H&S 7 Flashcards
How did Spencer 1820-1903 extend Darwin’s theory of evolution
1820-1903
Social Darwinism – applying the theory of evolution to human nature and society.
-Coined “survival of the fittest.”
-When the government supports poorly functioning enterprises, it throws of the whole system, things should be left alone to evolve.
-Very compatible with Americas individualistic spirit and the big businesses growing at the time—the US was the living embodiment of Spencer’s ideas.
Synthetic Philosophy
– Spencer – knowledge and experience can be explained by evolutionary principles.
Samuel Butler
(1835-1902)
extended the theory of evolution to machines: natural selection and the struggle for existence apply to machines as well
Henry Hollerith and the punched cards-
(1859-1929)
New way of processing information. The census was recorded by patterns of punched holes on paper tape, then a machine counted the holes. Precursor to computers, radically altered information processing.
William James: Anticipator of Functional Psychology
(1842-1910)
-did not found functional psychology and was not committed to psych. He worked in it a while and then turned his back on it. But he is the second -he was criticized by Wundt and Titchener because he supported mentalistic and psychical phenomena that the a experimentalists were trying to banish from the field. James attacked their views in his book The Principles.
The Principles of Psychology
1890 - William James
Most influential textbook written in psychology for many generations. Wundt said the book was literature, not psychology. After this book, with which he was displeased, James decided he was done with psych (in favor of philosophy), and even transferred his responsibilities running the Harvard lab. He had never valued laboratory work and was not an experimentalist.
Why might James be the greatest American psychologist?
- He wrote with a clarity that is rare in science
- He opposed Wundt’s goal of the analysis of consciousness into elements
- He offered an alternative way of looking at the mind which was congruent with the functional approach to psych
- THE TIMES IN AMERICAN PSYCH WERE READY FOR WHAT JAMES HAD TO SAY
- The Principles of Psych presented the central idea of American functionalism—the goal of psych is the study of living people as they adapt to their environment, NOT the discovery of elements of experience
James’s consciousness
– Consciousness must be considered in its natural setting, dividing consciousness makes it artificial.
-Awareness of biology—the action of the brain on consciousness—unique to James’s approach. -Coined the phrase “stream of consciousness”—it is a continuous flow.
-The function of consciousness is to enable us to adapt to our environment (impact of
evolutionary theory).
James - The methods of psychology (introspection, experimental method, comparative method)
- Recognized that although introspection had problems it must be used as a basic method of psych because it deals with personal and immediate consciousness.
- Though he didn’t use the experimental method much, he recognized its importance, particularly for psychophysics, memory research, and space perception.
- Comparative method – James thought this was a necessary supplement to the introspective and experimental methods. It can uncover meaningful variations in mental life.
James - Pragmatism
James emphasized the value of pragmatism. The doctrine that the validity of ideas is measured by their practical consequences. “anything is true if it works”
James - The theory of emotions
Physiological reactions cause our emotions. Later became James-Lange theory. At the time it was accepted that emotional states preceded physical reactions. Stimulated controversy and research.
James - The three-part self
Sense of self is composed of 3 aspects:
- Material self` - everything that is uniquely our own: body, home, dress
- Social self – the recognition we get from others. We have many social selves because we present different sides to different people.
- Spiritual self – our inner or subjective being
Mary Whiton Calkins
(1863-1930)
– she was refused a doctoral degree at Harvard despite having the “most brilliant PhD examination” ever.
-James fought to help her break the “barrier” but was unsuccessful.
-The view of the time was that even if women were offered equal educational opportunities, their innate intellectual deficiencies would prevent them from reaping the benefits.
variability hypothesis:
“The notion that men show a wider range and variation of physical and mental development than women; the abilities of women are seen as more average.” This came from Darwins ideas of male variability—he found that in many species males showed wider range of physical characteristics and abilities than females. The averageness of females would inhibit their ability to achieve. Education also might damage their mothering and babymaking.
Helen Bradford Thompson Wolley
(1874-1947)
- Dissertation was the first experimental test of women’s biological inferiority.
- She tested motor abilities, sensory thresholds, intellectual abilities, and personality traits. Found no differences in emotional functioning, only small differences in intellectual abilities, and that women were slightly superior in memory and sensory perception.
- Proposed that differences were a result of social and environmental factors.
