C6: Functionalism: Antecedent Influences
Galton worked on two problems related to association of ideas: the diversity of associations of ideas; and 2) --- time
reaction
Influenced attitudes toward the idea of evolution: increased --- exposed people to many forms of life, which gave rise to skepticism about Noah's ark; fossils did not match living creatures; extinction meant that there is not constancy to living things
travel
Other than his theory of evolution, Darwin made no significant contributions to the field of psychology.
False
Romanes derived his findings on animal intelligence from introspection by analogy only after he discontinued use of anecdotal observations.
False
Romanes was the first scientist to conduct large-scale experimental studies in animal psychology.
False
Structuralism asked, "What does the mind do?" whereas functionalism asked, "How does it do it?"
False
The first experimental examination of associations was by Wundt and Ebbinghaus.
False
The initial work in comparative psychology was carried out in England and the leadership in the field stayed there for more than a decade.
False
The law of parsimony draws opposite conclusions from Lloyd Morgan's Canon.
False
The law of parsimony states that an animal's behavior must be interpreted as the outcome of a higher mental process even though it can be explained in terms of a lower mental process
False
The term mental tests was coined by Lloyd Morgan.
False
When psychologists began to examine mental processes in a completely different way than biologists studied anatomy, they laid the groundwork for functional psychology.
False
While expanding the scope of the subject matter of psychology, Darwin's theory added emphasis to the notion that experimentation is the only method proper to the science of psychology.
False
The law of parsimony method is the use of observational, often casual, reports or narratives about animal behavior.
False, anecdotal
A study by the Grants of the shape of Galapagos --- supported evolutionary theory
Finches
Animal Intelligence (1883)
First book on comparative psychology Purpose: demonstrate High level of animal intelligence Similarity of animal intelligence to human intellectual functioning Continuity in mental development Anecdotal method: "the use of observational, often causal, reports or narratives about animal behavior" Introspection by analogy: "A technique for studying animal behavior by assuming that the same mental processes that occur in the observer's mind also occur in the animal's mind" Criticisms: Short on scientific rigor Line between fact and subjective interpretation in his data not clear
George John Romanes (1848-1894)
Formalized + systematized study of animal intellignece Friends with Darwin & chosen to carry on Darwin's work on animal behavior Part-time lecturerer at U Edinburgh Published Animal Intelligence (1883) - Considered first book on comparative psychology - Purpose to demonstrate high levels of animal intelligence and similarity to human intellectual functioning Wanted to show "no difference in kind between the acts of reason performed by the crab and any act of reason performed by a man" Developed mental ladder = arrayed various animal species in order of their degree of mental functioning Formed opinions by collected data using anecdotal method Derived his findings from anecdotal observations through a curious and eventually discarded technique called introspection by analogy Presence of specific mental functions is inferred by observing the animal's behavior and drawing an analogy—a correspondence or a relationship—between known human mental processes and the processes assumed to be taking place in the animal's mind
Were interested in determining what the function of consciousness was
Functionalists
The Functionalist Protest
Functionalists' central interest: how the organism uses the mind to adapt to the environment First uniquely American system of psychology Deliberate protest against Wundt's and Titchener's systems Interest in applying psychology to real world
Romanes derived his findings on animal intelligence from anecdotal observations through introspection by analogy.
True
Romanes's anecdotal method used observational reports about animal behavior.
True
The anecdotal method is the use of observational, often casual, reports or narratives about animal behavior.
True
The first book on comparative psychology was Animal Intelligence by Romanes.
True
The law of parsimony counteracted the prevailing tendency to attribute excessive intelligence to animals.
True
The law of parsimony is also called Lloyd Morgan's Canon.
True
The law of parsimony states that an animal's behavior must not be interpreted as the outcome of a higher mental process when it can be explained in terms of a lower mental process.
True
The most important legacy of functionalism is applied psychology.
True
The quality of Galton's research is verified by its reliability, as assessed as recently as 1985.
True
The term mental tests was coined by James McKeen Cattell.
True
When you say, " I know what my dog is thinking," you are practicing introspection by analogy.
True
Wundt argued that if an animal has any sensory ability, then it can make judgments and conscious inferences.
True
The association of ideas
Two problems in association Diversity of association of ideas The time required to produce associations Galton found: 40% of associations traced to events in childhood and adolescence The unconscious influenced thought processes Word-association test: first experiment attempt to examine associations Technique adapted by Wundt, elaborated by Jung
Wundt's initial reaction to Darwin's position on mind was that if an animal had even a simple sense system, it could have this
consciousness
Theory of evolution's three components: individuals vary in characteristics, some characteristics are inherited, and some of these characteristics are more suited to the --- than others
environment
Darwin's other work
1871: The Descent of Man Evidence for human evolution from lower forms of life Emphasized similarity between animal and human processes 1872: The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals 1877: "A Biographical Sketch of an Infant"; based on his son's developmental stages
Scientist Captivated by Childlike Jenny
2 yr old orangutan on display in Europe in 1838 Displayed human qualities
Introspection by analogy
A technique for studying animal behavior by assuming that the same mental processes that occur in the observer's mind also occur in the animal's mind Animals are capable of same kinds of rationalization, ideation, complex reasoning, information processing, and problem-solving abilities as humans Is respected for his pioneering efforts in stimulating the development of comparative psychology and preparing the way for the experimental study of animal behavior
Darwin's life
Academic problems but socially good for him HMS Beagle: Captain Robert Fitzroy Problems with physical health Worked on his theory of evolution for 22 years Alfred Russel Wallace: wrote Darwin about a theory of evolution similar to Darwin's that Wallace developed in 3 days Ethical dilemma for Darwin Darwin took friends' suggestion to have Wallace's paper and portion of his forthcoming book presented at scientific meeting on same day that Darwin's son was buried 1st printing of On the Origin of Species sold out Darwin overwhelmed with new physical illness Wallace not bitter over Darwin's fame; instead was happy to have brushed fame and content to have unconsciously spurred Darwin to complete his book
Romanes' research methodology by which he collected narrative reports from people about the animals they saw
Anecdotal method
Created by Galton to measure the mental acuity of people, although the tests largely measured physical and developmental characteristics
Anthropometric laboratory
Animal Psychology and the Development of Functionalism
Before Darwin: animals considered automata With Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872) Continuity between humans and animals Search for evidence of intelligence in animals Human emotional behavior: inheritance of behavior once useful to animals
Comment
Breadth topics researched Greater impact than Wundt
Statistical measure of the relationship between two variables
Correlation
Forerunners of Functionalism
Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859) Fechner's Elements ofPsychophysics (1860) Galton and individual differences (1869) Wundt's Principles of Physiological Psychology (1873-1874) Animal psychology experiments (1880s)
A fundamental thesis of Darwin's Origin was the principle of survival of the strongest.
False
Galton created the term "mental tests".
False
In introspection by analogy, investigators assume that mental processes occurring in the minds of the animals being observed are very different from those that occur in their own minds.
False
Lloyd Morgan originated the concept of mental tests
False
Believed that "all warm-blooded animals had evolved from a single living filament and were given animation by God"
Erasmus Darwin
Galton's life
Estimated IQ = 200 Diverse, novel ideas and inventions Youngest of 9 children Wealthy family Pressured by father to study medicine = didn't like it Entered Cambridge University to study mathematics Traveled extensively: wrote popular book, The Art of Travel Cousin Charles Darwin published - On the Origin of Species: Galton fascinated by theory of evolution, which guided his subsequent work
Its aim was to improve the stock of the human race by encouraging those with "noble qualities" to reproduce
Eugenics
new science founded by Galton
Eugenics
Its three components: individuals vary in characteristics, some characteristics are inherited, and some of these characteristics are more suited to the environment than others
Evolution
Applied the normal distribution to mental characteristics for the first time
Galton
His anthropometric lab, purportedly designed to measure intelligence, actually measured a variety of physical and sense acuity characteristics
Galton
Mental imagery
Galton: first extensive use of psychological questionnaire Determined imagery distributed normally in the population Found similar images more likely to occur between siblings than between unrelated persons
The finches' beaks: evolution at work
Galápagos Islands: evidence of differential adaptation to the environment among animals of same species Peter and Rosemary Grant: visited islands in 1973 to observe modifications in several generations of 13 finch species Study lasted more than 20 years Finches' evolution occurred quicker than Darwin predicted Severe drought: food supply = large, "tough spiky seeds" Only the 15% of finches with thickest beak could open seeds; many with slender beaks couldn't and died Thicker beaks = tool for adaptation Offspring inherited that characteristic; 4-5% thicker beaks Adaptation in one generation Rain and floods: large seeds swept away; only small ones left Same cycle but reverse outcome as above: slender beaks a survival advantage Only the most fit in a given environment lived
Studies of animal intelligence
George John Romanes (1848-1894) British physiologist Formalized and systematized study of animal intelligence Selected by Darwin to apply theory of evolution to the mind
Original source material from The Autobiography of Charles Darwin (1878)
Goal: "...analyze the mental qualities and conditions on which my success has depended." Not clever Poor critic: admired work upon 1st reading; only after reflection perceived deficits Limited ability to follow abstract thought Memory "extensive, yet hazy" Careful, astute, industrious observer and collector of facts Love of natural science Motivation to explain the observed; group facts under general laws Hypothesis generation: free mind open to modification Distrust of deductive reasoning Methodical habits Ample leisure; no need to earn income Success in science: determined by "complex and diversified mental qualities and conditions" Most important qualities: "love of science, unbounding patience..., industry...and a fair share of invention as well as of common sense." "With such moderate abilities...surprising that I should have influenced...the belief of scientific men..."
Mental inheritance
Hereditary Genius (1869) Eminent men have eminent sons Specific forms of genius inherited Founded eugenics: improve inherited human traits through artificial selection Applied statistical concepts to heredity problems Eminence not a function of opportunity English Men of Science (1874) Natural Inheritance (1889) 1901 founded journal, Biometrika Established Eugenics Laboratory at University College, London 1904: founded organization for promoting racial improvement Original source material from Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry Into Its Laws and Consequences (18699) Objects to "pretensions of natural equality" Limit to muscular and intellectual powers of individuals
The Evolution Revolution: Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859): contained nothing new The idea of living things changing with time dates to 5th century B.C. Darwin's grandfather, Erasmus Darwin: all mammals evolved from a single strand made alive by God
Anticipated the contributions of Galton
Huarte
Darwin was reticent to engage critics and one of his defenders was the charismatic____
Huxley
Darwin's influence on psychology
Hypothesis: continuity in mental functioning between humans and lower animals Implied study animal behavior vital to understanding human behavior Evolutionary theory changed: subject matter of psychology from elements to functions of consciousness Goal became how organism functioned in adapting Methods and techniques were broadened in scope Increased focus on individual differences and their measurement
The missing link?
In 2006, several fossils found in Canada One was a huge fish: Nine feet long 275 million years old Had fins and scales Also showed the beginning of limbs
Technique for studying animal behavior by assuming that the same mental processes that occur in the observer's mind also occur in the animal's mind
Introspection by analogy
distinction between animals and humans began to blur after --- was displayed
Jenny
Individual Differences: Francis Galton (1822-1911)
Juan Huarte in 1500's investigated individual differences in people The topic was considered inappropriate for psychology Had been examined by Weber, Fechner, Helmhotz
Also called Morgan's Canon
Law of Parsimony
Galton's work on mental tests was influenced by ---'s position that all knowledge comes through the senses
Locke
Lamarck (1809): modification of animal's bodily form
Lyell (mid-1800s): evolution of geology of earth Movement from acceptance of biblical creation story to curiosity about other species Many new species discovered: how could they all fit in Noah's ark? (Amerigo Vespucci) Chimpanzees and orangutans available for viewing: intelligent, humanlike behavior Skeleton of gorilla and human strikingly similar Fossils and bones of extinct species found Constant change in everyday life Industrial revolution causing migration to urban areas Growing domination of science "Change was the order of the day" Darwin's data could not be ignored given the zeitgeist
Phrase coined by James Cattell
Mental test
Criticized Romanes work and proposed a law of parsimony
Morgan
like Romanes, engaged in explaining an animal's behavior "through an introspective examination of his own mental processes
Morgan
Mental tests
Originated by Galton, but term from Cattell Assumed: intelligence can be measured in terms of sensory capacities Assumption based on Locke's empiricism Developed his own instruments His tests were prototypes for standard psychology lab equipment 1884: established Anthropometric Laboratory Aim: the definition of the range of human capacities of the entire British population To determine its collective mental resources His data: Statistically reliable (1985) Provided information on developmental trends
Wundt argued
Possession of minimal sensory capacities implies possession of judgment and conscious inference "Inferior" animals had less education and training rather than necessarily lesser abilities
Statistical methods
Quetelet: first to apply statistical methods and normal curve to biological and social data Galton Assumed similar results true of mental characteristics Developed mean and standard deviation Produced correlation measure Pearson's r: for Galton's discovery of regression toward the mean
Legacy of Darwin, Galton, Romanes, and Morgan
Regard each anatomical structure as a utilitarian element in a total living adaptive system Functional psychology
created the "mental ladder" which ranked the mental functioning of animals
Romanes
Conway Lloyd Morgan (1852-1936)
Romanes's designated successor Proposed a law of parsimony Also called Lloyd Morgan's Canon (1894) Suggested by Wundt (1892) Goal: give comparative psychology a more scientific basis Believed most animal behavior due to learning based on sensory experience First to conduct large-scale experimental studies in animal psychology
Darwin's work influenced psychology in four ways: --- become appropriate research subjects; an emphasis on the functions rather than the structure of consciousness; incorporating methods and data from diverse fields; and individual differences.
animals
Arithmetic by smell and other topics
Self-induced paranoia Validity of religious beliefs Power of prayer Hoped to provide a new set of beliefs structured in terms of science Yawns and coughs as a measure of boredom Arithmetic by smell
They can become extinct so the natural next step is to determine the process by which some --- live while others do not
Species
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859)
Spontaneous variability among members of a species is inheritable Natural selection: process that leads to survival of organisms which adapt to the environment; elimination of those which do not Provided the data to support the idea of evolution There is a variation among members of a species "...Species that cannot adapt do not survive." Read Thomas Malthus, Essay on the Principle of Population (1789) before articulating ideas about the most fit surviving Food supply increases arithmetically Human population increases geometrically Result = many humans live in near-starvation state Only the most aggressive, intelligent, and flexible survive Generalized from Malthus' observations and principles to all living beings to develop theory of natural selection Organisms that live to reproduce transmit to offspring characteristics that led to their own survival Failure to adapt results in failure to survive Offspring show variation among themselves some offspring have advantageous qualities to higher degree than parents Over generations, changes occur Also accepted Lamarck's doctrine that changes in form due to experiences are inheritable
To test for intelligence in his --- lab, Galton measured a variety of physical and sense acuity characteristics
anthropometric
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) and the evolution controversy
Striving biologist; leader among England's scientists Champion of Darwin's theory Debate on theory of evolution at Oxford: Huxley versus Bishop Samuel Wilberforce who defended the bible and Robert Fitzroy, captain of HMS Beagle Fitzroy blamed self for giving Darwin chance to collect data; committed suicide 5 years later
Mental tests defn
Tests of motor skills and sensory capacities; intelligence tests use more complex measures of mental abilities Coined by James McKeen Cattell (disciple of Galton & student of Wundt)
Proposed law of parsimony
The notion that animal behavior must not be attributed to a higher mental process when it can be explained in terms of lower mental processes
Anecdotal method
The use of observational reports about animal behavior.
The Zeitgeist supporting Darwin's theory: other --- had laid the groundwork; astonishment from similarities to primates; popularity of fossils of long extinct animals; industrial revolution changed everyday life; and a respect for science was in the air
Theories
A sturdy root of functional psychology is animal behavior research.
True
Darwin selected G. J. Romanes to investigate the evolution of the mind.
True
Drastic environmental changes can drive evolutionary changes in animal forms to occur over decades rather than over millennia.
True
Galton gave us the correlational coefficient measure.
True
Galton originated the concept of mental tests
True
Galton's basic assumption was that one's sensory abilities directly reflect one's intelligence
True
In introspection by analogy, investigators assume that the same mental processes that occur in their own minds must also occur in the minds of the animals being observed.
True
Ironically, Darwin's theory of evolution brought both consciousness and the study of animal behavior to the forefront of psychology.
True
Observations made over the course of two decades in the Galapagos Islands indicate that evolutionary changes occur much faster than Darwin previously thought.
True
Quetelet was the first to apply statistical methods to the examination of individual differences.
True
