Final answer:
Wilhelm Wundt, often considered the father of experimental psychology, is the historical psychologist who would agree with systematically investigating the elements that are the basic building blocks of conscience through introspection.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Conscious Experience in Psychology
The historical psychologist who would most likely agree with the statement, "In order to understand our conscious experience we must systematically investigate the elements that are the basic building blocks of conscience," is Wilhelm Wundt. Wundt is known as the father of experimental psychology and he pioneered the method of introspection to systematically explore the conscious experience. He believed that analyzing the basic elements of consciousness through controlled introspection could provide insights into the structure of the mind.
Conversely, Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind. Freud suggested that our behaviors are heavily influenced by unconscious motives and that accessing the unconscious through methods like dream analysis, slips of the tongue, and free association is essential for understanding conscious behavior. However, his focus was not on the elemental building blocks of consciousness as proposed in the given statement, but rather on the complex interactions between the id, ego, and superego within the unconscious.
Therefore, while both Freud and Wundt were concerned with inner experience, it was Wundt who specifically aimed at investigating the elements of conscious experience through a systematic and introspective approach, aligning with the statement provided by the student.