problem 3 - birth of psychology

Question 1

franz joseph gall (1758-1828)

Answer 1

was the first to take seriously the idea that the brain is the seat of the soul = considered founder of cog neuroscience

• brain was the specific organ of mental activity
• localization of function
• carried out detailed anatomical studies of the brain and nervous system but found the techniques of his time too crude to answer the questions he posed

Question 2

mental chronometry

Answer 2

a method which seemed to offer an objective way of measuring physiological and mental processes that could not be directly observed
- created by F.C. Donders

measure how long it takes someone to respond to a single stimulus (the turning on of a small light bulb above a response key) = simple reaction time

then complicate the task by having two lights and two keys = compound reaction time

Question 3

william wundt summary

Answer 3

field/area: structuralism (founding father of psychology)

key concepts: elements of consciousness, introspection

methods: introspection, experimental psychology

• established first psychology lab
• mainly concerned with expanding existing concepts

Question 4

william james summary

Answer 4

field/area: functionalism

key concepts: stream of consciousness, pragmatism

method: pragmatic observations

founding figure in american psychology

Question 5

franz c donders summary

Answer 5

field/area: mental chronometry

key concepts: mental processes, reaction time

methods: reaction time experiments

foundational work in cognitive psychology

Question 6

francis galton summary

Answer 6

field/area: psychometrics

key concepts: eugenics, nature vs. nurture, statistical methods

methods: observational and survey methods, twin studies

Question 7

sigmund freud summary

Answer 7

field/area: psychoanalysis (unconscious mind, dream analysis)

key concepts: unconscious mind, psychosexual stages

methods: psychoanalysis, clinical case studies

founder of psychoanalysis, influential in psychiatry

Question 8

edward titchner summary

Answer 8

field/area: structuralism (student of wundt, introspection)

key concepts: structuralism, introspection, elements of mind

methods: introspection, experimental psychology

Question 9

wundt: experimental psychology

Answer 9

the methodological aspect was of great importance = called the alliance experimental psychology

• psychological concepts, (e.g. mental events & behaviors) are explained by physiological causes (e.g. depression can be traced back to specific levels of neurotransmitters in the brain)
• the creation of physiological psychology lead to the possibility of reduction

Question 10

wundt: the 2 different systems of psychology (heidelberg & leipzig)

Answer 10

heidelberg - psychology as a natural science: the mind can be brought within reach of natural science by an experimental method
- did not identify the mind with consciousness (did this later)
- purpose of the experiments was to collect data that allow interference in unconscious processes

leipzig - the experimental methods of physiological psychology, which studied the aspects of consciousness closely related to sensation and motor responses, led to an approach associated with the methodology of physical science

Question 11

wundt: introspection

Answer 11

the science of consciousness can only be established based on objective and replicable results under standardized conditions

• wundt refined introspection to a new, experimentally controlled introspection based on the model by Fechner
• previously used armchair introspection was criticized for being unreliable & subjective

Question 12

wundt: 2 types of introspection

Answer 12

internal/traditional perception = the pre-scientific method of armchair subjective introspection
- is performed in a haphazard and uncontrolled manner and is unlikely to produce results useful to scientific psychology.

experimental self-observation: a scientifically valid form of introspection where the observer is exposed to a standard and replicable situation in which he is asked to describe the experience
- this form of introspection also became more focused on consciousness

Question 13

wundt: comparative vs historical methods of psychological investigation

Answer 13

comparative: applied to study of consciousness in animals, children, and the “disturbed”

historical: applied to mental differences as determined by race and nationality

Question 14

wundt: apperception

Answer 14

new information is linked to existing knowledge/experiences upon arrival, so you can build on this - the past is linked to the present

the difference between apperception and perception: perception is a passive process of perceiving while apperception is an active process where attention is important

Question 15

wundt: feelings & emotions

Answer 15

also studied feelings & emotions - often used introspectively reported feelings as clues to what processes were going on in the mind at a given moment

proposed that feelings could be defined along three dimensions:
pleasant vs unpleasant
high vs low arousal
concentrated vs relaxed attention

Question 16

wundt: biogenetic law

Answer 16

the development of the individual human depends on the evolution of the species (humans)
- both Wundt and Freud believed in this

Question 17

wundt: volker psychology

Answer 17

the study of products of the collective life, such as language and myths, that lead to higher operations in mind

• experimental psychology is superficial, while Völkers psychology goes deeper
• distinction is made between outer phenomena (the language you speak) and inner phenomena (cognitive processes of language)
• Wundt thought the best way to study the mind is through language

Question 18

tichener: general ideas

Answer 18

• was a student of Wundt, and he thought that apperception was wrong
• we form knowledge through representations of pictures and not by building on knowledge
• the mind is made of sensations or pictures of sensations and nothing else

Question 19

what were the tasks of tichener’s psychology

Answer 19

1. the discovery of the basic sensation elements to which all complex processes could be reduced
   - drew up a catalog of elements found in the different sense departments - e.g. 30,500 visual elements
2. determine how the elementary sensations are connected to form complex perceptions, ideas, and images
3. explain the workings of mind & he believed introspection could only yield a description of mind

Question 20

freud: consciousness

Answer 20

distinguished between 3 kinds of consciousness: conscious, preconscious and unconscious - focus was mainly on the latter kind, the subconscious mind

every adult also has an id, ego and superego - these three together form your personality
- id = unconscious, present from birth, and only out for fun
- superego = developed later, and it is both conscious and unconscious
- ego = constantly struggling to control your id and superego

Question 21

freud: introspection

Answer 21

focused on introspection about the subconscious mind
- had already been raised in his time that introspection applied to the subconscious mind is nonsensical (ppl cannot access their subconscious mind)

although wundt and his followers introduced a new way of the research method introspection (experimental introspection), Freud opted again for the traditional way (armchair introspection).

Question 22

criticisms of freud

Answer 22

introspection of the subconscious mind is of no use

his main research findings were based on his observations/patients, including his children

had a financial motivation to find certain research results

Question 23

galton: darwinian psychology

Answer 23

was interested in all the factors that make people different (guided by evolution)
- mainly conducted experiments based on genes/inheritance
- believed that intelligence depends on consciousness & on the size of the brain

eugenics: researched intelligence and concluded that the general intelligence of mankind could be improved through selective breeding

Question 24

james: 2 aspects of consciousness’s adaptive nature

Answer 24

1. consciousness gives its bearers interests - machines do not want to survive and operate merely on preset habits
   - if the env does not suit these habits, it will fail to adapt and will die because it does not care whether it lives or dies
   - but coping with change is the essence of evolution = consciousness has arisen because without it, we would not and could not adapt
2. choice depends on having an interest in survival: consciousness arises when instinct & habit cannot cope with new challenges = without consciousness, there would be no survival

Question 25

james: james-lange theory of emotion

Answer 25

argued that emotions are the result of the perceptions of an event
- a physical change takes place first (running away) based on a stimulus in the brain (seeing a bear) and only when the emotional response takes place (fear)

Question 26

james: pragmatism

Answer 26

psychology is not about what it entails but how it can be applied

he thought psychology was too theoretical and wanted to make it more practical - developed a pragmatic approach in which he stated that ideas that had no addition to our lives were meaningless

if something can be applied in practice, then it is true