History of Studying Consciousness Flashcards
What does Block say the concept of consciousness is?
“The concept of consciousness is a hybrid, or better, a mongrel concept”
How is consciousness defined?
It first appeared in English and other European languages in the 17th century, but since then there has been no singular, all-encompassing, widely accepted definition. It is often talked about in levels (in terms of wakefulness), or in terms of content (being aware of X)
What is materialism?
The fundamental perspective of contemporary, and much of past neuroscience and experimental psychology. Matter is fundamental, meaning mental events and properties are either material or depend on matter for their existence
What does De la Mettrie say about consciousness and materialism?
Conscious/voluntary processes result simply from more complex mechanisms than involuntary/instinctive processes. This basic belief underpins modern search for the neural correlates of consciousness
Who are the main 19th century psychophysicists in terms of consciousness?
Herbart, Weber, Fechner and Helmholtz
What was Herbart’s contribution to the study of consciousness?
Mental experiences (sensations) vary in intensity. Below a certain intensity, there are no sensation results (below the threshold)
What was Weber’s contribution to the study of consciousness?
Just noticeable differences (JND)
What was Fechner’s contribution to the study of consciousness?
Mind and body are two aspects of a single entity. Mental processes can be measured. Showed a systematic relationship between JNDs and intensity of the physical signal. This relationship is logarithmic (the Weber-Fechner law) and also applies to relationship between intensity of sensation and nervous activity
What was Helmholtz’s contribution to the study of consciousness?
Measured the speed of neural impulses, which he found was slow (27m/sec). Perception depends on unconscious inferences, eg depth perception. This contrasts with rational inferences and decision making
Who is associated with the emergence of experimental psychology?
Donders, James and Wundt
What was Donders’ contribution to the study of consciousness?
Reaction time tasks for measuring the duration of mental events. The subtraction method where time is measured for processes to occur by comparing two RTs: one which has the same components as other and the process of interest. This is now standard procedure in functional brain imaging
What was James’ contribution to the study of consciousness?
Functionalist psychology: understanding mental faculties in terms of their adaptive value. Introspective observation is what we have to rely on first and foremost and always. Developed James’ ‘stream of consciousness’
What is James’ ‘stream of consciousness’?
Every state tends to be part of a personal consciousness. Within each personal consciousness, states are always changing. Each personal consciousness is sensibly continuous. It is interested in some parts of its object to the exclusion of others, and welcomes or rejects all the while it thinks
What was Wundt’s contribution to the study of consciousness?
Research assistant to Helmholtz who completed an empirical study of physiology of perception and created the introspective method and internal perception which are similar methods to those of modern psychophysics
What is internal perception?
Wundt’s introspective method, which is different to James’ and less reflective. Immediate response requirements minimise the effects of personal memories. Observers trained to respond automatically (and without biases if possible). Response choice is simple and limited, like yes/no. Stimuli are carefully controlled
