History Exam 2 Flashcards
Identify and briefly characterize three main subdivisions of the new science of psychology, as set forth by Wundt.
Experimental: Psychology as an inductive, experimental science- studying sensation, perception, reaction-time, emotion constructs, and word association
Cultural: Language, myths, aesthetics, religion, and social customs as reflections of highest mental processes- investigate historical records and literature by means of naturalistic observations
Scientific metaphysics: integration of empirical findings of psychology to other sciences
Define and differentiate mediate and immediate experience according to Wundt.
Mediate experience: indirect and analyzed experience, outside of the human, a subject matter for physics, uses inspection,
Immediate experience: direct and subjective experience (through sensation or perception) of phenomena, a subject matter for psychology, uses introspection,
describing the basic elements the qualitative description
Identify the name Wundt gave to his system and what it represents. Distinguish this name for his system from Titchener’s structuralism. Summarize Wundt’s perspective and model of the mind.
**Wundt’s psychology was often referred to as Voluntarism. His perspective on the mind emphasized the mind’s capacity to organize and synthesize its contents actively, based on attention and volition (the act of will).
Whereas Titchener’s Structuralism sought to break down mental processes into basic, static elements.
Summarize and discuss Wilhelm Wundt’s lasting impact and legacy despite the fact that his theoretical views and approach to psychology have failed to pass the test of time.
Was one of the first lecturers at Leipzig to use lantern slides and to bring demonstrations and experimental apparatus into his classes
He founded the world’s first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig (global hub for psychological research and training)
He emphasized controlled experimental methods to study mental processes
Introspection laid the groundwork for future methodologies aimed at understanding human consciousness
Leahy identified Edward Titchener’s structuralism as the “mistaken mirror” of Wilhelm Wundt’s system of psychology. Discuss essential distinctions between Titchener’s and Wundt’s approaches to psychology.
Wundt’s voluntarism emphasized the active role of the mind in organizing and synthesizing sensory inputs, where attention and will played central roles. Wundt was interested in understanding how mental processes functioned over time, with a focus on higher-level processes like perception, language, and culture.
Titchener’s structuralism aimed to break down consciousness into its simplest elements, such as sensations, images, and feelings. His method relied heavily on introspection, but in a more rigid manner than Wundt’s, focusing solely on identifying the static components of the mind rather than exploring the processes behind them.
Given the stringent methods of Titchener’s systematic introspection, what populations were excluded from his research?
Untrained people: only those who had undergone extensive training in his introspective techniques could provide accurate and detailed reports of their conscious experiences.
Children: Titchener’s method required a high level of cognitive control, verbal articulation, and attention to detail, all of which were beyond the developmental capacity of young individuals.
Insane people/people with mental health conditions: mental states could interfere with the controlled, objective reporting Titchener required
Summarize the primary criticisms of introspection as an experimental method.
Subjective, lacked reliability
Difficult to achieve consistent, replicable results across different participants
Difficult to objectively verify the accuracy of introspective reports
Extensive training for participants raises concerns about whether the results reflect genuine mental processes or are influenced by the training itself.
Summarize Margaret Floy Washburn’s accomplishments and contributions to psychology.
Was the first American woman to receive a PhD in psychology
Leader of the department of psychology at her alma mater, Vassar, and directed active research program
Published The Animal Mind which was the first Comparative Psychology text
Was the second woman to be president of the APA
Emphasized the importance of sensory and motor processes in understanding mental activity, bridging early behaviorism and introspection.
Briefly describe three main content areas addressed by Münsterberg and identify his most prominent published works in each of these areas.
Clinical: Developed early therapeutic techniques emphasizing a directive approach to treatment, notably discussed in his work Psychotherapy (1909)
Forensic: On the Witness Stand: Essays on Psychology and Crime (1908) examined the psychological aspects of legal processes, highlighting the unreliability of eyewitness testimony
Industrial: Psychology and Industrial Efficiency (1913) focused on applying psychological principles to improve employee selection, training, and workplace productivity
Münsterberg has been characterized by some historians as the best known psychologist, and yet the most despised person in America in his day. Discuss reasons that Münsterberg was such a controversial figure.
Others felt his practical applications of psychology undermined the scientific rigor of psychology as a scientific discipline
His methods for introspection were debated by others over the direction of psychology as a field
His work on eyewitness testimony and the fallibility of memory raised ethical questions, legal professionals were skeptical about the application of psychological principles in law
His rejection of Freud’s ideas alienated him from many in the field of clinical psychology
His assertive nature and willingness to challenge prevailing norms often put him at odds with other psychologists
State the mathematical equation and summarize the meaning of Weber’s Law and Fechner’s Law. Describe an example to demonstrate Fechner’s law.
**Weber’s Law: (Δ R) / R = K
the ratio of the change in a stimulus to the original stimulus is a constant
Fechner’s Law: S=klogR
Subjective sensation increases proportionally to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity
Imagine you’re in a dimly lit room, and someone turns on a small light. The change in brightness is immediately noticeable. However, if you were in a well-lit room and the same light was turned on, the difference in brightness would be harder to detect.
Describe Ebbinghaus’ experimental research and discuss the lasting impact of his work.
Examined the relationship between the amount of material to be memorized and the time and effort required to learn it to a criterion of “complete mastery”
Assessed effects of different amounts of learning on memory (recorded time required to relearn lists), he found that as the number of repetitions increased, the time necessary to relearn the list 24 hours later decreased
Investigated the relative effects on memory of spaced practice versus massed practice, found that spaced practice was far superior and meaningful material is much easier to learn and remember
Analogy tests to study intelligence
Impacts:
For the first time, a higher mental function has been studied experimentally and thus, his research was widely recognized as a highly significant contribution
The success established a paradigm of laboratory experimentation on memory which dominated psychology for 90 years
Summarize Stumpf’s major contributions to psychology.
Tone Psychology was considered his greatest contribution to psychology: **conducted wide range of studies of the phenomenological (subjective experience) characteristics of the sounds of different instruments **
Investigated auditory attention, analysis, and comparison and conducted studies of **extremely unmusical subjects, comparing their musical observations and perceptions with those of musical people **
Co-founded the Society for Child Psychology, made observations of speech development in his own children and studied the origins of childhood fears, studied musical development of child prodigies and children with phenomenal memories
Stressed the importance of direct observation of children rather than use of questionnaires
Contrast the Würzburg school approach to psychology with Wundt’s and Titchener’s approach to psychology.
**Wundt and Titchener both emphasized the study of consciousness through introspection, focusing on breaking down mental processes into basic elements like sensations and perceptions. Wundt believed that higher cognitive processes, such as thought, could not be studied through introspection alone. Titchener, as a structuralist, further systematized this approach, aiming to catalog the elements of consciousness. They focused on delineating elements of consciousness.
In contrast, the Würzburg School, led by Oswald Külpe, challenged this view by proposing that thought processes could be studied introspectively, focusing on “imageless thought”—the idea that thinking does not always involve concrete sensory images, broadening the scope of introspection. This school focused on figuring out what consciousness does.
