History & Systems Quiz 2 (Ch. 3-6)
What did Darwin mean when he referred to himself as the devil's chaplain and said that his work was like confessing to murder?
"Working on evolution was like confessing to murder" Darwin knew that publishing his work on evolution would spark such huge controversy in the church, people would have many long fights and debates The church would not accept anything that contradicted what the Bible said - people would assume evolution was the "work of the devil" or at least equally as evil
What was the role of retrospection in psychological research, according to Titchener?
Because there was often a time lapse between an event and Titchener's introspectionists' reports of the event, critics called it retrospection instead of introspection.
Explain how the studies of bird beaks and mice in Minnesota support evolutionary theory
Bird beaks: severe drought conditions reduced food supply to tough spiky seeds, leaving only the finches with thick beaks able to break them and survive - later when floods struck, the big seeds were washed away and only the small-beaked birds were able to eat the food and survive to reproduce - so on and so on Minnesota mice: have adapted complex city landscapes - only the smartest mice (bigger brains) have been able to survive and reproduce - leaving the population of mice in the city to be generally smarter than the mice in rural areas
In what ways did Titchener's approach to psychology differ from Wundt's approach?
focused on mental elements and association as opposed to organization and synthesis of the elements discarded apperception Titchener emphasized parts; Wundt emphasized whole Wundt explain conscious experience; titchener describe mental experience
Trace the fate of Wundtian psychology in Germany. On what grounds was Wundt's system criticized?
government officials did not see any practical value in Wundt's psychology and Wundt was uninterested in applying psychology, his field remained small in Germany and tended to be grouped together with other disciplines (such as philosophy) -not applicable -differences in reports of introspective observers -nationalistic views in WW1 caused other countries to reject him -other schools of thought overtook his -German universities suffered from lack of funding
In your opinion, is Wundt's finding that we cannot attend to more than one stimulus at a time still valid in today's world of constant exposure to multimedia experiences? Why? Why not?
yes - we like to think we can multitask but I think we are really just quickly switching back and forth between tasks studies show that we can not get as much work done when we are trying to do two things at once - or at least cannot get work done as well
Why is Wundt, and not Fechner, considered the founder of the new psychology?
Fechner came up with idea first but Wundt went out applied is theories and work and promoted it
How did Titchener distinguish between inspection and introspection?
For Titchener, introspection is the method of observation used in psychology, while inspection, which he defined as "observation and experiment" is used in the natural sciences.
On what grounds did the functionalists protest against Wundt's psychology and Titchener's structuralism?
Functionalists argued that structuralism and experimental psychology are both too restrictive Research by Wundt and Titchener revealed nothing about outcomes or accomplishments of human mental activity
How was Wundt's psychology influenced by the work of the German physiologists and the British empiricists? What is the concept of voluntarism?
-empiricism and associationism~ consciousness consists of elements than can be studied by method of reduction Voluntarism Mind's self-organizing capacity The power of the will to organize the mind's contents into higher-level thought processes Comes from the word volition: the act or power of willing Emphasized the process of actively organizing or synthesizing these elements
How does Brentano's act of psychology differ from Wundtian psychology?
-precursor to Gestalt and humanistic psychology -argued that psychology should not study the content of conscious experience but should study the actions of consciousness (Act psychology) -introspection is useless because acts are not accessible through introspection -acts should only be studied through recalling
How did Stumpf differ with Wundt on introspection and on the reduction of the experience to elements?
-used introspection to report on experience just as it occurs (thought Wundt's method of breaking down conscious experiences into elements was artificial and not reflective of real life)-phenomenology
Describe Titchener's three elementary states of consciousness and the four attributes of mental elements.
3 elementary states of consciousness: 1. sensations: basic elements of perception 2. images: elements of ideas; not present in moment 3. affective states: emotions 4 attributes of mental elements: 1. quality: distinguishes each element from others 2. intensity: sensation's strength, weakness, loudness, brightness 3. duration: course of sensation over time
What criticisms had been made of the method of introspection before the work of Titchener?
Any attempt at introspection necessarily altered the conscious experience being studied because it introduced an observing variable into the content of the conscious experience If the mind were capable of observing its own activities, it would have to divide itself into two parts, one observing and one being observed.
What additional criticisms have been made of Titchener's structuralism?
Artificiality and sterility for attempting to analyze conscious processes into elements. The whole of an experience cannot be recaptured by any later association or combination of elementary parts Experience does not come to us in individual sensations, images, or affective states, but rather in unified wholes.
According to Titchener, what is the proper subject matter for psychology? How does it differ from the subject matter of other sciences?
Conscious experience is dependent on the person who is actually experiencing it Consider light and sound in terms of how individuals observe and experience it Individuals may experience 85 degrees in different ways Other sciences are independent or remain constant despite the individual experiencing person 85 degrees in room
What distinction did Titchener draw between consciousness and mind?
Consciousness: sum of our experiences as they exist at a given time Mind: sum of an individuals experiences accumulated over a lifetime
In what ways did Titchener begin to alter his system late in his career?
Dropped the concept of mental elements from his lectures, suggesting that psychology should study not basic elements but the largere dimensions or processes of mental life (quality, intensity, duration, clearness, and extensity). Said you must learn to think in terms of dimensions rather than in terms of systematic constructs like sensation
Explain the approaches to evolution taken by Erasmus Darwin and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Erasmus Darwin: believed that God had originally set life on earth in motion but did not intervene afterward - leaving species to alter and create new ones - changes in animal forms overtime developed and adapted in a way to fit changes in their environments Jean-Baptiste: behavioral theory of evolution - suggested that body modifications were inherited by succeeding generations (example- giraffes neck getting longer over generations because the need to reach for higher branches for leaves)
Describe Wundt's methodology and his rules for introspection. Did he favor quantitative or qualitative introspection? Why?
Examining one's own mental state referred to as "internal perception" Rules: Observers must be able to determine when the process is to be introduced. Observers must be in a state of readiness or strained attention. It must be possible to repeat the observation several times. It must be possible to vary experimental conditions in terms of the controlled manipulation of the stimuli. Favored quantitative introspection because it dealt with the intensity, duration, and size of the stimuli.
Describe the contributions Titchener's structuralism made to psychology?
His subject matter, conscious experience, was clearly defined. Their research methods, based on observation, experimentation, and measurement, were in the highest traditions of science. Provided a strong, established orthodoxy which against newly developing movements in psychology could array their forces
How did apperception relate to the work of James Mill and John Stuart Mill?
James Mill: believed associations automatic and passive, mind has no creative function John Mill: mind played active role in association Association: knowledge results from linking simple ideas to form complex ideas Apperception: process by which mental elements are organized Wundt classified apperception as active process, mind acts on individual elements in a creative way to make up the whole (said association was not passive)
Why did some people find it such a disturbing experience to see Jenny the Orangutan in the London Zoo?
Jenny behaved like a child Wore clothes Sat at a table Used a spoon Drank from cups Understood what her keeper told her to do Story of the apple - the keeper wouldn't let jenny have the apple - Jenny threw a fit- the keeper told her if she would behave she could have the apple - Jenny was able to start behaving
Why did it seem inevitable that a theory of evolution would be proposed and accepted by the middle of the nineteenth century?
Lamarck suggested in early 1800s that modifications of species were passed down through generations Lyell in the mid-1800s proposed that people were descendants of primates People started to question Biblical stories (think of Noah's ark, how was it possible he took two of every single species aboard the boat when there were so many species identified in the world now?) 1853: display of gorilla skeleton next to a human skeleton - hard for people to imagine humans may not be unique creatures Growing accumulation of fossils of animals that no longer existed on earth People's views were changing with the Revolution (church to science) and people were more ready than they ever had been to accept science like evolution (think social Zeitgeist) - growing domination of science
How was Darwin's concept of natural selection influenced by Malthus's doctrine of population and food supply?
Malthus: economist Stated that the world's food supply increased arithmetically where human population increases geometrically - leaving there to be more people than there is food Malthus said that only the most "forceful, cunning, and adaptable will survive" Darwin extended this theory to all living organisms - the organisms that have the features to survive are able to reproduce and pass those traits on - the ones that don't have the features to survive die and obviously cannot reproduce to pass the traits on
Distinguish between mediate and immediate experience
Mediate Information about something other than the elements of that experience Ex. "The rose is red" implies a meaning Our main interest is that we are perceiving something that can be labeled "red" The usual form that we use experience to acquire knowledge or learn about our world Immediate Unbiased by interpretation Ex. describing a toothache and not saying "I have a toothache"
In what ways did Darwin's data and ideas alter the subject matter and methods of psychology?
New focus on animal psychology: focused on mental functioning of animals and brought animals to the laboratory for the first time in psychology New emphasis on functions rather than structure- as functionalism grew, structuralism became less interesting because of its limits Acceptance of methodology and data from many fields - theory of evolution showed that psychology could be studied in more ways than just introspection New focus on the description and measurement of individual differences - everyone had been looking at the similarities between humans for so long, now scientists/psychologists began to look at individual differences as well
What did Titchener's use of the term reagent indicate about his views of human subjects and of people in general?
Reagents indicate that substances (people), because of their capacity for certain reactions, are used to detect, examine, or measure other substances (people). People process like a mechanical or chemical entity.
Describe Titchener's method of introspection. How did it differ from Wundt's?
Relied on observers who were rigorously trained to describe the elements of their conscious state, rather than reporting the stimulus by familiar name. Used detailed, qualitative, subjective reports of his subjects' mental activity during introspection He opposed Wundt's approach, with its focus on objective, quantitative measurements, because he believed it was not useful. Titchner was more interested in the analysis of complex conscious experience into component parts and not the whole like part like Wundt
What is the stimulus error? Give an example. How did Titchener believe the stimulus error could be avoided?
Stimulus error: confusing the mental process under study with the stimulus or object being observed (see and apple and describe as apple instead of color, brightness, shape, etc.) Rigorous training through introspection would eliminate stimulus error, having subjects focus on individual parts
What aspects of consciousness did the functionalists deal with? How did it lead to the application of psychology to real-life problems?
Study an accumulation of functions and processes that lead to practical consequences in the real world Answers questions like: what does the mind do? How does it do it? Interested in potential applications of psychology to everyday problems How people function and adapt to different environments Focused on individual differences, mental functions, and lab rats
What did Külpe mean by systematic experimental introspection? How did Külpe's approach differ from Wundt's?
Systematic experimental introspection: used retrospective reports of subjects cognitive processes after they had completed an experimental task Subjects perform complex task then provide retrospective reports about cog. Processes during the task Sub. undertook some mental process (such as thinking or judging) and after they examined how they thought or judged - dif 1: Wundt opposed to having sub. Describe subjective conscious experiences, focused on objective, quantitative measurements (reaction times), Kuple emphasized detailed subjective, qualitative reports about nature of thought process - dif 2: wundt experimenters involvement was limited (presenting stimulus and recordin results of subjects observations) kulpe experimenters asked direct questions of observers to elicit details of their reactions to experimental stimuli
What kind of information was Titchener looking for when he had his students swallow rubber tubes and take notebooks to the bathroom?
Tested the sensitivity of their internal organs Carried notebooks to record feelings and sensations whenever urinated or defecated
Despite their many differences, what did the works of Wundt, Ebbinghaus, Brentano, and Stumpf have in common?
They all moved the study of psychology away from philosophy by taking scientific approaches to studying behavior which included quantifying measures and manipulating variables
Describe the role of Thomas Henry Huxley in promoting Darwin's theory
Thomas Henry Huxley: biologist that was the driving force of England's scientific establishment Wanted to battle with the enemies of science which led him to want to battle the enemies of evolution Powerful and charismatic speaker that defended Darwin's work when Darwin did not want to/was not able to Spoke on behalf of Darwin's theory at the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Oxford University
How did increasing travel and exploration, and the public fascination with fossils, influence attitudes toward the idea of evolution?
With increased travel, people were able to see more animals than the ones that surrounded their homes - leading people to question biblical stories (example on pg. 104 - amerigo vespucci traveled and saw wolves, deer, monkeys, felines, and large snakes he had never been exposed to in Italy - questioned how this many animals could have fit on Noah's Ark) 1853: display of gorilla skeleton next to a human skeleton - hard for people to imagine humans may not be unique creatures but the evidence was convincing that we are so similar to apes Growing accumulation of fossils of animals that no longer existed on earth - scientists began to speculate that animals on earth are not constant but rather change over time
How did the idea of imageless thought challenge Wundt's conception of conscious experience?
Wundt attempted to reduce conscious experience to its component parts (to its sensations and images) Kulpe supported opposite viewpoint that meanings in thought do not necessarily need images or involve specific images
Why did cultural psychology have little impact on American psychology?
came at a time when the maturity of American psychology in which American workers were far less open to foreign impressions than they had been
Describe Wundt's cultural psychology. How did it lead to division within psychology?
cultural psychology dealt with the various stages of human mental development as expressed in language, art, myths, social customs, law, and morals (social psychology) division: 1. experimental: believed that simpler mental functions, such as sensation and perception must be studied through lab methods 2. social: higher mental processes cannot be studied experimentally but are conditioned by language and other aspects of our cultural training
On what grounds was Titchener's approach to introspection criticized? How did he answer his critics?
definition: Titchener had a hard time defining what he meant by introspection -precisely what structuralist introspectors were trained to do (ordinary language taken out of introspective vocabulary -would need an introspective language) -critics charged that introspection was really a form of retrospection because some time elapsed between the experience and the reporting of it
Describe the paradoxical views of Titchener regarding the place of women in psychology. Did he help them in their careers or discriminate against them?
did not allow women to join or attend experimentalist meetings because they shouldn't be around smoke (discrimination) more than 1/3 of doctorates award to women; more women completed doctoral degrees with him than anyone else; hired women faculty (support women's careers)
What are the elements of consciousness? What are their roles in mental life?
elements of consciousness are the basic mental contents; combine to form higher-level thought processes -sensations: aroused whenever a sense organ is stimulated and the resulting impulses reach the brain -feelings: subjective completions of sensations; do not arise directly from sense organs
Distinguish between internal and external perceptions. What is the purpose of apperception?
elements of consciousness are the basic mental contents; combine to form higher-level thought processes -sensations: aroused whenever a sense organ is stimulated and the resulting impulses reach the brain -feelings: subjective completions of sensations; do not arise directly from sense organs apperception: the process by which mental elements are organized
Describe the differences between "founding" and "originating" in science.
originating- being the first to discover/describe something founding- actually setting out to deliberately attempt to mark out a new domain of science
