Task 5 -experimental Psychology Flashcards
Role of Germany
- ## foundation of first laboratory for experimental psychology
German universities
-refereed in 19th century
-> more dynamic and advance new sciences
-2 goals:
Wissenschaft
Bildung
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
- German
- studied with Von Helmholtz (measurement of reaction times)
- father of experimental psychology
- sometimes considered as founder of anthropology (study of cultures and societies)
- his writings: several contradictions, hard to read
- more structuralism
Methods used by Wundt (3)
- experimental methods
- introspection
- historical method
Experimental methods
1) psychological methods:
- connection between physical stimuli and their conscious states
2) measurement of the duration of simple mental processes
3) accuracy of reproduction in memory tasks
- > Wundt was familiar with Fechners work on psychophysics: he did measurement of JND
Introspection
- already proposed by Wundt
- looking inside + reporting
- method had already been criticized by Kant & Comte
Wund made distinction between:
1) internal perception (no real scientific method)
2) experimental self-observation, practiced in highly controlled circumstances (valid scientific method)
Historical method
- studying human mind by investigating the products of human cultures
- well suited to investigate ‘higher’ functions of the mind ( as social aspects of human thought and behavior)
America: William James (1842-1910)
- taught psychology at Harvard university (1875)
- wrote a book that had accessible and clear account of what was known about psychology at end of 19th century
- functionalism!
- defended introspection and didn’t like experimental methods
Impact of evolutionary theory on James
- functionalism -> inspired by evolutionary theory
- James saw continuity between animal and Human behavior
- > receptive to comparative psychology
America: Titchener (1867- 1927)
- structuralism
- student of Wundt
- inspired by empiricism and associationism
- introspection: main research method , but participants had to be trained
Titchener wasn’t influential because:
1) Introspection did not intuitively give rise to the experience of elementary sensations -> Würzburg school
2) structuralism did not address issues most American psychologists saw as important
3) countermovement: Gestalt psychology
France: Comte (1798-1857)
- positivism
- science should become a religion
- psychology = no real science because:
1) introspection is flawed
2) ?
Comte - civilization goes through 3 stages
1) Theocratic stage: gods and spirits dominate culture
2) Metaphysical stage: philosophical dominates -> psychology
3) Positivistic stage: natural sciences dominates
France: Ribot( 1839-1916)
- questioned Comte’s view
- showed colleagues how far behind France was, relative to other countries
- translated books
- tried to convince others that they could be positivists without accepting all of Comte’s claims
Charcot (1825-1893)
- one of first neurologists
- inspired my Mesmer
- interested in hysteria
- found out that hysteria resembles behavior that could be elicited under hypnosis
France: Binet and Simons
- primary education became compulsory
- > development of intelligence test
- created scale of competence
Psychology in the UK
- for 6 centuries: Oxford and Cambridge the only universities in England
- conservative universities
- dominated by church
- heavily oriented towards the classics
- unreceptive to natural sciences
Attempts to establish psychology at Cambridge
1) James McKeen Cattel (1860-1944)
- became lecturer
- opened first laboratory of physics
- started intelligence measurements with gallons recommendations
2) Rivers (1864-1922)
- lecturer in physiology department and tried to open laboratory -> happened in 1901
3) Myers (1872-1946)
- took over the laboratory in 1912
Attempts to establish psychology at Oxford
William Mc Dougall (1971-1938)
?
Developments in London
- University College London (UCL) founded in 1826 - alternative to Cambridge and oxford
- interest in natural sciences, open for empirical study of human mind
Key developments important for Psychology in London (2)
1) establishment of chair of logic and philosophy of human mind
- > James Sully
2) presence of Galton
James Sully
- Grote chair
- wrote books on perception and memory
- effort to established first laboratory of Psychology in UK (1898)
- Founded British society of psychology
Francis Galton
- established leading journal for development of statistical methods together with
- Pearson (maths)
- > developed correlation coefficient to measure relation between intelligence test and academic skills (no relation was found)
-and Weldon (zoology)
Scotland
-
Five schools of Psychology
- beginning are often depicted by making distinction between
1) Structuralism
2) functionalism
3) Gestalt psychology
4) Behaviorism
5) Psychoanalysis
History of Psychology simplified in 3 terms
1) theses
2) antitheses
3) syntheses
Theses
- psychology as taught at universities
- began as study of mind based on introspection ( structuralism, functionalism, Gestalt)
Antitheses
- in reaction to unreliability of introspection
- behaviorism redefined psychology as study of behavior based on objective method of experimentation
Syntheses
- reaction to limited research agenda and theoretical failure of behaviorism
- ‘cognitive revolution’ restored mind as a proper subject of psychology
- benefit of rigorous experimental methods developed within behaviorism
Governmentalization
- second part of 19th century
- private initiatives of citizens were supported by state (education, social legislation, eugenic laws)
- social management became matter of national politics (education, health care)
- laid foundation for welfare state (Sozialstaat)
Individualizations
- with time, social management plans became more individualized
- recording of individual peoples achievements became standard practice
Scientification
- end of 19th century
- most domains of social management could rely on scientific contribution
