PSY100Y5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Applied Psychology, Psychometrics, 19Th-Century Philosophy
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PSY100Y5 Full Course Notes
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Psychology"s intellectual parents included classical philosophy and 19th century philosophy and physiology, which shared an interest in the mysteries of the mind. Psychology was born as an independent discipline when wilhelm wundt established the first psychological research lab in 1879 ate leipzig, germany. He argued that psychology should be the scientific study of consciousness. The structuralists believed that psychology should use introspection to analyze consciousness into its basic elements. Functionalists, such as william james, believed that psychology should focus on the purpose and adaptive functions of consciousness. Behaviourists, led by john b. watson, argued that psychology should study only observable behaviour. Emphasizing the importance of the environment over heredity, they began to explore stimulus-response relationships, using lab animals as subjects. Sigmund freud"s psychoanalytic theory emphasized the unconscious determinants of behaviour and the importance of sexuality. Freud"s ideas were controversial, and they met with resistance in academic psychology.
