William James & American Psychology Flashcards
What period was William James born in?
Mid 1800s (1842).
What is the definition of a pragmatic decision?
When you adjust your decisions to the state of the world. What is practical to believe.
What was James’ main critique of Wundt’s approach?
Wundt’s theory was too abstract - he should focus on what motivates the mind.
State the main ideas of James’ Philosophy of Pragmatism.
Thought is to be studied as an interaction between mind and world not an interpretation of reality.
Darwinism is the basic science.
There can be mainly good, apparently true, perspective on reality.
Name some of the key chapters in James’ Principles of Psychology.
Stream of consciousness, consciousness of self, habit formation, the will, emotion (James-Lange theory), the self.
What is the James-Lange Theory?
It is the idea that arousal causes the experience of emotion (and not vice versa). Physiological change is primary and emotion is then experienced.
What is the puzzle of person identity and how does it fit with James’ Pragmatic Philosophy of Truth?
People differ from time to time but are still unitary.
James’ Philosophy of Truth states that there might be several truths, each resulting from the expression of different interests.
How do we perceive ourselves as unified according to James?
We construct our experiences and put the same character in all of them. We unify ourselves.
James was very open minded. What type of Psychology was he also interested in?
Parapsychology. Believed there was more to reality than we suspected.
Who is G. Stanley Hall and why is he important?
First president of the APA.
Began the American Journal of Psychology.
Supervised 34/50 of the first PhDs in the USA.
Hall was highly sexist, racist and ableist but still took on a lot of students that contradicted his beliefs. Name two of these.
Francis Summer (first African-American PhD student). Lewis Terman (tuberculosis). Also took on women.
Who organised The Experimentalists?
Tichener.
Who was Ladd-Franklin and why is she important?
The Experimentalists excluded women to ‘keep the male atmosphere’. William James and others were against this and Ladd-Franklin was eventually let in.
Who was Mary Whiton Calkins?
First woman president of APA.
Supported by William James to study at Harvard - wasn’t awarded a degree but did all the work. James recognised this unfairness.
Debated with Joseph Jastrow about sex differences in the variability of women and men’s responses in writing out a list of words rapidly.
Explain the development of the Imageless Thought Debate.
This debate took place within Structuralism.
Kulpe and Wundt argued for different ideas.
