Psychology

Abstract

From its modern origins, the discipline of psychology has sat at the confluence of biology and culture. Its broad aim is the explanation of individual activity and experience. In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory to address philosophical questions about mind in a scientific manner. Influenced by the methods of physiology, Wundt pursued what came to be called Ganzheit psychology (holistic psychology), the study of the totality of the components and processes of consciousness. In his later years, Wundt developed a voluminous account of the social and cultural bases of the higher mental functions, known as Völkerpsychologie. Wundt’s two “psychologies” reflect the poles of a continuum of interacting levels within which research in psychology has developed ever since.