introspectionism

Introspectionism, also known as introspectionist psychology, was an early school of thought in psychology that emphasized the use of introspection as its primary method of research. Introspection involves the systematic observation and reporting of one's own conscious mental processes, such as thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Proponents believed that by carefully examining one's own internal experiences, one could gain insight into the fundamental elements of consciousness and how they combine to form more complex mental states.

Key figures associated with introspectionism include Wilhelm Wundt, often considered the father of experimental psychology, and Edward Titchener, who further developed and systematized introspective methods. Wundt established the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, in 1879, where he trained researchers to conduct controlled introspective experiments. Titchener, a student of Wundt, brought these ideas to the United States and founded structuralism, a related school of thought that aimed to break down consciousness into its basic structural components through introspection.

The method relied on trained observers who were presented with stimuli and then asked to describe their immediate sensations and perceptions in detail. The goal was to achieve objective reporting of subjective experience, identifying elements like quality, intensity, duration, and clearness. However, introspectionism faced significant criticism. Its subjective nature made it difficult to verify findings, and results varied greatly among observers. The unreliability and lack of objectivity led to its eventual decline as psychology moved towards more observable and measurable behaviors.