Presentation wundt

Wilhem Wundt : 

Wilhem Wundt "All behavior is learned"

historical Context : 

historical Context The origins of modern psychology is viewed from the nineteenth century until the early twentieth century. This "new psychology" emerges in Germany because a large association with the formulation of the theoretical system and the foundation of the Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leipzig in 1879. The psychology was no more than a branch of philosophy.

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He created the first psychology laboratory scientist in 1879 but officially in 1894. Wundt was a professor of medicine and human physiology at the University Leipzig.

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He was interested to know both the physiological and philosophical ones that form the basis of psychology. Philosopher, physiologist and psychologist, was the founder of structuralism. In this laboratory studies the feelings to a very basic level, such as heat and cold. He wrote the book Foundations of Physiological Psychology, one of the most cited books in psychology.

For Wundt, there are two key aspects in behavior: : 

For Wundt, there are two key aspects in behavior: the objective (what we see and feel) subjective (how to capture what we perceive)

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It was very influenced by John Locke and English empiricism in general. He believed that the primary purpose of psychology was to study how the associations of sensations and simple ideas give rise to complex ideas. The right tool was introspection, which requires the subject (trained for this purpose) to see what happens in their own conscience and to account for these findings.

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Structuralism enjoyed great prestige for almost thirty years, however, eventually came under attack from multiple angles, and by the time that Wundt was an old man, was regarded as outdated and psychological school. "The interior observation varied from person to person and depended on the ability of subjects to turn their ideas into verbal content"

Contribution of Wundt : 

Contribution of Wundt With this new experimental psychology is first described the reaction time (which takes the body to react to a given stimulus). Also discovered the first brain locations. The idea of ​​mental illnesses as brain diseases, something physiological. Between 1900 and 1920 published a book titled Psychology of ten volumes of people.

Study of scientific method : 

Study of scientific method Central concern:Methods to discover the natural laws that govern the human mind:Basic units of thought from sensory stimuli. Objective Method of Introspection value: Measurement and experimentationDissemination of psychology as a scienceEmphasis on the experimental method and in the laboratory as a source to obtain relevant data

SCIENTIFIC STAGE : 

SCIENTIFIC STAGE Wilhelm Wundt "father of psychology"

Structuralism : 

Structuralism Psychology is emerging as a science since the establishment of the first laboratory of experimental psychology (Leipzig, Germany, 1879). The founder of this lab was Wilhelm Wundt "Father of Experimental Psychology.“ The system of psychology founded by Wundt is known as structuralism, for guidance to discover the "structure" of conscious processes.

Structuralism : 

Structuralism Experience of the observer: physical sensationsVisual images and sound Emotions or feelingsfeeling fuzzy imageryMemories, Dreams

Structuralism : 

Structuralism The method used in their research was the analytical introspection (self-examination of our emotional states and our mental processes). The object of study is consciousness. Mind or consciousness is not immediate substantial, but a process. Simple elements on which rests all mental activity are: sensation, feeling and image.

Criticism of structuralism : 

Criticism of structuralism The main one: the method, introspection is not objective. Functionalists: Titchen was interested in studying the structure of the mind, but it is more important to focus on its function. At the elementary Proposed by the Gestalt psychologists:"The whole is equal to the sum of its parts"

Functionalism : 

Functionalism Key drivers are: William James, John Dewey, James Harvey Carr and Argell. He argues that consciousness has a function that is adapted to humans, approaches that were supported by William James. He worries about the mental operations, how and why the experience, what about the psychology of mental elected.

Behaviorism : 

Behaviorism Was conceived under the dominating influence of Positivism (Philosophical doctrine arose in the first half of the nineteenth century) whose exponent Auguste Comte argued that science should study what is observable, discarding of those cases lacking science experimental testing also the influence of Darwin's evolutionary theory was one of the foundations of behaviorism.

Reflexology : 

Reflexology Its history studies of Ivan M. Sechenow, who noted that psychology should have a basis in philosophy to reach scientific status. He suggested that the reflexes should be studied, as for the whole mental activity can be reduced to muscle movements.

GESTALT : 

GESTALT Founded by Max Wetheimer who use the word gestalt (shape or all) to emphasize that people actively perceive the whole and not the parts. The Gestalt psychology should consider studying the total immediate experience, which posit that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts."

PSYCHOANALYSIS : 

PSYCHOANALYSIS Specific method for investigating unconscious mental processes as an approach to psychotherapy. For Sigmund Freud (founder) could not be dudad the man is a natural instinct.

Wilhelm Wundt : 

Wilhelm Wundt University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879.  This was the first laboratory dedicated to psychology, and its opening is usually thought of as the beginning of modern psychology. Indeed, Wundt is often regarded as the father of psychology. Wilhelm Wundt opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the Wundt was important because he separated psychology from philosophy by analysing the workings of the mind in a more structured way, with the emphasis being on objective measurement and control.

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This laboratory became a focus for those with a serious interest in psychology, first for German philosophers and psychology students, then for American and British students as well.  All subsequent psychological laboratories were closely modelled in their early years on the Wundt model.

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Wundt's background was in physiology, and this was reflected in the topics with which the Institute was concerned, such as the study of reaction times and sensory processes and attention. For example, participants would be exposed to a standard stimulus (e.g. a light or the sound of a metronome) and asked to report their sensations. Wundt's aim was to record thoughts and sensations, and to analyse them into their constituent elements, in much the same way as chemist analyses chemical compounds, in order to get at the underlying structure. For this reason, the school of psychology founded by Wundt is known as structuralism.

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Wundt wanted to study the structure of the human mind (using introspection).Wundt believed in reductionism. That is he believed consciousness could be broken down (or reduced) to its basic elements without sacrificing any of the properties of the whole. Wundt argued that conscious mental states could be scientifically studied using introspection. Wundt’s introspection was not a causal affair but a highly practiced form of self-examination. He trained psychology students to make observations that were biased by personal interpretation or previous experience, and used the results to develop a theory of conscious thought.

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Highly trained assistants would be given a stimulus such as a ticking metronome and would reflect on the experience. They would report what the stimulus made them think and feel. The same stimulus, physical surroundings and instructions were given to each person. Wundt's method of introspection did not remain a fundamental tool of psychological experimentation past the early 1920's.  His greatest contribution was to show that psychology could be a valid experimental science.

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Therefore, one way Wundt contributed to the development of psychology was to do his research in carefully controlled conditions, i.e. experimental methods. This encouraged other researchers such as the behaviourists to follow the same experimental approach and be more scientific. However, today psychologists (e.g. Skinner.) argue that introspection was not really scientific even if the methods used to introspect were.  Skinner claims the results of introspection are subjective and cannot be verified because only observable behaviour can be objectively measured.

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Wundt concentrated on three areas of mental functioning; thoughts, images and feelings. These are the basic areas studied today in cognitive psychology.  This means that the study of perceptual processes can be traced back to Wundt.  Wundt’s work stimulated interest in cognitive psychology. On the basis of his work, and the influence it had on psychologists who were to follow him, Wundt can be regarded as the founder of experimental psychology, so securing his place in the history of psychology.  At the same time, Wundt himself believed that the experimental approach was limited in scope, and that other methods would be necessary if all aspects of human psychology were to be investigated.