problem 3 - birth of psychology Flashcards
franz joseph gall (1758-1828)
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
mental chronometry
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
william wundt summary
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
william james summary
field/area: functionalism
key concepts: stream of consciousness, pragmatism
method: pragmatic observations
founding figure in american psychology
franz c donders summary
field/area: mental chronometry
key concepts: mental processes, reaction time
methods: reaction time experiments
foundational work in cognitive psychology
francis galton summary
field/area: psychometrics
key concepts: eugenics, nature vs. nurture, statistical methods
methods: observational and survey methods, twin studies
sigmund freud summary
field/area: psychoanalysis (unconscious mind, dream analysis)
key concepts: unconscious mind, psychosexual stages
methods: psychoanalysis, clinical case studies
founder of psychoanalysis, influential in psychiatry
edward titchner summary
field/area: structuralism (student of wundt, introspection)
key concepts: structuralism, introspection, elements of mind
methods: introspection, experimental psychology
wundt: experimental psychology
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
wundt: the 2 different systems of psychology (heidelberg & leipzig)
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
wundt: introspection
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
wundt: 2 types of introspection
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
wundt: comparative vs historical methods of psychological investigation
comparative: applied to study of consciousness in animals, children, and the “disturbed”
historical: applied to mental differences as determined by race and nationality
wundt: apperception
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
wundt: feelings & emotions
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
wundt: biogenetic law
the development of the individual human depends on the evolution of the species (humans)
- both Wundt and Freud believed in this
wundt: volker psychology
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
tichener: general ideas
- 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
what were the tasks of tichener’s psychology
- 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 - determine how the elementary sensations are connected to form complex perceptions, ideas, and images
- explain the workings of mind & he believed introspection could only yield a description of mind
freud: consciousness
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
freud: introspection
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).
criticisms of freud
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
galton: darwinian psychology
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
james: 2 aspects of consciousness’s adaptive nature
- 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 - 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
james: james-lange theory of emotion
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)
james: pragmatism
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
