history and intro Flashcards
Where did the origins of scientific psychology emerge?
b) Germany
What provided the immediate context for the beginning of the new psychology?
b) Research in sensory physiology
What challenge did the late-eighteenth-century declaration pose regarding the scientific study of the mind?
b) It declared that a true scientific study of the mind was not possible
What gave impetus to the ‘new psychology’ in the nineteenth century?
c) The adoption of experimental methods to study the senses
Who first popularized the term ‘psychology’ to designate the study of the mind?
b) Christian Wolff
Christian Wolff divided psychology into which two categories?
b) Rational and Empirical Psychology
What is empirical psychology based on?
b) Observations of others and ourselves
Rational psychology is based on:
b) Knowledge independent of experience
Immanuel Kant denied the validity of which type of psychology?
b) Rational Psychology
Why did Kant reject rational psychology?
a) Because he believed mental processes must be activated by experience
Why did Kant argue that psychology could not be a proper natural science?
a) Mental events cannot be quantified
What did Kant argue was a major flaw in introspection?
b) It distorts the events it observes
What method did Kant suggest could improve psychology’s status as an empirical science?
c) Anthropological studies
How did Kant believe psychology could observe the activities of human beings?
b) By observing human behavior in realistic settings
Who responded to Kant’s claims by raising the status of introspection?
b) Jakob Friedrich Fries
Which philosophical traditions influenced the emergence of scientific psychology?
a) British and continental philosophies of mind
Who is known as the ‘Father of Physiology’?
b) Johannes Müller
According to Müller, the perception of stimuli depends on:
b) The specific sense organ stimulated
Hermann von Helmholtz proposed the:
a) Law of specific nerve energies
What was the main focus of psychophysics?
a) Studying how physical stimuli relate to psychological experience
Ernst Weber’s experiments focused on:
b) Sensory perception and touch sensitivity
Who saw in Weber’s results the possibility of relating mental events to physical events?
Gustav Fechner
Fechner is known for his work in psychophysics and the relationship between the mind and body
Fechner believed that the relationship between mind and body ran in:
Parallel
This concept suggests that mental and physical processes coexist without interfering with each other
What did Fechner propose as a measure of the increase of corresponding mental intensity?
Bodily energy increase
What was Weber’s key discovery about sensory judgments?
They followed magnitude formulas
What does Weber’s law state?
The increase in perceived intensity of a stimulus is a constant proportion of the stimulus intensity
Which type of threshold did Fechner measure in his psychophysical research?
Absolute and difference thresholds
What field did Fechner establish with his research?
Psychophysics
Who extended Müller’s hypothesis by testing reaction time in frogs?
Hermann von Helmholtz
Helmholtz’s research on reaction time demonstrated that:
The time to respond was slower for impulses that had longer distances to travel
Which Dutch physiologist investigated the measurement of mental processes using reaction time?
F. C. Donders
What did F. C. Donders compare in his experiments?
Simple reaction time and time for a choice response
What experimental technique did Donders introduce?
Subtractive method
What was the significance of Donders’ subtractive method?
It showed the possibility of measuring mental processes
Who among the following proposed that subjective judgments about physical magnitudes could be compared to actual physical magnitudes?
G. T. Fechner
What concept did Fechner establish as a new science in psychology?
Psychophysics
Weber’s law states that:
The relationship between stimulus intensity and perception follows a logarithmic pattern
What does Fechner’s Law typically refer to?
The logarithmic relationship between stimulus intensity and perception
According to Weber, when comparing two weights:
A small difference is more noticeable in lighter weights
Johannes Müller speculated that nerve impulses travel:
Slower than the speed of light
Who tested Müller’s hypothesis about the speed of nerve impulses?
Hermann von Helmholtz
Who devised the reaction-time experiment to measure mental processes?
F. C. Donders
What was the significance of Donders’ reaction-time experiment?
It estimated the time required for mental processes
What method did Donders use to estimate mental processing time?
Subtractive method
Who among the following used precise quantitative methods to investigate memory?
Hermann Ebbinghaus
What method did Ebbinghaus develop to study memory retention?
Savings method
The ‘nonsense syllable’ was introduced by Ebbinghaus to:
Reduce semantic associations
According to Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve, what percentage of learned material is recalled after one day?
50%
Who led memory research after Ebbinghaus?
Georg Elias Müller
The memory drum, used for serial list learning, was invented by:
Georg Elias Müller
Müller contributed to which theory of forgetting?
Interference theory
According to the interference theory, forgetting occurs due to:
Disruption by competing memories
Which American psychologist stated that psychology had the ‘hope of a science’?
William James
The dominant philosophical tradition in antebellum America was influenced by:
British empiricism
The first generation of American psychologists trained abroad mainly in:
Germany and Britain
In early American psychology, which subject was psychology often studied under?
Philosophy
William James’s book that marked a shift in psychology was:
The Principles of Psychology
Which scientist’s evolutionary theory had a significant influence on American psychology?
Charles Darwin
Who coined the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’?
Herbert Spencer
What was Lamarck’s now-discredited theory regarding evolution?
Inheritance of acquired characteristics
What was the primary mechanism of evolution according to Darwin?
Natural selection
Which concept suggests that learned behaviors improving survival can be inherited?
Lamarckism
William James is associated with which school of psychology?
Functionalism
Functionalism, as proposed by William James, emphasizes:
The function of consciousness in adaptation
Functionalist psychology was strongly influenced by:
Evolutionary theory
According to William James, the mind is best understood as:
A stream of consciousness
Who founded the first American psychological laboratory?
G. Stanley Hall
In which year was the first American psychological laboratory established?
1883
What was the name of the first psychology journal established by G. Stanley Hall?
American Journal of Psychology
By 1904, how many psychology laboratories existed in U.S. universities?
49
Which organization was established in 1892 to promote psychology in America?
The American Psychological Association (APA)
Who is credited with separating the roles of experimenter and observer in psychological research?
Dehue
What is the purpose of ‘catch-trials’ in psychological research?
To introduce trials with no stimulus to control for bias
What type of participants were increasingly used in psychology experiments instead of introspective observers?
Children and animals
Which of the following was an early focus of psychological laboratory research?
Psychophysics and sensory sensitivity
Who introduced the distinction between experimental and correlational research?
R. S. Woodworth
Who used scatter plots to study correlations between variables?
Francis Galton
What is the main purpose of using a control group in experiments?
To establish a baseline for comparison
Which statistical method was introduced by Karl Pearson?
Correlation coefficient
In what year was Student’s ‘t’ test introduced?
1908
Which statistical test became a standard part of psychological research in the 1920s?
Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
What was a major reason for early psychological journals including extensive tables and graphs?
To visualize complex data patterns
Who conducted early research on memory using nonsense syllables?
Hermann Ebbinghaus
What major change did the 1929 APA style guide introduce?
A standardized format for research reports
What was the focus of Galton’s research on prayer?
Whether prayer leads to better life outcomes
What is a standardized format for research reports?
A standardized format for research reports
This format ensures consistency and clarity in presenting research findings.
What was the focus of Galton’s research on prayer?
Whether prayer leads to better life outcomes
Galton explored the impact of prayer on life circumstances.
By the 1930s, what was the dominant statistical method for psychological experiments?
Hypothesis testing using t-tests and ANOVA
These methods allowed for more rigorous analysis of experimental data.
Who conducted one of the first studies on sensory physiology?
Gustav Fechner
Fechner is known for his foundational work in psychophysics.
What is the primary goal of experimental psychology?
To scientifically study behavior and mental processes
This goal emphasizes a systematic approach to understanding psychological phenomena.
Who founded the first psychology laboratory in Germany?
Wilhelm Wundt
Wundt is often referred to as the ‘father of experimental psychology.’
What was a key argument used by psychologists to establish their field?
The scientific nature of experimental psychology
This argument helped differentiate psychology from philosophy.
Which method was NOT commonly used in early psychology experiments?
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis was more of a therapeutic approach than an experimental method.
- Who defined psychology’s subject matter as “anything that a psychologist is interested in, as a psychologist”?
Answer: c) James McKeen Cattell
- Which psychologist’s research practices influenced North American experimental psychology more than Wundt’s?
G. E. Müller
Functional psychology emphasized
) The utility of mind and consciousness in adaptation
Which psychologist introduced the concept of structural psychology?
Edward Titchener
Who was a strong proponent of systematic introspection?
Oswald Külpe
Titchener’s view of the mind was influenced by
British empiricist philosophy
