Approaches: Origins of Psychology
Origins of Psychology
Psychology – The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those functions affecting behaviour in a given context.
Psychology’s early philosophical roots.
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Suggested that the mind and body are independent from each other (which is a philosophical stance which came to be known as Cartesian dualism).
It suggested that the mind could be an object of study in its own right.
Demonstrated his existence with, ‘I think therefore I am’.
John Locke (1632-1704)
Proposed empiricism – the idea that all experience can be obtained through the senses, and that human beings inherit neither knowledge nor instincts.
This view would later form the basis of the behaviourist approach; that the world can be understood by investigating external events that are observed and measured.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Evolutionary theory – all human and animal behaviour has changed over successive generations, so that the individuals with stronger, more adaptive genes survive and reproduce.
‘Survival of the fittest’, meaning the weaker genes are ‘weeded out’
The assumption that many human behaviours have evolved due to their adaptive value is deeply rooted in many areas of psychology, especially the biological approach.
Wilhelm Wundt and introspection
In 1879 the first ever lab dedicated to psychological enquiry was opened by Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig, Germany.
The objective was to document and describe the nature of human consciousness; a method which came to be known as introspection.
Introspection – The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structures of thoughts, images and sensations (structuralism).
All introspections were recorded under strictly controlled conditions using the same stimulus every time.
The same standardised instructions were issued to all participants, allowing procedures to be replicated each time.
The emergence of psychology as a science
John B. Watson (1913)
Questioned the scientific status and value of introspection
Watson thought it produced data that was subjective, varied from person to person (had a lack of accuracy).
Critical also on introspection’s focus on ‘private’ mental processes, as he thought scientific psychology should focus on studying phenomena that could be observed and measured.
