The founder of scientific psychology is Wilhelm Wundt. Wundt was a prominent scientist and was engaged in various areas: philosophy, physiology, physics, etc. In the mid-70s, he won 4 rooms from his superiors, and somewhere in 1875 a branch was opened. And in 1879, this department became known as an institute, because students were admitted there for the first time. That is why 1879 is considered the birth year of psychology.
For Wundt, the subject of research was consciousness, and the method of research was introspection. Wundt wanted to build psychology as a natural science discipline. And then he defines psychology from three sides: psychology is the science of the properties of consciousness (1), the elements of consciousness (2) and the connections between them (3).
Based on his research, Wundt singles out the first property of consciousness — organization, structuredness. Consciousness is a structure of organized elements. The elements of consciousness are objective and subjective.
In Wundt’s terminology, a single objective element of consciousness is a simple impression. A simple impression means something indecomposable into smaller units, a kind of indivisible atom.
Feeling is an indivisible element of consciousness. For example, a sensation is a simple impression that occurs when we hear a single beat of a metronome. And if there are two hits or more, then this is already a performance. Sensations and representations are objective elements of consciousness.
The subjective elements of consciousness are the elements associated with the subject himself. Subjective means internal, coming from myself. The subjective elements of consciousness are feelings (emotions).
Wundt divides feelings and emotions into three parameters, which were formed according to the results of the reports of the subjects.
- Pleasure is displeasure. For example, when the subject is asked to listen carefully and highlight a single beat of the metronome, then at this moment he most likely experiences displeasure.
- Excitation — calm. Wundt says that feelings never act as something independent. Feeling or emotion is always an attitude towards some subject. Similarly, excitement-calming does not manifest itself, but is a sensual coloring of some kind of impression. For example, the sensual coloring of an impression during the perception of color. We perceive red color — we experience excitement, blue — calmness, violet — depression.
- Voltage is discharge. When a person expects that the metronome will now sound, this expectation causes emotional stress. And when an event occurs, then discharge occurs.
As already mentioned, consciousness is organized. Elements in the field of consciousness form connections, they are structured. Thus, the field of consciousness is a structure, and in the center of this structure there is a central point — this is what we are currently paying attention to. This focal point, the focus of attention, is also surrounded by a certain area. We can say that around this focal point there is a central part of the field of consciousness, which is called the field of attention.
Wundt established that this field of attention is limited. The number of elements in the field of attention (which a person can keep in the center of consciousness) has a limit: from 3-4 to 6 elements. In the 7th century, these figures were changed to 2 ± XNUMX.