Early Schools in Psychology Flashcards
Early Schools in Psychology (x5)
- Structuralism
- Functionalism
- Gestalt Psychology
- Psychoanalysis
- Individual differences / differential psychology
How is Introspection related to the Early Schools in Psychology?
Introspection is defined & applied in different ways
-e.g. to Structuralism, Functionalism, etc
What did Wundt say is needed?
The need of a “scientific use” of introspection
How did Wundt define Psychology?
“The experimental study of consciousness”
Wundt studied perception & apperception (consciousness) using what?
- Introspective reports
- Controlled conditions
- Replication
- Trained participants
What weakness did Wundt recognise about his work?
Only some aspects of consciousness could be studied by experimental/introspective methods
Limitations of Introspection
Often relies on language:
* language allows us to learn labels for experiences
-but does not allow us to know the exact properties of others’ subjective experiences
- depends on having a similar experience
-recurrent experiences can be different
Key Psychologist for Structuralism & Key Information about their Life
Titchener:
* Born in UK
* Studied philosophy at Oxford University
* Moved to Leipzig in 1890 to study with Wundt for a couple of years
* Opportunities for psychology were limited in the UK
* Moved to Cornell in 1892
* Established influential school of psychology
Structuralism:
What did Titchener argue?
Titchener (1896):
‘An Outline of Psychology’
The aim of the psychologist is threefold:
He seeks to:
1.analyse concrete (actual) mental experience into its simplest elements
2.discover how these elements combine, what are the laws which govern their combination, and…
3.bring them into connection with their physiological (bodily) conditions
-hence, Structuralism
Structuralism:
Titchener’s (1896) Argument: Example
The Stimulus Error:
* must describe conscious elements to understand how concepts (like Duck) are perceived from them
* describe the duck, don’t just say that it is a duck
-e.g. colour, shape, connection, context
Structuralism:
Criticisms (x2)
-Approach criticised by the Würzburg school
-Some conclusions reached without a conscious trace
How Functionalism Emerged
- Wundt and Titchener had a great influence on psychology in America
- but intellectual climate in USA was more pragmatic
- The Functionalist school developed at the same time as structuralism
How is Functionalism Different to Structuralism?
Functionalism is concerned with practical functions of the mind, not its constituent parts
-different to Structuralism
What theory influenced Functionalism?
Many were influenced by evolutionary theory
-functions of the mind for survival
Key Psychologist for Functionalism & Key Information about their Life
James (1842-1910):
* defines Psychology as “the science of mental life”
* established first American Psych lab
Functionalism:
James’ Main Contributions to Psychology
- Functionalism
- Pragmatism
- James-Lange Theory of Emotion
- Theory of Self
- Work on religious belief
Functionalism:
James’ Book & Why It’s Better than Wundt’s Work
Principles of Psychology (1890):
* Clearer and more accessible (humorous) than Wundt’s effort
* Summarised 10 years of research and conjecture
* Textbook of choice across universities
Functionalism:
James’ Experimental Research
- considered introspection the best available method
- did not favour exp research
- continued to taunt Wundt
Gestalt Psychology:
Main Argument & How it’s Different to Structuralism
- Believes ‘the whole is other than the sum of its parts’
-(different to Structuralism) - cannot understand visual illusions or other psych processes using Structuralist approach
Gestalt Psychology:
Main Psychologists (x2)
- Kurt Koffka
- Max Wertheimer
Gestalt Psychology:
Example of Main Argument
The Kanizsa Triangle:
‘ The whole is other than the sum of its parts’
Gestalt Psychology:
Main Contributions
- memory
- perception
- problem solving
- clinical psych
- methodological & theoretical framework
Gestalt Psychology:
Principles of Perception
Wertheimer (1923):
* proximity
* similarity
* continuity
* connectedness
Individual Differences:
Key Psychologist
Galton (1822-1911):
* favoured nature over nurture
* coined the term “eugenics”(1883)
-“the study of all agencies under human control which can improve or impair the racial quality of future generations”
* claimed the less intelligent were more fertile than the more intelligent
-encouraged incentives for breeding amongst the elite
Individual Differences:
Pearson
- also a Eugenicist
- “My view – and I think it may be called the scientific view of a nation, is that of an organised whole, kept up to a high pitch of internal efficiency by insuring that its numbers are substantially recruited from the better stocks, and kept up to a high pitch of external efficiency by contest, chiefly by way of war with inferior races”
Individual Differences:
Cattell
Cattell (1860-1944):
* studied with Wundt
* worked with Galton
* coined the term “mental test” (1890)
* developed tests
-reaction times, attention span, time estimation, memory for letters
Individual Differences:
Spearman
Spearman (1863-1945):
* factor analysis
* general & specific intelligences
* Wechsler (1896-1981)
* WAIS
Spearman (1863-1945):
Binet
Binet (1857-1911):
* involved in educational psych
* helped to classify ‘mentally retarded’ children
* used physical testing (but didn’t make much progress)
-e.g. visual acuity, strength, head size, breathing capacity
* developed the Binet-Simon Scale (1905)
-calculated scores for each age
-compared ‘mental age’ with ‘chronological age’
Individual Differences:
What did Stern Add to Binet’s Work?
Stern (1911):
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) = (mental/chronological age) x 100
Individual Differences:
How Binet Classified Children on Ability
Binet’s ‘Idiots’:
Mentally subnormal could then be identified and categorised as either:
* morons (mildly subnormal - max mental age of 11)
* imbeciles (severely subnormal – max mental age of 5)
* idiots (profoundly subnormal – max mental age of 2)
Individual Differences:
How Binet’s Views Differed to Galton & Pearon
Binet believed that intelligence could be improved (unlike Galton & Pearson)
* designed programme of “mental orthopaedics” to improve IQ of subnormal
History of Racism & Discrimination in Psych:
Termination & Sterilisation:
* Stanford Uni psychologist developed the Stanford-Binet Test (Terman, 1916)
* Terman was a Eugenicist
* believed IQ tests measured invariant trait that was innate
What does this History Highlight the Importance of?
The Importance of the Nature/Nurture Debate
-because this history shows what can happen on the extreme ‘Nature’ side
Discrimination & Statistics:
Ethnic Bell Curve
(Hermstein & Murray, 1994)
History of Racism & Discrimination in Psych:
Which Act was Introducted?
The Sterilisation Act (1907):
* introduced in Indiana
* Washington Act in Supreme Court upheld (1912)
* 7500 compulsory sterilisations in Virginia between 1924-1972 (not consensual)
Modern Eugenics:
For Germinal Choice:
* 1980-1999 in California
* Only Nobel prize winners and others with proven high IQ
* 230 children conceived
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) in Psychology:
Key People Represented
Summer (1895-1954):
* “Father of Black Psychology”
* first African American to receive a PhD in psych (1920)
Prosser (1895-1934):
* first African American woman to receive her doctoral degree in psych
Clark & Clark:
* couple who were influential
Accounts, Evidence & Progress:
- APA task force (1995): Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns
- “It is sometimes suggested that the Black/White differential in psychometric intelligence is partly due to genetic differences” (Jensen, 1972).
-“There is not much direct evidence on this point, but what little there is fails to support the genetic hypothesis.” - “There’s still no good reason to believe black-white IQ differences are due to genes”
Women in Psychology:
- women were not allowed to graduate from American/German Unis
- James took sympathy on Mary Culkins & allowed her to study with him (unofficially)
- studied memory among other things
- became president of the APA (1905)
