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144 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Psychology is off to a sketchy start |
• The year was 1893 at Cornell University in upstate New York • The psychology laboratory had a reputation as an immoral and wicked place. • Housemother from women’s dormitory wouldn’t allow her students in the lab after dark |
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Wundt’s founding of psychology |
• Years: 1879 opened psychology lab in Germany • Topic: Consciousness • Methods: Introspection • Goals for psychology: – Analyze conscious processes into their basic elements – Discover how these elements are synthesized or organized – Determine the laws of connection governing the organization of elements (apperception, voluntarism) |
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Voluntarism |
The idea that the mind has the capacity to organize mental contents into higher-level thought processes. |
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Forces in history |
Personalistic vs. Naturalistic |
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A new era of psychology |
Wilhelm Wundt -> (1832-1920)
Edward Bradford Titchener (1867-1927) |
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Titchener’s story… |
British man studied philosophy and physiology at Oxford Wanted to go back to England but… Titchener landed at Cornell University in 1892, which had recently been established in 1868 |
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Titchener: A controlling force |
• Like Wundt was autocratic and domineering • Lectures were dramatic productions that junior faculty were required to attend • Often mistaken for being German • Helpful as long as respect was given • Decided to found his own school of thought: Structuralism |
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Titchener & his reputation |
• Helpful as long as “respect” was given… • Supported and “guided” his students in their careers |
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Titchener’s Experimentalists |
Now: The Society for Experimental Psychologists Began meeting regularly in 1904 |
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Titchener & women in psychology |
Cornell began taking its first women students in 1870
Cornell began taking its first women students in 1870
A full 1/3 of Titchener’s PhD students were female and he favored hiring women faculty… |
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Margaret Floy Washburn (1871 - 1939) |
- Titchener’s first doctoral student - First woman to earn PhD in psychology, 1894 - Famous for her book on The Animal Mind: A Textbook of comparative psychology |
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Stimulus error |
Confusing the mental process under study with the stimulus or object being observed. |
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The elements of consciousness |
Titchner posed three essential problems to psychology:
reduce conscious processes to their simplest components determine laws by which these elements of consciousness were associated connect the elements with their physiological conditions. |
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Psychophysics leads to psychology William Wundt (1832-1920) |
Studied with both Mueller & Helmholtz Continued to believe that conscious perception of sensation and perception could be studied experimentally, but not higher cognitive processes Actively founded the field of psychology |
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Founding of psychology |
• Established the first official psychology lab • In 1881 founded and edited the first journal of psychology (oddly called Philosophical Studies at first) • Declared the founding of a new form of science (he used the term “experimental psychology” for the first time (although confusing because synonymous with “physiological psychology” in German) • Had the personality and determination to promote this new field |
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Wundt’s approach |
• Topic: Consciousness • Methods: Introspection • Goals for psychology: – Analyze conscious processes into their basic elements – Discover how these elements are synthesized or organized – Determine the laws of connection governing the organization of elements |
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School of thought |
Group of psychologists who become associated ideologically, and sometimes geographically, with the leader of a movement Often a protest against what has come before... Titchener claimed to be a loyal follower of Wundt Titchener translated Wundt’s work into English (as much as he could keep up) However he referred to his system of structuralism as “the only scientific psychology worthy of the name” |
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Titchener’s approach |
• Topic: Consciousness (Same as Wundt) • Methods: Systematic Experimental Introspection (Wundt’s was the more quantitative introspection) • Perspective: No apperception... all broken down into component parts, association |
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• Wundt’s goals for psychology: |
– Analyze conscious processes into their basic elements - Discover how these elements are synthesized or organized
• the will
– Determine the laws of connection governing the organization of elements |
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Titchener’s goals for psychology |
Reduce conscious processes to their simplest components – Determine laws by which these elements of consciousness were associated – Connect the elements with their physiological conditions Passive association |
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What is this consciousness thing? |
• Titchener believed psychology depended on the experiencing individual... For example: Temperature To a physicist? To a psychologist? Remember Locke? |
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Consciousness |
The sum of our experiences as they exist at a specific moment |
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The Mind |
The sum of an individual’s experiences accumulated over a lifetime |
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Titchener’s Introspection |
• Rigorous training to report conscious states rather than these mediate experiences • Detailed qualitative reports given • These were the atoms of conscious experience he sought • Believed in the rules of scientific experimentation, such that observations were repeated and conditions carefully varied |
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Scientific Classification |
3 elementary states of consciousness: Sensations, Images, Affective States • Listed 44,500 individual types of sensations • Sensations had 4 qualities – Quality - Distinguishes experience (e.g., cold or red) – Intensity - Strength – Duration – Length of sensation – Clearness – Related to clarity that comes from attention |
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What’s in a name? |
Titchener referred to people in his experiments as reagents. Chemists use this term to describe a substance that has a capacity for certain reactions… used to detect, examine, and measure other substancesOther developments… Participants rather than subjects |
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Critiques of Structuralism |
• Critique of introspection (especially his variety) had long existed • The idea of the unconscious was being popularized by Freud in the early 20th century • Titchener had a narrow view of the field, but maybe he was changing his opinions by the end of his life • By the time Titchener died in 1927, the field has moved on past Structuralism |
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Contributions of Structuralism |
• Helped create a presence for psychology in the United States • Introspective reports are still used today • Provided a clear target for opposition… |
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Revolting schools of thought |
Functionalism, the next great school of thought to develop in the United States Chapters 6, 7, & 8! • Behaviorism, rejected the idea of the conscious mind as the subject of study altogether Chapters 9, 10, & 11 • Gestalt psychology, conscious experience can’t be broken down into parts – the whole is important Chapter 12 |
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A rough timeline… |
Time 1859. Darwin publishes On the Origin of the Species 1860. Fechner quantifies sensation with Elements of Psychophysics 1869. Galton writes book on Hereditary Genius 1875. Wundt founds field of Psychology with first textbook 1890. James publishes The Principles of Psychology 1892. Titchener heads to Cornell to form Structuralism |
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Meanwhile… zeitgeist of change in Europe |
Industrial revolution had led to: – Intellectual interest in mechanism – Massive social change in all society – Increasing trust in science over religious teaching |
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A curiosity for new human-like animals |
From Darwin’s notebook after visiting Jenny: “Let man visit Orang-outang in domestication, see its intelligence … and then let him boast of his proud pre-eminence … Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work, worthy the interposition of a deity. More humble, and I believe true, to consider him created from animals” |
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The inevitability of evolutionary theory |
• Aristotle (384-322 BC) • Al-Jahiz (AD 796-868) • Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) • Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) • Charles Lyell (1797-1875) |
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Figurehead of this movement |
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) - Born into a well-known and rich family - Mischievous child, poor student - Showed interest in collecting coins, shells, minerals - Managed to find himself hired as the naturalist on the HMS Beagle - When he returned, Darwin stopped partying and became a dedicated scientist |
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Darwin’s long-awaited book
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• Reoccurring bouts of Illness brought on stress limited his work
• Knew he would be labeled a heretic when book published • Received letter from Alfred Wallace, a poor struggling naturalistwho came up with a theory of natural selection during threefeverish days of recovering from malaria • After over 20 years of waiting, he finally published On the Originof the Species in 1858 |
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Darwin’s autobiographical tidbits
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“I have no great quickness of apprehension or witwhich is so remarkable in some clever men, forinstance, Huxley”
“My habits are methodical, and this has been of nota little use for my particular line of work. Lastly, Ihave had ample leisure from not having to earn myown bread. Even ill health, though it hasannihilated several years of my life, has saved mefrom the distractions of society and amusement.” |
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Thomas Henry Huxley(1825-1895)
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Strong public interest and a big debate
Darwin himself did not have thepersonality to publicly defend evolution An ambitious biologist took the lead Extremely famous, especially amongblue-collar workers who were eager tohear about science as a path to salvation British Association for the Advancement ofScience held debate between Huxley and aBishop (Captain of the Beagle in theaudience waving a Bible)
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Darwin’s contributions tothe upcoming psychology
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• The Descent of Man discussed similarity between human and animal mental processes
• The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals discussed how our responses were remnants of practical behavioral responses • “A Biographical Sketch of an Infant” in 1877 a precursor to developmental psychology |
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The Expression of the Emotionsin Man and Animal
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Human emotional behavior inherited from animals
• For example: Sneering involves curling the lip, which is related to how canines bear their teeth |
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Darwin’s influence on psychology
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• A new focus on animal psychology
• A new emphasis on the functions of the mind rather than the structure of consciousness • The acceptance of methodology and data from many other fields • A specific interest in the description and measurement of individual difference |
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Francis Galton (1822-1911)
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Individual differences
- Cousin of Darwin - Finished degree in mathematics under Sir Isaac Newton, despite struggles with mental health - Travelled the world and wrote about it - Became interested in individual differences, wrote Hereditary Genius
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Galton’s words
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“I have no patience with the hypothesis occasionally expressed, and often implied, especially in tales written to teach children to be good, that babies are born pretty much alike, and that the sole agencies in creating differences between boy and boy, and man and man, are steady application and moral effort”
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A quantitative approach
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• Adolph Quetelet was a Belgian mathematician, poet, artistand writer • First to examine normal curve with biological and social data |
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True/False: Early work on comparative psychology relied on the anecdotal method, which incorporated information from casual observations. |
True |
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True/False: The ideas about evolution that Charles Darwin put forth were entirely novel and never described by anyone else before him. |
False |
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True/False: The goal of the Ladder of Mental Functioning was to map out the levels of intellectual development among species. |
True |
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True/False: Titchenerrefused to train women graduate students in his lab, which was consistent withthe general idea of the time that women should not obtain higher education.
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False
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True/False: Titcheneraccepted that psychology could never be a pure science, so his work did notattempt to create any formal scientific classification of the mind.
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False
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True/False: Both Wundt and Titchener thought that consciousness should be the focus of psychological study.
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True
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Which term did Titchener use to refer to the people who took part in his experiments?
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Reagents
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What happened to theExperimentalists in the long run?
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Two years after Titchener died, theyrenamed themselves the Society for Experimental Psychologists and still existtoday.
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Which of these ideasfrom the founding of psychology did Titchener NOT agree with?
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Apperception
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Which of the followingbest describes Titchener’s feelings about his mentor after he moved on to starthis own lab?
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Titchener spoke highly of him andcontinued to translate his publications into English.
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Describe one reason thatTitchener thought psychology should not try to address any practicalapplications.
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Titchener thought psychology should not addresspractical applications because he thought the differences between technologyand science was a difference of initial attitude.
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True/False: Early work oncomparative psychology relied on the anecdotal method, which incorporatedinformation from casual observations.
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True
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True/False: The ideas aboutevolution that Charles Darwin put forth were entirely novel and never describedby anyone else before him.
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False |
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True/False: The goal of the Ladderof Mental Functioning was to map out the levels of intellectual developmentamong species.
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True |
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Multiple Choice: Which ofthese represents Galton's perspective on the nature vs. nurture debate?
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He thought nature was much moreimportant than nurture
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Multiple Choice: What was the nameof Galton’s research facility?
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Anthropometric Laboratory
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Multiple Choice: What type ofresearch is Francis Galton best known for?
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Individual differences
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Multiple Choice: Which of thesedescribes how Darwin influenced the field of psychology?
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Darwin influenced the field ofpsychology in multiple areas, including on studies of development, emotion, andthe minds of animals.
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Multiple Choice: Which was trueabout Darwin’s role in a famous debate hosted at Oxford by the BritishAssociation for the Advancement of Science?
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He did not want to publicly defendevolution, so he had Huxley do it instead
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Howdid Morgan's methods of animal research differ from those of Romanes?
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Morgan'smethod of animal research differed from the methods of Romanes because Morganwas interested in border between intelligence and instinct, while Romanescontinued Darwin's legacy in the field of the evolution of the mind.
- Contrast is about parsimony, with Morgan notthinking higher level thought was necessary to explain behavior like Romanesdid |
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A pure science…
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Titchener did NOT think practical application should be a part ofpsychology.
“The great difference between science and technology is adifference of initial attitude.The scientific man follows his method whithersoever it may takehim. He seeks acquaintance with his subject matter, and he doesnot at all care about what he shall find, what shall be the contentof his knowledge when acquaintance-with is transformed intoknowledge-about.The technologist moves in another universe; he seeks theattainment of some determinate end, which is his sole andobsessing care; and he therefore takes no heed of anything that hecannot put to use as means toward that end.”Titchener (1929) |
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Huxley’s grandson… Aldous
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A Brave New World + The Doors of Perception authored by Aldous Huxley |
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Galton applied normal curveto mental characteristics
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• Found university examination grades fit the normalcurve
• First to use what he called “Co-relations” (i.e.,correlations) in 1888 • First to discuss regression to the mean • His student Karl Pearson developed the correlationcoefficient r which calculates the strength of arelationship between two variables |
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Mental Tests
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Tests of motor skills and sensory capacities; intelligence tests use more complex measures of mental abilities. • Galton assumed intelligence could be measured in terms of sensory abilities• Coined the term eugenics, from Greek for good in stock, endowed with noble qualities • Had controversial ideas that suggested those who were gifted should be financially encouraged to breed with each other |
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Galton’s Anthropometric Laboratory
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- For a small admission fee,a person could complete aseries of tests
- Goal to understandvariability in population -Data collected from morethan 9000 people |
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A different approach
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• A quote from Galton: “my best brain work iswholly independent of [consciousness]”
• Published in a journal called Brain in 1879….Freud was a subscriber to this journal and wasclearly influenced by this idea • Galton often measured perception measuredby response time, accuracy |
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This all leads up to Functionalism
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Oppositional to Structuralism that was temporarily adominant school of thought in the United States
• Elements of the mind seemed the wrong question… |
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Galton’s interests in perception
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• The Anthropometric Laboratory analyzedindividual differences to simple perceptualtasks largely
• If knowledge comes from the senses (Locke),this should predict knowledge…Galton’s interests in perception Collected data using speciallydevised instruments; dataseemed reliable |
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Animals and thinking…
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-Christian Church believed animals did not have souls
• Purely automata • What good could animals be to study the Mind?• Darwin’s movement changed this… “There is nofundamental difference between man and the highermammals in their mental faculties” |
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Early work on comparative psychology
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George John Romanes(1848-1894)
Parents considered him a “shocking dunce”Became friends with Darwin andcontinued his legacy in the field ofthe evolution of the mindPublished Animal Intelligence in 1883 Work considered a founder of thefield, but he died in his forties of abrain tumor |
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Romanes’ ladder of mental functioning
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What methods did Romanes use?
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Anecdotal method: Observational reports
Introspection by analogy: Way to study animalbehavior which assumes that the same mentalprocesses that occur in observer’s mind also occurin animals’ mind |
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Monkeys, elephants… then cats
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“Cats in such cases have a very definiteidea as to the mechanical properties ofa door; they know that to make itopen, even when unlatched, it requiresto be pushed…First, the animal must have observedthat the door is opened by the handgrasping the handle and moving thelatch.Next, she must reason, by “the logic offeelings,” if a hand can do it, why not apaw?”Romanes, 1883
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A more scientific successor…
C. Lloyd Morgan(1852-1936)
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Student of Thomas Huxley (rock starbiologist who defended evolution)
Strange fact.. One of firstpeople to ride a bicycle inthe city of Bristol, England Interested in border betweenintelligence and instinct… However, abandoned research earlyin life for a career in universityadministration |
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Morgan’s Law of Parsimony
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Wundt said something similar around that time…“complex explanatory principles can be used onlywhen the simpler [principles] have provedinsufficient”
Related:Do we need consciousnessto explain anything ? |
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Where this is heading historically…
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Survival of the fittest attitude consistent withAmerican ideals of rugged individualism…
• Need for measuring individual differences withmilitary recruiting • A broader definition of psychology, with morepractical goals (Functionalism) |
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Evolution theme continues:
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– Spencer’s synthetic philosophy
– James and the functional-value of consciousness – Calkins, Woolley & the so-called “variabilityhypothesis” – Hall’s recapitulation theory |
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Where we left off…
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• Chapter 6 explains what led up to Functionalism
• “Darwinism” is sweeping the world • Titchener argues for his modified version of Wundt’spsychology, Structuralism, but facing conflict • Industrialization is changing society |
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Social Darwinism gains popularity in the US
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Herbert Spencer(1820-1903)
Darwin referred to him as ”our philosopher”Before mentally incapacitated, he hadwritten many foundational universitytextbooks and popular magazine articles Extended Darwinism, proposed that itexplained all aspects of the universe Greeted as an international celebrity in NewYork in 1882 by leaders of politics, religion,business”semi-invalid and psychic cripple” |
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Synthetic philosophy |
Human knowledge and experience can beexplained in terms of evolutionary principles(social Darwinism)
• The mind exists in present form because ofpast and continuing adaptations toenvironment • Same with human societies and institutions |
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Spencer’s logic
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• Natural selection means only the best survive.
• Human perfection inevitable as long as nointerference occurs • Interference from the state would interfere withnatural evolutionary process • Spencer coins term “survival of the fittest” |
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In contrast, upper class had “Americanitis” (a.k.a. neurasthenia) |
Particular common among “brain workers”
- Symptoms included: - immobilizing depression - loss of the will - postponement of career choice “Punctuality is a greater thief of nervous force than is procrastination.We are under constant strain, mostly unconscious, oftentimes insleeping as well as in waking hours, to get somewhere or do somethingat a definite moment” -Beard, neurologist who coined the term in 1881 ”For Americans, work had become a pathological obsession. Americanswere endangering their mental and physical healthy throughoverwork” -Herbert Spencer |
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A victim of ”Americanitis”
William James(1842-1910) |
Born into wealthy family, receivedinternational schooling
Considered one of the most importantfigures in psychology Maintained a widely publicized interestin telepathy, clairvoyance, spiritualism,and séancesEventually turned his back on psychology,saying it was merely “an elaboration ofthe obvious” |
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James journeys to Europe
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• “It was obvious to everyone that he wassuffering from America; Europe was the onlycure”
• Recuperated in a German spa, saying if hemade it through winter, he might beinterested in learning more from Helmholtzand ‘some guy’ named Wundt |
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James finds his will,personally and psychologically
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• Goal of psychology is to study living people as theyadapt to their environment
• Believed in “stream of consciousness”, thought thatconsciousness couldn’t be broken down into elements • Function of consciousness is to guide us to endsrequired for survival • Habit vs. conscious choice |
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James goes to Harvard
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• Hired in Physiology to teach
• Teaches the first psychology course in the US,“The Relations between Physiology andPsychology” In 1875-76 • Setup the Harvard psychology laboratory butwas not interested in experiments |
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William James quote
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“Could the young but realize how soon they will become mere walkingbundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in theplastic state. We are spinning our own fates, good or evil, and never to beundone. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its never so littlescar. The drunken Rip Van Winkle, in Jefferson's play, excuses himself forevery fresh dereliction by saying, 'I won't count this time!' Well! he maynot count it, and a kind Heaven may not count it; but it is being countednone the less. Down among his nerve-cells and fibres the molecules arecounting it, registering and storing it up to be used against him when thenext temptation comes. Nothing we ever do is, in strict scientificliteralness, wiped out. Of course, this has its good side as well as its badone. As we become permanent drunkards by so many separate drinks, sowe become saints in the moral, and authorities and experts in the practicaland scientific spheres, by so many separate acts and hours of work. ”
- William James, Principles of Psychology (1890) |
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James’ Principles of Psychology (1890)
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“It is literature, it is beautiful, but it is not psychology”– Wundt
James offered: • Very clear and magnetic writing style • Offered alternative view to Wundt/Tichener idea that consciouscould be broken into elements • Spoke to a more practical psychology, relevant to the developingFunctionalism school of thought |
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The variability hypothesis
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Goal of psychology is to study living people asthey adapt to their environment
Darwin’s work in animals had suggested that males showed a widerrange of physical characteristics than females… Women were seen as more average in both physical and mental ability Widely believed that exposing women to education beyond basicschooling could be damaging Some female psychologists decided to investigate this issue usingscientific methods |
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A role model for early women psychologists
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Mary Whiton Calkins(1863-1930)
- James supported her graduateeducation, but was not able toconvince Harvard to give her adoctorate - Offered a degree from newly createdsister school Radcliffe but sherefused - First female president of the APA in1906 - Politically active, suffragist
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Scientific investigation of thevariability hypothesis
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Helen BradfordThompson Woolley(1874-1947)
• Born and educated in Chicago,received PhD in 1900 • Worked in the public school system,did critical work on child labor law • Established a nursery school programto study development and mentaldisabilities • Became director of Institute of ChildWelfare Research at ColumbiaUniversity in 1924
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Woolley’s bold claim
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Found no sex differences inemotional functioning,intelligence.
If anything, women wereslightly superior to men inmemory and sensoryperception However, validity of researchquestioned because it hadbeen done by a woman |
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Another notable American psychologist
Granville Stanley Hall(1844-1924)
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Born on a farm in Massachusetts
Ambitious, but lacked direction Attempted seminary, then wound upspending years of adventuring in Europe Eventually came back home, perhapsbecause his parents wouldn't support the27 year old anymore Eventually wound up at Harvard withJames, received the first PhD in psych inthe US in 1878 |
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Influenced direction of American psychology
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• Trained an enormous amount of students, growingpsychology in the US
• One of first Americans to become interested in Freud,invited him to give lectures • As an administrator, made graduate education open towomen and minority students • Called “Darwin of the mind” |
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Hall’s work
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• “Hitherto we have gone to Europe for ourpsychology. Let us now take a child and placehim in our midst and let America make herown psychology” - Hall
• Recapitulation theory – psychologicaldevelopment of children repeats history of thehuman race |
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Founding of Functionalism
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• Titchener actually gave this movement a name,contrasting this to Structuralism, which he consideredthe only proper psychology
• Broader range of techniques for study (introspection,questionnaire, physiological methods) • Applied research considered an asset |
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Reluctant founders at the University of Chicago
John Dewey (1859-1952) |
Undistinguished early life, taught high schoolfor a few years & studied philosophy on hisown
Studied at Johns Hopkins, eventually winds upat Univ. of Chicago for 10 years First American textbook on psychology (1886)Spread application of psychology andphilosophy to educational problems Never called his own research Functionalism |
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Dewey’s reflex arc
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The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology” 1896 considered the openingshot of the Functionalism movement against Structuralism
Elemental Structural approach: Stimulus Perceive Flame (Start) Response Touch flame andwithdraw hand(Finish) Functionalist approach: Perceive Flame -Touch flame andwithdraw hand - Perceive FlameDifferently |
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Reluctant founders at the University of Chicago
Ames Rowland Angell(1869-1949) (”life of the party”,“Sunny Jim”)
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(When Dewey leaves U Chicago in 1904, Angelltakes over as leader of Functionalist movement)
Came from family of college presidentsMasters from Harvard (1893), but neverearned PhD because German writing was poorYears in low-paying job at Univ. of MinnesotaThen moved to University of Chicago wherehe stayed for 25 yearsBecame president of Yale afterwards, thenboard of National Broadcasting Company
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Angell’s summary of functionalism
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Made speech when he became APA president in 1906 sayingFunctional psychology was not new. However, highlighted its ideasand helped it flourish:
Psychology of mental operations, how they operate, whatthey accomplish, and under what conditions they occur • Consciousness is a utilitarian spirit that mediates between theneeds of the organism and its environment; has functionbecause survived evolution • Psychology of psychophysical relations and concerned withthe total relationship of the organism to the environment
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Another reluctant Functionalist
Robert Sessions Woodworth(1869-1962)
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• Taught high school science & math,then heard Hall give a talk and readJames’s Principles of Psychology
• Went to Harvard and worked withJames Cattell (who we will talk aboutvery soon) • Stimulus and response not enough toexplain the functioning organism |
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Woodworth’s dynamic psychology
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The living organism:
Its motivation Its current goals Its past experiences |
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Functionalism…
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• Ideas of evolution permeate…
• Mental processing is adaptive • Natural selection at work…– But what is ”natural” and what is not?– Beyond government intervention, one mustconsider changing technology |
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“Darwin among the machines”
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Samuel Butler(1835-1902)
• Eccentric English writer, painterand musician who moved to NewZealand to raise sheep • Corresponded with Darwin • Argued that machines evolve too,struggling for existence, trying togain a competitive advantage |
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Environmental pressure for machines
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American population
1880: ~50 million 1890: ~62 million |
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A clever solution…
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Herman Hollerith(1859-1922)
- An engineer who was inspired byfairground organettes |
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Patented idea and contracted with US Census
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Formed The Tabulating Machine Company in1896
- Countries all over the world purchasedtechnology - In 1911, three other companies combined toform the Computing-Tabulating-RecordingCompany - In 1924, renamed once again to InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation |
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A few ideas of William James…
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Pragmatism: The doctrine that the validity of ideasis measured by their practical consequences
Habit: With repetition, actions become easier toperform and require less conscious attention |
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Legacy of Functionalism
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Titchener and Wundt critiqued it, but by the timethey died, Functionalism was on top
• Animal behavior became a widespread research area • Psychology became a pragmatic science, which couldbe applied to practical problems |
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A practical problem arises…
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It was 1909… and a drug bust went down
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Many psychologists left academia& went into the world…
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• Schools• Factories• Advertising agencies• Courthouses• Child guidance clinics• Mental health centers
By 1900, 25% of research articles in Americanpsychology journals were about applied topics, with<3% about introspection |
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America becomes the face of psychology
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In 1880, no psychology labs in the US, by1900 there were 41 and they were betterequipped then Germany
• In 1910, more than 50% of all psychologyarticles in German; by 1933, 52% were inEnglish and only 14% in German • With more and more PhDs in psychology, theneed for new jobs and funding mechanismswas critical… |
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True/False: James agreed with the ideas of Titchener and Wundt that consciousness could be broken down into elements.
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False
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True/False: The Functionalist school of thought did not think that psychology should investigate the topic of consciousness anymore.
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False
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True/False: Galton believed that intelligence could be measured by examining a person’s perceptual abilities.
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True
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Multiple Choice: Which of these changes in America led Herman Hollerith to develop the tabulating machine?
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Rapid increase in the American population
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Multiple Choice: Which of the following is the main idea of Hall’s recapitulation theory?
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Psychological development of children repeats the history of the human race
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Multiple Choice: Which person was associated with the spread of the philosophical ideas about social Darwinism?
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Spencer
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Multiple Choice: What does the “variability hypothesis” discussed in this chapter refer to?
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The idea that men show a wider range of physical and mental development than women
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Multiple Choice: In John Dewey’s writing "The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology", he discussed how
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Behavior must be understood in terms of its result and the adaptive significance of the behavior to the organism.
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Describe what type of person neurasthenia typically affected AND what was one of its symptoms.
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A type of person affected by neurasthenia is generally more educated people because this is American Nervousness which afflicts "brain workers", and one of the symptoms of this is immobilizing depression.
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Universities in the Midwest and West
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• More and more psychology PhDs…
• By 1910, many psychologists heldacademic positions at universitiesthat were not financially well equipped • Psychology was popular withstudents, but held in low esteemby administrators and not alwaysfunded well |
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Adaptation is everywhere…
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• Societal structures
• Technology • Human mind • …& the field of psychology! – Functionalism had opened up psychology, allowingresearchers to develop applied psychology |
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Psychologists in America go their own way
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• Trained with Wundt, but returned to America to pursuedifferent interests:
– James McKeen Cattell – Mental testing – Lightner Witmer – “Clinical” psychology – Walter Dill Scott – Industrial-organizational psych – Hugo Munsterberg – general promoter of applied psych Only about 20 years after psychology begins in German, Americanshad taken leadership of the field. |
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The Functionalist school of thoughtpermits new applications…
James McKeen Cattell(1860-1944)
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Trained in Europe with Wundt, but wasinterested in “typically American” topics likeindividual differences
Writes in letter home: “I’m quite sure mywork is worth more than all done by Wundtand his pupils… Prof. Wundt seems to like meand to appreciate my phenomenal genius” Also went to collaborate with Galton, wherehe cultivated his interests in individualdifferences and quantitative methodsEventually ousted from his job due toaccusations he was disloyal to America |
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Cattell propelled American psychology forward
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Developed journals, promoted the Functionalistmovement
• One of first psychologists to teach statistical analysis ofexperimental results • Coined term “mental tests”, after working with Galton • Primarily was interested in sensorimotor measurementsof individual differences |
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A different approach to mental tests
Alfred Binet(1857-1911)
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Independently wealthy Frenchman, hepursued careers in law and medicinebefore moving to psychology
First effective test of human cognitiveabilities came from a French psychologist Inspired by observing his young daughtersRealized need to focus on functions likejudgment, comprehension, reasoning |
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IQ measure
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Mental age: Age at which children of average ability can perform certain tasks
Intelligence quotient (IQ): A number denoting a person's intelligence, determined by the following formula: mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100 Example: A 4 year-old who has a mental age of 5would have an IQ of 125 (5 ⌯ 4 x 100 = 125) |
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1917 – World War I begins
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• Society for Experimental Psychologistsmet the same day war started…Titchener left room when howpsychology could help came up
• Military leaders needed way to assessIQ of recruits, but Stanford-Binetrequired trained administrators • Led to the development of group testsand multiple-choice questions,although the war ended before theycould use them much |
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Intelligence testing goes viral
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• By the early 1920, 4 million intelligence tests given peryear (mostly in public schools)
• Many companies required testing of workers • The SAT introduced in 1926 by someone who had workedin the efforts for test development during WWI • Use of such testing has been controversial ever since… |
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Intelligence testing controversy
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• Tests at Ellis Island found huge proportion of people tobe ”feebleminded” (87% of Russians, 83% of Jews, 80%of Hungarians, 79% of Italians, etc.)
• Language difficulties and cultural-biases • People wondered whether intelligence testing shouldbe used to determine voting rights |
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Clinical psychology movement
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Lightner Witmer(1867-1956)
Wound up working with Cattell, because it paid Cattell thought highly of him and sent him towork with Wundt for his PhD Founded the first psychology clinic in 1896 Not the kind of clinical psychology of today,more like school psychology Believed that psychology should be used tohelp people, a pioneer of the Functionalistmovements |
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More general mental healthclinical practices spread
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• A Mind That Found Itself (1908), a book that discussedthe need for the public to deal humanely with mentalillness
• Interest in psychotherapy spread (we’ll talk about Freudlater) • However, by 1918 there were still no graduate programsin clinical psychology… even by 1940, clinical therapy wasstill a minor part of psychology |
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World War II & clinical psychologists
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• Millions of draftees were showingup with all types of anxieties,depression, and psychic conditions
• Millions of others suffered frommental disorders during or afterservice • Government and military leadershipdecided to invest in clinicalpsychology |
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Another American psychologistwith functional interests
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Walter Dill Scott(1869-1955)
- Idea of workplace efficiency came to himearly, as he studied while his horses wereresting during plowing fields as a boy - Saved up money to get married and go toGermany to work with Wundt - First to apply psychology to personnelselection, management and advertising, firstpsychological consulting company, firstprofessor of Applied Psychology |
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Scott’s ideas about advertising
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• “Advertisements are sometimes spoken of asthe nervous system of the business world….The advertisement of musical instrumentswhich contains nothing to awaken images ofsounds is a defective advertisement”
• Due to emotion, sympathy, andsentimentally, consumers are not rational • Action: Companies should use commands orrequire consumers to do something like tearout a coupon or mail something to thecompany |
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The Hawthorne Studies (1917)
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• Western Electric Company studiedworkers in its plant in Illinois
• Originally wanted to investigatephysical work environment(temperature, lighting, etc.) • Discovered that social &psychological aspects were muchmore important |
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A controversial figure…
Hugo Munsterberg(1863-1916) |
- German born, trained with Wundt butoffered opportunity to lead Harvard’spsychology laboratory by James in 1892.
- Transition was hard for him, and he madeenemies by writing an article in 1898attacking applied psychology - However, his work soon became immenselypopular with the general public - Opposed Witmer’s for-pay clinics |
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Importance of applied psychology
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Sometimes was looked down upon because it didn’tadvance the pure science of psychology but:
– These applications made psychology more well-knownand accepted by the public – Increased the recognition for academic psychology – Gave psychology a tremendous influence on societalstructures and culture |
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Fragmentation occurs anyway
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• The APA increased from 336 members in 1917 to 1100+ in 1930
• Many of these were applied psychologists • However, APA was controlled by the academic branch and beganrequiring research publication to become a member in 1919 • Today APA is dominated by clinical psychologists, with researchpsychologists splitting off in 1988 to form the AmericanPsychological Society |
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Applied psychology is blamed…
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• New York Times editorialin 1923 noted that “thenew psychology ismaking its way into onedomain after another ofhuman activity, andalways proves its value”
• However, when theworldwide economicdepression of the 1930scame, many blamedapplied psychologists fornot living up to theirpromises |
