Ch 5 (Exam 1) Flashcards
structuralism
- school concerned with analyzing consciousness into its component parts
Edward Titchener
- founder of structuralism (1892)
- associated with Cornell University
Margaret Washburn
- student of Edward Titchener
- first woman to earn doctorate degree in psych
- president of APA
stimulus error
- confusing object itself with one’s immediate experience of it
Titchener’s mental elements
- sensations: basic element of perception
- images: basic elements of ideas
- affective states: basic elements of emotions
Titchener’s characteristics of mental elements
- quality
- intensity
- duration
- clearness
“We attend to certain sensations simply because they are clearer than other sensations, not out of any willful act.” Who would agree with this statement?
a) Wundt.
b) Titchener.
c) Both a and b.
d) Neither a nor b
b) Titchener
Titchener discarded aspects of Wundt’s system, including
a) the subject matter of consciousness.
b) the methodology of introspection.
c) the theory of apperception.
d) None of the above; he retained virtually all of Wundt’s system.
c) the theory of apperception.
Wundt vs Titchener
- Wundt: active and voluntary mind, apperception
- Titchener: passive mechanical thinking linked through association
who was seeking a periodic table for the mental elements?
- Titchener
positvism
- science should concentrate only on what can be known certainly so as to avoid metaphysical speculation
what is the proper subject matter for psych according to Titchener?
- conscious experience: dependent on experiencing person
- immediate experience: projected onto our vale of consciousness
- secondary qualities: dependent on an experiencing person
Titchener’s introspection
- detailed, qualitative, retrospective
- potential contribution for cataloging mental elements
- rigorous training
contributions
- research methods in highest traditions of science
- served as a target of criticism
