and staged conditions in Wundt’s experiments were not accurate to real life.

Evaluation - positive eval

Reliable - Scientific methods are able to establish the causes of behaviour through the use of methods that are both empirical and replicable. High validity.

Still relevant- Introspection is still used today (therapy)

Conclusion (comparison to other approaches)

Sits towards the nature side of the nature-nurture debate, as it involves science.