L4 William James Flashcards
What was the metaphysical club?
William James’ club in the 1870s.
Beliefs are always evolving.
Beliefs are tied to behaviours, which they saw as being ‘habits’.
Beliefs are therefore important because they produce behaviours.
If a belief isn’t connected to a behaviour, we do not care about it.
Why were the tenants of the metaphysical club revolutionary?
They challenged the previously held position that there were universal beliefs that every person was born with.
Instead, they said that individuals’ beliefs are always evolving and it is those thoughts that win out that are maintained.
Contributions of William James.
Teaching - begins teaching Psychology in the Physiology department at Harvard.
Textbook - eventually writes Principles of Psychology which becomes the textbook of Psychology.
Department - requests that Harvard create a department for Psychology and becomes its head.
Later years - in his later years he mainly focusses on Philosophy but makes important contributions to the Psychology of religion.
What was James’ Psychology?
Functionalism
What is the adaptive signficance of the behaviour?
Theoretical - no emphasis placed on experiments as it does not interest him and its not possible for many topics of his.
No structures - not interested in mental structures, instead interested in how they work and how they influence behaviour.
Contributions of G. Stanley Hall.
APA - founding president of the APA, only person other than James to be president twice.
Developmental - created developmental Psychology which he originally called Genetic Psychology.
Standardised testing - first person to test what children learned in school. Established they know nothing before school, continued to test throughout to assess learning.
Treatment of children - argued that children need to be treated and educated like children, not mini adults.
Contributions of John Dewey.
Critiqued reflex arc - stimuli are constantly changing and depends on what is going on at the time, could be wanting warmth, could be wanting light, so it is contextual.
Education - children and adults are different in mental abilities. Children and adults are alike in that desire power and control over their immediate environment.
Contributions of James Rowland Angell.
Continuing Functionalism - he states they’re interested in mental operations, the functions of the mind rather than its elements cf. Wundt.
Practical Psychology - make people more productive, cure emotional issues. Interested in motivation. Similar to James.
Research Subjects - argued for inclusion of animals, children and atypical humans as subjects.
Processes & Behaviour - mind and body is one, always connected. Interested in these as adaptations.
Contributions of Mary Whiton Calkins.
APA - first female president of the APA.
Harvard - did not receive a PhD at Harvard despite writing thesis and doing everything else.
Functionalism - she was a functionalist as she studied with James. Most of her work was regarding the association of ideas and dreaming.
