Psychology began in a laboratory in Germany in 1876. The father of the discipline, Wilhelm
Wundt, was anxious to show that psychology was different from philosophy and medicine.
Since this was a new science and the existing physical sciences like chemistry, biology, and
physics had discovered many general principles that enhanced their importance, Wundt
set out to uncover general principles of human behavior as well. He developed techniques
for studying the sensations and reactions of people, examining the dimmest light that individuals could see, the faintest sound they could hear, and how quickly they could react
to a signal. But those who assisted in conducting his experiments quickly discovered that not everyone had the same reaction time, or could see the same dim light, or hear the same soft tone. In other words, they discovered that there were differences among individuals.