The Psychology Laboratory at the Turn of the 20th Century

Research Question or Problem

Yes the question is clearly stated in this article. The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance and the existence of experimental laboratories in the evolution of psychology, and why it became its own recognized study of science after much deliberation in the evolution of psychology and its laboratories.

Introduction

The introduction of this article gives a summary of the history about the laboratories for experimental research. Without the use of laboratories there would no classification as to what psychology would be about. This article contains information about how the establishment of laboratories were able to be used by psychologists to study what psychology was intended to be about; the study of the mind rather than observable behaviour. “The laboratories are more than jars, charts, and apparatus: the spirit that reigns in these rooms is the same that is found in other laboratories of exact science” (Nichols, 1893, pg. 399 as cited in Benjamin Jr, 2000 pg 318).

Methodology

With the first formal experimental laboratory established in Leipzig Germany, psychology was able to be recognised as its own independent study of science. Wilhelm’s laboratory brought academics from all over, to make studies of the human mind and abnormal psychology. The population of fascinated scholars became to set a trend. Following the trend were more foundations of new laboratories in the United States. However not all laboratories were getting the funding they were hoping for, making it hard for laboratories to get the proper equipment.