PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Wilhelm Wundt, Empiricism, Biopsychosocial Model

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Jill L Atkinson

Document Summary

Behaviour: an action that can be observed, recorded, and measured. The founding fathers of psychology are usually considered wilhelm wundt and william james: wundt focuses on the smaller elements that make up human experience, james focuses on the advantages resulting form different human attributes. This is the pursuit of truth through reason and logic. The philosophical view that we obtain all knowledge through observable facts & experiences. Break complex phenomena down into their smallest components: study these components, assuming that understanding the parts results in understand the whole. Examine behaviours, traits, and perceptions to try to determine purpose/function. Science identifies causes through systematic observations and experiment it is empirical: explains results of observation and experimentation with theories used to predict new phenomena. Science uses logic and reason to create these theories rationalism. Seeks explanation for observed phenomena that rely solely on natural causes. Creation & testing of models of nature that explain observations simply.