Wilhelm Wundt’s Methodology and Rules for Introspection

In psychology, introspection tests the state of mind.  Wundt’s methodology and rules of introspection are the following (Schultz, 2012):

• ·         Researcher must know when to start the experiment
• ·         Researcher must be focused and ready to conduct the study
• ·         Must be able to conduct experiment multiple times
• ·         And the experiment must be done in various “experimental” ways in which the “stimuli” can  be “controlled” and changed (Schultz, 2012).

Wundt favored quantitative introspection because he because he believes that basing your experiments on numbers is more accurate than basing it on how you feel or what you perceive as being correct without any supporting documentation/data.

Reference:

Schultz, D.P., & Schultz, S.E. (2012). Philosophical influences on psychology (10^th Eds.), A History of Modern Psychology (pp. 65-86) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Press.

Copyrighted 2014 by Kimberly Swanson (Messenger Publishing, Inc.) all rights reserved

The Effects of Stereotyping (Part 2)

By:  Kimberly Swanson, MS-Psy, CNA

  Another example of perceived stereotypes is including disabled individuals in a classroom setting or in the work place.  These individuals may not feel that a disabled person should not be included nor have accommodations based on these negative stereotypes.  According to Hodson & Costello (2012), humans try to stay away from people with disabilities because of the fear of catching a contagious disease.  Often times these perceived thoughts of the outer group, the disabled, are based on ignorance and not taking the time to learn and educate themselves about the health condition of the person with the disability. 

These types of studies on human behavior can help prime people to become more aware of their views and to become more proactive in changing these negative behaviors that create more divisiveness and problems in the long run.  These interventions can prime men in male dominated jobs, such as the military, to be more aware of sexist views and sexual harassment in the work place against women. And it can also be applied for the disabled. Intervention on the inclusion of the disabled is an effort in priming people to be more open minded and understanding in both the school setting and the work place towards people with disabilities.

According to Williams & Burgh (2008) “warmth” is a healing behavior that “caregivers” use to help improve patients’ health.  William and Burgh’s (2008) study tested the theory on how “physical warmth” can affect a person’s behavior or how they respond to others.  This article studies the psychological effects of “warm” and “cold” personalities (Williams & Bargh, 2008).  This research can be applied in many social aspects such as the work place and any social environment in which there are social human interactions.

Updated 9/25/16

References
Hodson, G. & Costello, K. (2012).  Interpersonal Disgust, Ideological Orientations, and Dehumanization as Predictors of Intergroup Attitudes.  Psychological Science,18(8), 691-698.
Williams, L. E., & Bargh, J. A. (2008). Experiencing physical warmth promotes interpersonal warmth. Science, 322(5901), 606–607. doi:10.1126/science.1162548

Copyrighted 2014 by Kimberly Swanson (Messenger Publishing, Inc.) all rights reserved

The Effects of Stereotyping (Part 1)

By:  Kimberly Swanson, MS-Psy, CNA
A study was done based on three experiments on the perception of stereotypes.  The first experiment is based on the participant’s perception of rude behavior in contrast to “polite” behavior (Bargh, Chen, and Burrows, 1996).  The next experiment is based on the participant’s perception of the stereotype of senior citizens.  And the last experiment is on the subject’s perception on “African American stereotypes” (Bargh et al., 1996).  The experiments utilized methods for conducting their research based on previous studies done on the association process of perception, “priming” (Bargh et al., 1996).

This study can be applied to other principles or social matters in many different ways.  Some examples of some social issues that can possibly change people’s perception or prime them into action are gender roles, race relations, and the inclusion of people with disabilities. The goal of priming is to change the mind set or ideology of individual’s automatic response to certain groups of people that they perceive as different or inferior.

The experiment of 2 and 3 shows, that there may be a lesson in how stereotypes can negatively affect people’s psyche (Bargh et al., 1996).  When there are perceptions of stereotypes due to “physical” attributes and features (Bargh et al., 1996), a person’s biased views can cause them to react in a negative way.  For example if a person has a biased view towards women working in a male dominated job that has traditionally been dominated by males, she may find herself working in a negative environment.  These perceived stereotypes would be based according to her gender.

Reference

Bargh, J. A., Chen, M., & Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 230-244.

Updated 9/20/2016

Copyrighted 2014-2016 by Messenger Publishing, Inc. all rights reserved

How to cite this article:

Swanson, K.  (2016).  The Effects of Stereotyping (Part 1).  Psychology Essence (Messenger Publishing, Inc.).  Retrieved from http://psychologyessence.blogspot.com/2014/09/blog-post.html.