About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about some of the criticisms of psychology in its early days, some of which still stand up today, focusing in particular on: (i) the mind and consciousness not being able to be objectively studied, and that introspection yielded subjective and variable results; (ii) those outcomes meaning that psychological study could not be consistent, suggesting it to be a weak science; (iii) John Watson’s behaviourism, designed to tackle the criticisms of psychology by making research more objective; (iv) behaviourism’s utilisation of controlled laboratory experiments to measure behavioural responses to stimuli, to ensure this desired objectivity; (v) John Watson’s second objective being to enhance the application of behaviourism by educating the public on it; (vi) a problem with behaviourism being its exclusive focus on behaviour, resulting in an improper ability to study phenomena like dreaming and language.

About the lecturer

Mr Ian Fairholm is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath. One of his research areas of interest is the history of psychology and the issues, debates and approaches that surround the subject. Some of Mr Fairholm’s recent publications include 'Looking back: Freud, the libido and oxytocin' (2014) and 'Issues, debates and approaches in psychology' (2012).