Early experimentalists

Question 1

What did Aristotle think about the brain?

Answer 1

The brain was a condenser for heated vapours. Heat rose to top and escaped out of top of head.

Question 2

What were Descartes’ thoughts on the brain?

Answer 2

Identified pineal gland as important. Didn’t believe hemispheres could perform unified actions

Question 3

Describe what was said about the Pineal gland

Answer 3

Endocrine gland which secretes melatonin. Object of mythical theories and attributions, Descartes said the seat of the soul.

Question 4

What was measured for psychometrics? (5)

Answer 4

Intelligence, personality, aptitudes for skills, degree of mental illness, educational problems

Question 5

Who are the more modern psychologists of 1850-1900? (5)

Answer 5

Weber, Fechner, Wundt, Helmholtz and Pavlov

Question 6

What is psychometrics and what does it involve? (6)

Answer 6

Science of measuring mental faculties e.g. natural selection, Galton, Binet, Spearman, UK/US development, intelligence

Question 7

What did Galton state about intelligence?

Answer 7

Individual differences in intelligence must be innate. Intelligence runs in families

Question 8

What was Galton’s work?

Answer 8

Classified fingerprints and had statistical contribution - devised fingerprint classification system

Question 9

Who came up with IQ and what is it about?

Answer 9

William Stern introduced IQ. Mental age/chronological age x 100

Question 10

What are eugenics?

Answer 10

Improving human race by selective breeding. Abandoned after early 20th century. Power of brain related to size, neurological efficiency related to speed of response

Question 11

Describe Binet intelligence scales

Answer 11

Worked with Theodore Simon to develop tests to identify children with mental handicap. Used words associations, drawing and digit span

Question 12

Who was involved in UK and US developments?

Answer 12

UK = Cyril Burt, US = Lewis Terman

Question 13

What was Charles Spearman’s work?

Answer 13

Rival to Binet, said there is general intelligence.

Question 14

What did Spearman propose performance depended on? (2)

Answer 14

Single g ability/several s abilities and whether g really exists remains controversial.

Question 15

Define structuralist and gestalt psychology

Answer 15

Structuralist = study of conscious experiences by introspection. Gestalt = Whole is more than its parts

Question 16

Explain the work of Franz Joseph Gall

Answer 16

Phrenology, brain is centre stage, Comparative anatomist, relieved certain faculties based in specific parts of brain. Thought bumps and indentations on skull reflect size of organs

Question 17

What was the work of Johames Muller?

Answer 17

Proposed sensations were properties of the nervous system. Senses were states of our nerves, can trick nerves into experiencing things

Question 18

What did Quetelet propose?

Answer 18

Belgian statistician who showed physical measurement conformed to a normal distribution. Devised Pearson’s correlation coefficient

Question 19

What were Alfred Binet’s aims?

Answer 19

Aimed to encapsulate individual personality in tests under 2hrs, but concluded it wasn’t possible. Developments in memory, imagination, comprehension, attention e.t.c.

Question 20

What are the flaws of phrenology? (3)

Answer 20

Shape of skull reflects shape of brain - it doesn’t. Assumed faculties depicted basic human characters. Theory = grounded observation, but could manipulate observations to say anything

Question 21

Define absolute threshold

Answer 21

Smallest quantities that give any sensation at all

Question 22

Define relative threshold

Answer 22

Smallest quantitative change (just noticeable differences)

Question 23

What was the work of E.H.Weber?

Answer 23

Methods for measuring sensitivity of the senses - linked at thresholds. Only notice change when magnitude is bigger than critical fraction.

Question 24

Define Jnd

Answer 24

A constant fraction of stimulus intensity

Question 25

Describe rate of neural conduction

Answer 25

Stimulated frog’s leg so foot would twitch. 25 metres per second. In humans it is 50-100 metres per second

Question 26

What are sensations and perceptions?

Answer 26

Sensations = Raw elements of conscious experience. Perceptions = Meaningful interpretations of sensations

Question 27

Explain Helmholtz’s trichromatic theory

Answer 27

Only 3 colour receptors, the ability of humans to see different colours is mediated by interactions among 3 types of colour.

Question 28

Describe Helmholtz’s unconscious inference

Answer 28

Brain’s perceptions contradict the raw sensations. Visual illusions, devise most probable explanation based on prior visual learning experience

Question 29

What was wrong with Muller’s beliefs compared to Helmholtz’s?

Answer 29

He believed in vitalism where all life has force which gives them vitality. Helmholtz adopted doctrine of mechanism (physical/chemical properties)

Question 30

What were Wundt’s views?

Answer 30

Cultural psych, interested in language. Founder of experimental psych, says it’s study of mental life/consciousness. Systematic introspection

Question 31

Describe William James’ thoughts

Answer 31

Didn’t believe in breaking down experiences, pragmatism (true beliefs are those the believer finds useful), functionalism.

Question 32

What is introspection?

Answer 32

Internal + external observation, sceptical of naïve introspection. Experimental control creates external conditions that are stable across time and participants.

Question 33

What are the problems of introspection?

Answer 33

Introspecific reports were unverifiable, memory cab play tricks with recollection of psychological states.

Question 34

What are the 3 categories of consciousness and what do they create?

Answer 34

Representation, willing and feelings. Create impression of unitary flow of events

Question 35

How can introspection be criticised? (4)

Answer 35

May not agree on introspections, can be classified as retrospection. Imageless thoughts - in problem solvings, ppts cannot report on introspections. We perceive the stable world.