’’INTROSPECTION AS VALID METHOD IN COGNITIVE
PSYCHOLOGY’’
Researched and written by Boban Simonovic
University of Derby
Abstract: It was the aim of this essay to try to cast a light on few methods in cognitive psychology, and explain the appropriateness of these methods. It is the researcher belief, that there is no pure method for investigation in psychology which provides guarantee against errors commitments. It is common for the history of ideas that when some concept gets rejected, even for the adequate reason, many associated concepts get rejected as well without any particularly good reasons. The basic idea of the research was to show that the methods in cognitive psychology can find its use. The research raised the question of appropriateness of introspection as a research method in cognitive psychology, with emphasized on few others methods which gave contribution to development of the cognitive psychology. The question of benefit of introspection as method in cognitive psychology was assessed, and compared with two other methods (behaviourism, Gestalt theory,).
INTRODUCTION
Cognitive psychology arose with German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt at the beginning of 19th century. Wundt tried to combine philosophical introspection with laboratory apparatuses. This experimental introspection was something new and it was based on philosophical introspection where people introspected themselves. Wundt argued that: “We learn little about our minds from casual, haphazard self-observation...It is essential that observations be made by trained observers under carefully specified conditions for the purpose of answering a well-defined question." (Titchener 1904) Two of Wundt's students, Edward B. Titchener and Oswald Küelpe didn’t agree with Wundt's notion that higher mental processes could not be observed...