Psychology’s Historical Schools and Expanding Perspectives

All flashcards

Why is Wilhelm Wundt important in psychology’s history?

Wundt helped establish psychology as an experimental academic discipline. He studied conscious experience and founded a psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in 1879.

What is introspection?

Introspection is the examination of one’s own conscious experience. Wundt used it in controlled experiments, although the method was limited by subjective reports and disagreement among participants.

What is voluntarism in Wundt’s account?

Voluntarism is the idea that people have free will. Wundt also believed that research participants should know the intentions of an experiment in which they participated.

What did structuralism investigate?

Structuralism, developed by Edward Titchener, investigated the contents and components of mental processes rather than the functions those processes serve.

How does functionalism differ from structuralism?

Structuralism asks what mental processes contain; functionalism asks how mental processes and behavior help an organism adapt to its environment. Functionalism drew on evolutionary ideas.

Quiz questions

1. What learning process did Pavlov demonstrate when a sound repeatedly paired with food eventually elicited salivation?Answer: Classical conditioning, in which stimuli become associated with a reflexive response.
2. Which claim is central to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory?Answer: Unconscious motives and early childhood experiences can shape psychological difficulties.
3. What is a central idea of Gestalt psychology?Answer: People often perceive elements as organized wholes, not merely separate parts.
4. In client-centered therapy, what does empathy require of a therapist?Answer: Seeking to understand the client’s experience from the client’s perspective.
5. What does cross-cultural psychology typically do?Answer: It compares psychological patterns across populations in different countries.