Dr. Gerald S. Hecht
Associate Professor of Psychology
College of Sciences
webmaster@psiwebsubr.org
PSYC 488 - HISTORY & SYSTEMS EXAM 3  STUDY GUIDE


I.    WILHELM WUNDT'S FOUNDING OF THE SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY: VOLUNTARISM

      1. Sensations: result of a sensory organ (i.e., eye, ear) receiving stimulation from the outside world and the resulting impulse in the nerves reaching the brain. Sensations can vary in 
                a) modality (visual, auditory, taste, etc.) and 
                b) quality (within a modality i.e., red, blueetc for vision )
      1. Feelings: emotional reactions that accompany sensations. All feelings exist as points in a three dimensional space (tridimensional theory):
                a) pleasantness-unpleasantness
                b) excitement-calm
                c) strain-relaxation.
Measurement of the time needed by the mind to perform various activities: Activities which take longer are more complex. The time taken to perform a calculation  (Calculation Time or CT) for example, would be determined by subtracting a subjects
Simple Reaction Time or SRT
(two numbers are presented visually and the subject is instructed "push the button when you see two numbers") from Calculation Reaction Time or CRT (two numbers are presented visually and the subject is instructed "push the button when you know the sum of the two numbers ")

CRT-SRT= CT
This would allow psychologists to quantify mental operations the same way that physiologists measure physical operations 

"WUNDT vs FECHNER"

Founded modern psychology through his activities as a promoter, advertiser, and organizer of systematic experimentation of psychophysical phenomena. Established the first psychological laboratory, edited the first psychological journal, and granted the first academic degrees in psychology. Without Wundt's efforts--Psychology degrees would not exist.  
Originated modern psychology-- was not trying to found a new science--his goal was to understand the relationshipbetween the mental and material worlds. Without Fechner's ideas-- Psychology would not have happened.

  1. TITCHENER: THE MISREPRESENTATION OF WUNDT'S WORK: STRUCTURALISM
        
Titchener: Summary of his "trashing of Wundt's work": Only focused on the elements-- totally disregarded Wundt's larger scheme. Purported to be an "exact copy" of Wundt-- but was not.
Edward Bradford Titchener--This is your life
Yes... this guy was a piece of work...
  1. established labs, researched, wrote (1893-1900)
  2. from 1900 onward
    1. Told students what their research would be
    2. Used that research to produce his "system"
    3. "Bogus" translations of Wundt's books
    4. supportive (relatively speaking) of women in psychology graduate programs
    5. Margaret F. Washburn-- one of Titchener's students was the first woman Ph.D. in Psychology… and the first woman elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

TITCHENER'S STRUCTURALISM

  1. conscious experience
  2. as that experience is dependent on the experiencing persons
  1. only legitimate purpose: to discover the STRUCTURE of the mind
  2. no applied aspects allowed in psychology
  3. subjects: only "normal" adult human beings…  (whatever that means) PERIOD...no animals, children or "defective minds" allowed.
  4. yes... again...this guy was a piece of work...here is a quote from the man himself: "Science deals, not with values, but with facts. There is no good or bad, sick or well, useful, or useless, in science..."
    1. Subject matter clearly defined ("my way or the highway")... provided a strong, solid base against which younger, prettier and smarter psychologists could rebel! 
    1. In all fairness-- he was the first "feminist" in academia...
    1. However, he was also a fraud and a liar in many ways.... who almost got away with completely obliterating the essence of the Wundt's Psychology.