Willhelm Wundt

who was Willhelm maximilian Wundt?

• August 16, 1832-August 31, 1920
• Degree in medicine at University of Heidelberg 
• Studied under Johannes Muller and Hermann von Helmholtz
• Married to Sophie Mau on August 14, 1872 and they had three children  
• Lived in Germany 

what is he known for?

• Opened first experimental Psychology lab in Leipzig 
• Made a definite separation between philosophy, psychology and physiology
• Wrote Principles of Physiological Psychology
• Founded Voluntarism, the process of organizing the mind
• Believed in Structuralism and Introspection

cont.

• Focused on three areas of mental functioning; thoughts, images and feelings
• Studied most of the branches of psychology, but particularly cognitive, dev
• His student Edward B. Titchener expounded on structuralism
• Opened doors for many of his students and the next generation 
• started the study of perceptual processes 

when

• Principles of Physiological Psychology in 1874
• Opening psychology lab in Leipzig in 1879
• Imperialism and militarism were continuing to rise in Europe  
• Franco-Prussian War in 1870-1871 which unified Germany and began Second R 
• Gilded Age begins

Where

• Different colleges in Germany graduating the 
• After writing textbooks he became a professor in Zulrich in inductive psych
• Much experimental work at lab in Leipzig 
• Inventions where coming up everywhere and society was becoming more focused

why?

• first interested in physiology, pathology, and medicine
• When he became professor he emphasized the sciences that involve the brain 
• Promoted to asst. Professor of Physiology and colleagues encouraged him in 

influence

• More than all the experimental procedures, he founded the science
• His background in physiology helped him achieve that 
• Many of his students became notable psychologists and philosophers
• Worked with his students because of the feild being so new 
• There is much debate on whether his finding are really based in science or 

what's the point?

• Textbooks still used
• Began Psychology as a science
• Ideas like functionalism surfaced shortly after structuralism
• Methods of experimental psychology  

wowsa

• Agreed with much of  functionalism
• Charles Darwin and William James idea
• Did not think it was psychology 

Untitled Slide

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Wundt
• http://www.simplypsychology.org/wundt.html
• http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/wundtprofile.htm
• http://psychology.about.com/od/historyofpsychology/a/structuralism.htm