PSYC 150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Wilhelm Wundt, Edward B. Titchener, Humanistic Psychology
Document Summary
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. In greek: psyche = soul, logos = study of a subject, psychology = study of the mind. Wilhelm wundt (1832-1920), german professor at the university of leipzig establishes the first formal laboratory for research in psychology in 1879 this event is marked as the birth of psychology! Task to analyze consciousness into its basic elements. Introspection = careful, systematic observation of one"s own conscious experience. Task investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure. Key contributor william james (1842-1910), formal training in medicine. Stream of consciousness is a term coined by james to describe the flowing (not static) nature of the conscious experience. Criticized structuralism for looking at static points in the conscious flow. Criticized structuralism, the idea that conscious experience can be broken down into individual components. Gestalt = whole, form, or pattern [german] Whole is more than just a sum of parts.
