Chapter 4 – Origins of Scientific Psychology in America

Question 1

33) William James?

Answer 1

• An American psychologist of the late 19th-early 20th century who is considered to be the father of American psychology
• Important for writing “The principles of Psychology” which is still considered to be one of the most important psychology books in American history and teaching many of the first gen American psychologists such as Mary Calkins.

Question 2

34) Charles Darwin or Natural selection &laquo_space;Note that either item could be used?

Answer 2

• English biologist of 19th century who had a big impact on the field of experimental psychology due to his theory of natural selection OR A theory developed by Darwin in 19th century that postulated the evolution of species through the means of survival of the fittest
• Important to psychology because of the influence on James who wanted to discover the role of consciousness in human survival (the idea was in the book and interested many future psychologists), Hall’s genetic psychology and on future schools of functionalism and structuralism.

Question 3

35) Mary Whiton Calkins?

Answer 3

• An American psychologist of the late 19th-early 20th century who was never granted a PhD because of her gender.
  Important as was one of the first women to study psychology and the first one to serve as president of the APA. Additionally, established the first psychology lab in
• America founded by a woman and made important scientific contributions to the study of memory such as the invention of the paired association method and findings about recency effects and retroactive interference.

Question 4

36) G. Stanley Hall?

Answer 4

• American psychologist of the late 19th-early 20th century who made significant contributions to the professionalization of psychology
• Important for founding the first psychology journal in America, the APA, the first applied psychology and religious psychology journal (two different journals), the Child Study movement and his work on the psychology of aging and adolescence

Question 5

37) James McKeen Cattell?

Answer 5

• Late 19th-early 20th century American psychologist who invented a concept of mental tests
• While his mental tests were not successful in reaching the hoped-for results, he made a big impact on psychology when he became the owner and editor of “Science” journal. The position allowed him to give priority to psychological research and to promote psychology as a science to the scientific community.

Question 6

38) Child study movement?

Answer 6

• An American movement of the late 19th-early 20th century with a goal of discovering everything that could be known about children with topics including but not limited to sensory capabilities, physical characteristics, play, memory, attention span and others. Hall was appointed as the leader.
• While the study failed to reach its set goal due to many researchers simply gathering questionnaire data from various domains resulting in the final data not being useful for the reforms, it had a number of positive outcomes. Resulted in the fields of developmental and educational psychology, showed the need for physical, behavioral, social, and intellectual norms for children, led to a true science of the child with applications in parenting and education and used in Hall’s books on adolescence.

Question 7

39) Genetic psychology?

Answer 7

• A system of psychology invented by Hall in the beginning of the 20th century. Heavily influenced by Darwin and discussed the evolutionary benefits of physical development from utero through adolescence
• While the theory was eventually largely discredited, it was an important contribution to psychology as what Hall generated in terms of his evolutionary explanations for human development were quite sound

Question 8

40) APA?

Answer 8

• The first psychology professional organization that was created by Hall in 1892 (late 19th century)
• Allowed for more coherence between the psychologists of America, organized meetings among them, and the goal of promoting psychology as a science and later as a profession.

Question 9

41) Consciousness?

Answer 9

• Consciousness refers to the state of being aware of and able to perceive one’s thoughts, sensations, emotions, and surroundings. It involves the subjective experience of being, including awareness, perception, cognition, and self-awareness.
• The study of consciousness laid the foundation for various psychological approaches, such as functionalism, which sought to understand the adaptive functions of mental processes and behavior. Understanding consciousness has remained a fundamental goal in psychology, driving research into perception, attention, memory, self-awareness, and altered states of consciousness, such as sleep and meditation.