Wundt's approach emphasised which concepts as central to psychology?

Wundt's approach emphasised which concepts as central to psychology?

• A. Intensity, duration, sense modality
• B. Unconscious conflicts
• C. Operant reinforcement schedules
• D. Observational learning

Answer: (A)

Wundt's approach aimed to map the building blocks of conscious experience, treating psychology as the study of the basic elements that make up those experiences. He focused on the properties of sensations as the core data of consciousness, breaking them down into features like intensity, duration, and sense modality (the type of sensory quality). This is the essence of his structuralist program: by using trained introspection under controlled conditions, psychologists could identify these elemental sensations and understand how they combine to form mental life. That focus on conscious elements and their properties is what sets his approach apart from other options. Unconscious conflicts point to psychoanalysis, operant reinforcement schedules to behaviorism, and observational learning to social learning theory—areas that look at motivation, behavior, and learning rather than the elemental structure of conscious experience.

Wundt's approach aimed to map the building blocks of conscious experience, treating psychology as the study of the basic elements that make up those experiences. He focused on the properties of sensations as the core data of consciousness, breaking them down into features like intensity, duration, and sense modality (the type of sensory quality). This is the essence of his structuralist program: by using trained introspection under controlled conditions, psychologists could identify these elemental sensations and understand how they combine to form mental life.

That focus on conscious elements and their properties is what sets his approach apart from other options. Unconscious conflicts point to psychoanalysis, operant reinforcement schedules to behaviorism, and observational learning to social learning theory—areas that look at motivation, behavior, and learning rather than the elemental structure of conscious experience.