Introspection: what is it and how is it used in Psychology?

What role has introspection played in the history of psychology? How is it used in therapy?

Despite the widespread belief that all progress in our lives depends on us turning outward by taking on projects and initiatives, the truth is that looking inward is necessary for personal development.

Every human being is made up of thoughts and emotions that harbor an intimate nature, the discovery of which requires courage.The discovery of which requires the courage to dive behind the scenes of the theater of appearances.

Thus, introspection has been the object of study since the very birth of psychology, imposing itself as an unavoidable method for accessing the internal processes that govern affections and behavior.

In this article we will delimit the concept of introspection in PsychologyThe study of the human psyche, tracing a description of its historical trajectory and of the therapeutic utilities derived from its use.

Introspection in Psychology

The etymological breakdown of the term "introspection," which comes from Latin, suggests an observation that departs from the external course of events to deposit itself on the way they are perceived, as well as on the subtle nuances of emotion that emerge as a result of this whole process. It involves a deliberate pause on the natural flow of what is happening outside, in order to strengthen awareness of internal facts that often go unnoticed.

As a method of analysis of the human factis indivisible from the process through which psychology emancipated itself from philosophy, which is based on the attentive reflection of reality in order to subtract the truth that lies behind it. Thus, the first steps of this discipline were to make its way through the inner darkness by means of the light of subjectivity. It was assumed, therefore, that the person constituted both the end and the method of its field of knowledge.

The arrival of the positive currents in science was a huge turning point, and it was assumed that the natural disciplines of science would be the end as well as the method of knowledge.It was assumed that the natural and human disciplines had to accommodate themselves to the objectivity of physics or chemistry if they were to form a body of knowledge worthy of being incorporated into the scientific corpus. In this epistemological context, psychology needed to retrace its steps and henceforth walk the path of the tangible.

In this same sense, the first half of the twentieth century was dominated by behaviorism as an almost unique paradigm, focusing the object of study on the acts that human beings performed in their natural environment. Manifest behavior became the basic unit of knowledge, and all efforts were directed to the study of behavior.and all efforts were directed towards exploring those factors that promoted its initiation or maintenance, as well as the contingencies on the subject that could derive from it.

After many decades of solid empiricism, the second half of the 20th century witnessed the birth of cognitive psychology. This claimed the relevance of thoughts and emotions as phenomena worthy of study, complementing with their inclusion the mechanistic equation proposed by the original behaviorism (and which is far from the current conceptions of this same line of thought).

In this historical context, introspection was once again put forward as a resource for clinical work and research, articulating a succession of structured methodologies by means of which every individual could adopt the role of an active observer of his or her own internal processes, capturing realities whose idiosyncrasy andThe result was a series of structured methodologies through which every individual could adopt the role of active observer of his or her own internal processes, capturing realities whose idiosyncrasy was not fully resolved under the protection of objective behavioral analysis.

History of scientific introspection

The first uses of introspection as a method in the field of psychology took place in the city of Leipzig (in East Germany), and more specifically by the hand of Wilhelm Wundt and his laboratory of Experimental Psychology.. The purpose of this author, at the end of the 19th century, lay in the study of immediate experience (conscious internal processes of the human being in his reaction to the environment), as opposed to mediate experience (which would consist of the objective measurement of stimuli, dependent on physics).

In this sense, introspection was the only valid tool for the study of phenomena that depended on psychology. Even so, this was enriched by the use of the technologies of the time, through which reaction time or lexical association was evaluated and a certain control was imposed on the presentation of the experimental stimulus, including electrophysiological measurements from which to infer (as objectively as possible) the internal processes.

Another fundamental author, who made use of the introspective method from phenomenology, was Franz Brentano. He would have a particular interest in studying the thinking of the human being, so he would opt for the analysis of the internal processes that are triggered when a problem is solved.. According to Brentano, what would differentiate psychological phenomena from purely physical ones would be the intentionality of the former.

Like Wundt, he would separate Physics from Psychology by alluding to the nuance of human perception. Most of the activity of the phenomenological current would be carried out in the school of Wurzburg (Bavaria, Germany), specifically through the method of retrospective introspection. In this method, the experimental subject had to remember a posteriori what higher order processes he needed to solve a complex, highly structured and replicable situation.

Introspection in Psychology today

Introspection continues to be an object of interest in modern psychology.. Thus, there are therapeutic approaches that make use of it (directly or indirectly) as a method of evaluation and/or intervention; some examples are mentalization-based therapy, mindfulness and cognitive restructuring.

In the following we will assess the use of introspection in each of these cases, considering that in some of them it is often complemented by the use of other more objective methods of analysis.

Mentalization-Based Therapy

Mentalization-Based Therapy is a psychodynamic procedure, which was originally conceived for the treatment of mental disorders.It was originally conceived to address serious mental health problems, such as borderline personality disorder (BPD) or schizophrenia. Despite its extension in many areas of the world, it is not a strategy that has spread in Spanish-speaking countries, so the original manuals on the subject (published at the beginning of the century) have not been translated into this language.

Mentalization-based therapy emphasizes the importance of all internal processes in explaining behavior. Through the technique, the aim is for the person to interpret every act of others on the basis of processes such as thought and emotions, which makes it possible to predict the reactions of others and to attribute less blame to interpersonal situations in which a grievance may be perceived.

The model understands that, in order to control the symptomatology associated with these disorders; the person must strengthen the awareness of his or her self (or oneself) to identify, manage and express affects in a more appropriate way; since it is possible that metacognition about them could be diluted in moments of high relational tension. It supposes, therefore, a self-awareness aimed at understanding what is happening inside in order to improve what is happening outside.

The original authors of this procedure (Bateman and Fonagy) locate the internal difficulties of these patients in the development of an insecure attachment during childhood, which would hinder the acquisition of basic competencies for the management of emotion and behavior. In spite of this, they consider that they can develop in adult life through a deliberate and intentional effort aimed at understanding the springs of experience.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a form of meditation that comes from Buddhist traditions.. It was stripped of its religious overtones for its adaptation to the Western context, first as a therapy for Pain management (formulated by Jon Kabat-Zinn). Today, however, it has many different therapeutic applications.

One of its premises is mindfulness not only of the situations that surround us, but also of our own internal processes. In this sense, it deliberately seeks what has come to be known as the "witness mind", through which a deep awareness of the internal discourse is assumed in such a way that the individual becomes detached from any attempt to identify with it. Thus, the person would not be an emotion or a thought, but a feeling and conscious being of the inner speech. a sentient and conscious being who thinks and is moved..

Cognitive restructuring

Cognitive restructuring pursues a series of objectives that involve the use of introspection.

First, it aims to make the patient understand the key role of what he thinks about what he feels and does. Secondly, it seeks the detection of maladaptive schemas and cognitive distortions that are associated with the experience of distress.. Finally, it pursues the implementation of a critical attitude aimed at modifying the thinking for a more objective and rational one.

The development of this whole process involves the use of self-registers on paper, with spaces reserved for the relevant variables (situation, thought, emotion and behavior), which are filled in after the occurrence of an event that triggers the affective distress (sadness, fear, etc.). It is a form of retrospective introspection, through which increases the level of awareness of internal processes subject to a high degree of automation.

The practice of cognitive restructuring strategies provides the ideal context for self-knowledge, as well as for the discovery of the causes of our discomfort, beyond the situations in which we live.as well as for the discovery of the causes of our discomfort, beyond the situations that we have to live. It supposes therefore an approach to the cognitive domain, a form of introspection that allows to acquire a control of the emotional life through the process of interpretation of the things that happen to us.

Bibliographical references:

• Danziger, K. (2001). Introspection History of the Concept. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, 12, 702-704.
• Sánchez, S. and de la Vega, I. (2013). Introduction to Mentalization-Based Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder. Acción Psicológica, 10(1), 21-32.