PSYCH_375_Unit_3.docx.pdf

PSYCH 375 Units 3 - Origins of Psychology Key Terms and Concepts Chapter 8          absolute threshold o the smallest amount of stimulation that can be detected by an organism adequate stimulation o stimulation to which a sense modality is maximally sensitive Broca's area o the speech area...

PSYCH 375 Units 3 - Origins of Psychology Key Terms and Concepts Chapter 8          absolute threshold o the smallest amount of stimulation that can be detected by an organism adequate stimulation o stimulation to which a sense modality is maximally sensitive Broca's area o the speech area on the left frontal lobe of the cortex Bell-Magendie Law o As early as 1807, while operating on rabbits, Charles Bell (1774-1842) found that sensory fibers are located only in the posterior (dorsal) roots of the spinal column and that motor fibers are located only in the anterior (ventral) roots. In 1811, he distributed 100 copies of a pamphlet to friends summarizing his research. Unaware of Bell's findings, 11 years later François Magendie (1783-1855) published similar results, and a dispute over the priority of their discoveries ensued. The issue has been settled by referring to the discovery of the distinction between the sensory and the motor nerves as the Bell-Magendie law. The eventual impact of this discovery was tremendous: nerve physiology branched into separate studies of sensation and movement. Furthermore, primitive prevailing notions about nerves as transmitters of vibrations (David Hartley) or animal spirits (René Descartes) were dispelled. They were replaced with the "law of forward direction," whereby nerve conduction was viewed as unidirectional, either from the sense receptors to the brain or from the brain to the muscles and glands. clinical method o The technique that Broca used. It involves first determining a behavior disorder in a living patient and then, after the patient had died, locating the part of the brain responsible for the behavior disorder. differential threshold o The amount that stimulation needs to change before a difference in that stimulation can be detected. doctrine of specific nerve energies o Each sensory nerve, no matter how it is stimulated, releases an energy specific to that nerve. formal discipline o The belief that the faculties of the mind can be strengthened by practicing the functions associated with them. Thus, one supposedly can become better at reasoning by studying mathematics or logic. just noticeable difference (JND) o The sensation that results if a change in stimulus intensity exceeds the differential threshold.         kinesthesis o The sensations caused by muscular activity. method of adjustment o An observer adjusts a variable stimulus until it appears to be equal to a standard stimulus. method of constant stimuli o A stimulus is presented at different intensities along with a standard stimulus, and the observer reports if it appears to be greater than, less than, or equal to the standard. method of limits o A stimulus is presented at varying intensities along with a standard (constant) stimulus to determine the range of intensities judged to be the same as the standard. Negative sensations o According to Fechner, sensations that occur below the absolute threshold and are therefore below the level of awareness. Panpsychism o The belief that everything in the universe experiences consciousness. perception o according to Helmholtz, the mental experience arising when sensations are embellished by the recollection of past experiences Personal Equations o Mathematical formulae that adjust for variations in reaction time between any two subjects. o Background: In the 1820s, Friedrich Bessel (1784-1846) conducted the first reaction time experiments in order to explain individual differences among the observations of astronomers. At that time, the conventional means of observing stellar transits was the "eye and ear" method, which involved calculating to one-tenth of a second when a given star crossed a given wire using the heard beats of a clock as a guide. Bessel found systematic differences among individuals, which he corrected for by calculating personal equations. For example, the reaction times of Observer1 and Observer 2 may vary, but by adding one-half of a second to Observer 1's times they may be roughly equated. Bessel found that variability among observers still persisted even with personal equations, but his equations reduced error from about a second to a quarter of a second (Boring, 1950). Publications in astronomical journals about personal equations peaked in the 1860s and continued until about 1890. o Bessel demonstrated that the observer can influence observations, a finding with profound implications for all of science. Here was a demonstration of a real discrepancy between physical reality and the psychological experience of it. Furthermore, the personal equation challenged the claims of Immanuel Kant (17241804) and others who denied psychology the status of science on the grounds that mathematics could not be applied to its subject matter. Nevertheless, Bessel's research had little influence on the experimental psychologists of his day, who were searching         for processes with generality and who viewed individual differences as sloppy methodology. o The term "personal equations" now generally refers to mathematical formulae that adjust for variations in reactions time between any two subjects. Phrenology o The examination of the bumps and depressions on the skull in order to determine the strengths and weaknesses of various mental faculties. physiognomy o The attempt to determine a person's character by analyzing his or her facial features, bodily structure, and habitual patterns of posture and movement. Principle of conservation of energy o The energy within a system is constant; therefore, it cannot be added to or subtracted from but only transformed from one form to another. Psychophysics o the systematic study of the relationship between physical and psychological events Reaction Time o The time intervening between a stimulus presentation and a response to it. o John is shown pairs of three-dimensional shapes rotated at different angles and is asked to say whether they are the same or different. On each trial, the time between John seeing the two shapes (stimulus) and saying "same" or "different" (response) is measured. o Background: In the 1820s, Friedrich Bessel (1784-1846) conducted the first reaction time experiments in order to explain individual differences among the observations of astronomers. At that time, the conventional means of observing stellar transits was the "eye and ear" method, which involved calculating to one-tenth of a second when a given star crossed a given wire using the heard beats of a clock as a guide. Bessel found systematic differences among individuals, which he corrected for by calculating personal equations. He demonstrated that the observer can influence observations, a finding with profound implications for all of science. Nevertheless, Bessel's research had little influence on the experimental psychologists of his day, who were searching for processes with generality and who viewed individual differences as sloppy methodology. In modern psychology, reaction time plays a major role in the analysis of cognitive processes, showing that private events take time (Catania, 1994). Resonance Theory of Auditory Perception o the tiny fibers on the basilar membrane of the inner ear are stimulated by different frequencies of sound. the shorter the fiber, the higher frequency to which it responds sensation o the rudimentary mental experience caused when sense receptors are stimulated by an environmental stimulus two-point threshold      o The smallest distance between two points of stimulation at which the two points are experienced as two points rather than one. unconscious inference o according to Helmholtz, the process by which the remnants of past experience are added to sensations, thereby converting them into perceptions. Vitalism o Definition: The view that there is a special force that distinguishes living things from inanimate objects. o Example: The notion of "animal spirits" as proposed by René Descartes (1596-1650) represents an example of vitalism. o Background: Vitalism was a reaction to mechanism, the belief that humans are analogous to complex machines, consisting of parts and the laws that govern those parts. For vitalists living creatures have some sort of "vital essence" that can never be reduced to mechanical laws operating within the physical realm. Vitalism emphasizes movement and becoming over static being, biology and history over physics, and intuition over logical inference. In the early history of psychology, an important event is the stand of the physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) against the vitalism of his mentor, Johannes Müller (1810-1858). Weber's Law o just noticeable difference corresponds to a constant proportion of a standard stimulus Wernicke's area o the area on the left temporal lobe of the cortex associated with speech comprehension young-Helmholtz theory of color vision o Separate receptor systems on the retina are responsive to each of the three primary colors: red, green, and blue-violet. Also called the trichromatic theory. Key Terms and Concepts Chapter 9     act psychology o The name given to Brentano's brand of psychology because it focused on mental operations or functions. Act psychology dealt with the interaction between mental processes and physical events. Clever Hans phenomenon o The creation of apparently high-level intelligent feats by nonhuman animals by consciously or unconsciously furnishing them with subtle cues that guide their behavior. context theory of meaning o Titchener's contention that a sensation is given meaning by the images it elicits. That is, for Titchener, meaning is determined by the law of contiguity. Creative Synthesis o The arrangement and rearrangement of mental elements that can result from apperception.             elements of thought (Wundt) o According to Wundt and Titchener, the basic sensations from which more complex thoughts are derived. Feelings o the basic elements of emotion that accompany each sensation. Wundt believed that emotions consist of various combinations of elemental feelings. general impression o the thought person has in mind before he or she chooses the words to express it. imageless thoughts (Kulpe) o According to Kulpe, the pure mental acts of, for example, judging and doubting, without those acts having any particular reference or images. Immediate experience o Direct subjective experience as it occurs. Intentionality o Concept proposed by Brentano, according to which mental acts always intend something. That is, mental acts embrace either some object in the physical world or some mental image (idea). introspection o reflection on one's own subjective experience, whether such reflection is directed toward the detection of the presence or absence of a sensation (as in Titchener or Wundt) or toward the detection of complex thought processes (as in Stumpf, Brentano, Kulpe, Husserl, and others) mediate experience o Experience that is provided by various measuring devices and is therefore not immediate, direct experience. mental chronometry o The measurement of the time required to perform various mental acts. mental essences o According to Husserl, those universal, unchanging mental processes that characterize the mind and in terms of which we do commerce with the physical environment. mental set o A problem-solving strategy that can be induced by instructions or by experience and that is used without a person’s awareness. Perception o The process by which the brain actively selects, organizes, and interprets sensory information. o Example: When Hans was involved in an accident, he received damage to his right parietal hemisphere. Because of this he did not recognise his left arm and said that it was not his. Although his visual system was quite normal, and he was sensing the appropriate input his problem was one of perception o Background: Perception and sensation have had a pivotal role in the development of psychology since these processes are recognized to provide the foundation for          learning, thinking and acting. It was the development of scientific method through the study of sensation (Gustav Fechner) and perception (Wilhelm Wundt) that led to the development of the structuralist school. phenomenological methods o The type of introspective analysis that focuses on intact mental phenomena rather than on isolated mental elements. Principle of Contrasts (Wundt) o As proposed by Wundt, opposing mental experiences amplify each other. o Example: The mental experience of the sweet taste of a candy bar is intensified after consuming something sour such as lemonade. o Background: Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920), the founder of the first school of psychology, claimed that the will is at the heart of all major problems in psychology. For this reason, Wundt believed that psychological events, unlike physical events, cannot be predicted on basis of antecedent conditions. In making his case for the qualitatively different nature of psychological cause and effect, he employed several principles, including the principle of the contrasts. Wundt noted that opposing mental experiences amplify each other. So, for Wundt, a mental event is not only a function of stimulating a sense organ but also of other recent experiences. Thus, experiences are relative, not absolute. The more modern, and influential, adaptation-level theory makes a similar case (Helson, 1964). Principle of the heterogony of ends (Wundt) o According to Wundt, the fact that goal-directed activity often causes experiences that modify the original motivational pattern. Principle toward the development of opposites o According to Wundt, the tendency for prolonged experience of one type to create a mental desire for the opposite type of experience. Pure phenomenology o The type of phenomenology proposed by Husserl, the purpose of which was to create a taxonomy of the mind. Husserl believed that before a science of psychology would be possible, we would first need to understand the essences of those mental processes in terms of which we understand and respond to the world. savings o The difference between the time it originally takes to learn something and the time it takes to relearn it. sensation o a basic mental experience that is triggered by an environmental stimulus stimulus error o Letting past experience influence an introspective report. Structuralism o Definition: The school of psychology founded by Wundt that stressed the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and to investigate how these elements are related.      o Background: Derived from Wundt’s original ideas the structuralist school was really popularized by the work of Edward Titchener. The structuralists really hoped to analyse sensations, images and feelings into their most basic elements in much the same way as the chemists of the day might analyse water into hydrogen and oxygen. Inevitably the structuralists had to rely on introspection and this was in part their downfall. The school soon met its demise and was replaced by the behaviorist school which rejected the use of introspection. Tridimensional theory of feelings o Wundt's contention that feelings vary along three dimensions: pleasantnessunpleasantness, excitement-calm, and strain-relaxation Völkerpsychologie o Definition: Translated as "cultural" or "ethnic" psychology, a 10-volume work by Wundt that employed historical analysis to understand higher mental processes. o Background: For Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920), the founder of the first school of psychology, the subject matter of psychology is immediate experience, that is, human consciousness as it occurs (in contrast to the mediate experience studied by physical scientists). Wundt set two goals for his psychology. The first was to discover the basic elements of thought, and he believed experimentation is the appropriate means to do so. The second was to understand how the basic elements of thought combine into more complex mental experiences, and in the pursuit of this goal he rejected experimentation. For Wundt, the will is at the heart of all major problems in psychology. Consequently, he claimed, psychological events, unlike physical events, cannot be predicted on basis of antecedent conditions. To discover the laws of mental activity the psychologist must adopt an historical approach, using naturalistic observation and deducing laws only after the fact. He spent the last 20 years of his life studying cultural products (e.g., language, religion, social customs, etc.) in order to understand the nature of higher mental processes. This resulted in his 10-volume Völkerpsychologie, translated as "cultural" or "ethnic" psychology. Today, it would be most closely aligned with social psychology. Its basis for truth was subjective judgment as opposed to an objective criterion (Kendler, 1986). One of his conclusions was that cultural development is based on evolutionary principles. Much of the subject matter of Völkerpsychologie concerns language. Wundt outlined a 3-stage process of verbal communication: a speaker apperceives his or her own general impression; he or she chooses words or sentences to express it; hearing those words or sentences, the listener apperceives the speaker's general impression. voluntarism o The name given to Wundt's school of psychology because of his belief that, through the process of apperception, individuals could direct their attention toward whatever they wished. Will (Wundt) o according to Wundt, that aspect of humans that allows them to direct their attention anywhere they wish. Wurzburg school o A group of psychologists under the influence of Oswald Kulpe at the University of Wurzburg. Among other things, this group found that some thoughts occur without a specific referent (that is, they are imageless), the higher mental processes could be studied experimentally, and problems have motivational properties that persist until the problem is solved. Key Terms and Concepts Chapter 10          Adaptive features o Those features that an organism possesses that allow it to survive and reproduce. coefficient of correlation o A mathematical expression indicating the magnitude of correlation between two variables. Correlation o The degree to which two variables are related to each other or co-vary in a systematic way. o In psychology, a considerable amount of research is focused on finding out what variables are associated with each other and how strongly related they are. Because correlations represent associations between sets of measures, any predictions based on correlations can only be made as group predictions and not individual predictions. For example, although there may be a significant correlation between smoking and heart disease, we could not accurately predict whether an individual smoker will get heart disease. eugenics o The use of selective breeding to increase the general intelligence of the population. evolutionary psychology o a modern extension of Darwin's theory to the explanation of human and non-human social behavior factor analysis o Complex statistical technique that calculates intercorrelations among several measures and determines the minimal number of underlying factors to account for them. Fitness o according to Darwin, an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce general intelligence o the aspect of intelligence that, according to spearman, is largely inherited and coordinates specific intellectual abilities inclusive fitness o The type of fitness that involves the survival and perpetuation of copies of one's genes into subsequent generations. With this expanded definition of fitness, one can be fit by helping his or her kin survive and reproduce as well as by producing one's own offspring.     inheritance of acquired characteristics o Lamarck's contention that adaptive abilities developed during an organism's lifetime are passed on to the organism's offspring. intelligence quotient (IQ) o An individual's mental age divided by his/her chronological age and multiplied by 100. o A child with a chronological age of 8 whose test scores equalled those of a 10-yearold had an IQ of 125 since 10/8 X 100 equals 125. Children who performed at the mental age equal to their chronological age had an IQ of 100, considered to be average. o Intelligence quotients derived from performance on intelligence tests allow us to compare children and adults of different ages. IQ scores by themselves do not tell us how much people know or what they can do. IQ scores obtained during infancy do not correlate highly with IQ scores obtained later in life. IQ scores are poor predictors of performance on the job and are being used less often in employment decisions. They do tend to predict academic success well. One thing to keep in mind is that an IQ score is a number that is obtained on an intelligence test. Two people with identical IQ scores are not identical intellectually. It is possible that one of them did poorly on completely different subtests than the other, yet obtained the same IQ score for a variety of reasons mental age o according to Stern, a composite score reflecting all the levels if the Binet-Simon test that a child could pass. o A measure of mental development expressed in terms of the average mental ability at a given age. o Linus Pauling was a very bright child but just how bright his parents did not know. Consequently, they asked a psychologist of the day to administer one of the new intelligence scales. Linus was six years old but on the Binet test he was able to answer all the questions through seven years and several on items for the eight year. When the computation was done it was apparent that his mental age was seven and a half years. o The concept of mental age emerged in 1904 when the French Ministry of Education asked psychologist Alfred Binet to develop a test to identify slow learners. What was needed was an objective test to show who could benefit from remedial work. The ensuing test measured a whole range of mental functions which ranged in difficulty from those young children could handle to those only older children could do. An individuals mental age was computed by finding the highest level that a child passed all items and then adding partial credits in months for any items subsequently passed. Sometime afterwards the mental age score was used in the development of the concept of IQ. mental orthopedics      o The exercises that Binet suggested for enhancing determination, attention, and discipline. These procedures would prepare a child for formal education. Natural Selection o Given a struggle for survival and individual differences, only organisms possessing adaptive features tend to survive and reproduce. o A bird species lives in an environment recently invaded by a new predator. The birds' feathers are multi-colored to varying degrees. It so happens that the new predator cannot see yellow-colored objects very well. Consequently, over many generations, birds with mostly yellow feathers tend to survive and reproduce, whereas birds with feathers mostly of other colors tend to be caught, not reproduce, and ultimately become extinct. This environment naturally selects birds with yellow feathers to perpetuate the species, transforming the species from multi-colored to mostly yellow. o Charles Darwin (1809-1882), influenced by Malthus's Essay on the Principle of Population (1798/1914), noted the environment cannot always sustain the reproductive capacity of a species. In such cases, the offspring struggle for survival. Importantly, individuals differ with respect to various traits. The fittest offspring, that is, those possessing adaptive features, prevail and reproduce, whereas less fit individuals extinguish and don't reproduce. In this way the environment naturally selects certain characteristics over others and the species is transformed. The process is typically slow, occurring over many eons. Nature-nurture Controversy o Debate about the extend to which attributes are inherited or learned. o The nature-nurture controversy concerns the extend to which attributes are inherited or learned. One of the first modern thinkers to explicate this issue was Francis Galton (1822-1911): "The phrase "nature and nurture" is a convenient jingle of words, for it separates under two distinct heads the innumerable elements of which personality is composed. Nature is all that a man brings with himself into the world; nurture is every influence that affects him after his birth. The distinction is clear: the one produces the infant as it actually is, including its latent faculties of growth and mind; the other affords the environment amid which the growth takes place, by which natural tendencies may be strengthened or thwarted, or wholly new ones implanted." (1874, p. 12). The nature/nurture controversy is still very much alive in contemporary psychology. One way to address this issue is to study twins. Such research started with Galton (1883) and continues to this day (e.g., Bouchard, 1984). regression toward the mean o The tendency for extremes to become less extreme in one's offspring. For example, the offspring of extremely tall parents tend not to be as tall as the parents. social Darwinism o Spencer's contention that, if given the freedom to compete in society, the ablest individuals will succeed and the weaker ones will fail, and this is as it should be. Spencer-Bain principle   o the observation first made by Bain and later by Spencer that behavior resulting in pleasurable consequences tend to be repeated and behavior resulting in painful consequences tends not to be. struggle for survival o the situation that arises when there are more offspring of a species than environmental resources can support survival of the fittest o the notion that, in a struggle for limited resources, those organisms with traits conducive to survival under the circumstances will live and reproduce Key Individuals Chapters 8-10              Charles Bell - Discovered, in modern times, the distinction between sensory and motor nerves. Paul Broca - Found evidence that part of the left frontal lobe of the cortex is specialized for speech production or articulation. Gustav Theodor Fechner - Expanded Weber's law by showing that, for just noticeable differences to vary arithmetically, the magnitude of a stimulus must vary geometrically. David Ferrier - Created a more detailed map of the motor cortex than Fritsch and Hitzig had. He also mapped cortical areas corresponding to the cutaneous senses, audition, olfaction, and vision. Pierre Flourens - Concluded that the cortical region of the brain acts as a whole and is not divided into a number of faculties, as the phrenologists had maintained. Gustav Fritsch - Along with Hitzig, discovered motor areas on the cortex by directly stimulating the exposed cortex of a dog. Franz Joseph Gall - Believed that the strengths of mental faculties varied from person to person and that they could be determined by examining the bumps and depressions on a person's skull. Such an examination came to be called phrenology. Hermann von Helmholtz - A monumental figure in the history of science who did pioneer work in the areas of nerve conduction, sensation, perception, color vision, and audition. Ewald Hering - Offered a nativistic explanation of space perception and a theory of color vision based on the existence of three-color receptors, each capable of a catabolic process and an anabolic process. Hering's theory of color vision could explain a number of color experiences that Helmholtz's theory could not. Eduard Hitzig - Along with Fritsch, discovered motor areas on the cortex by directly stimulating the exposed cortex of a dog. Christine Ladd-Franklin - Proposed a theory of color vision based on evolutionary principles François Magendie - Discovered, in modern times, the distinction between sensory and motor nerves. Johannes Müller - Expanded the Bell-Magendie law by demonstrating that each sense receptor, when stimulated, releases an energy specific to that particular receptor. This finding is called the doctrine of specific nerve energies.                Ernst Heinrich Weber - Using the two-point threshold and the just noticeable difference, was the first to demonstrate systematic relationships between stimulation and sensation. Franz Clemens Brentano - Believed that introspection should be used to understand the functions of the mind rather than its elements. His position came to be called act psychology. Franciscus Cornelius Donders - Used reaction time to measure the time it took to perform various mental acts. Hermann Ebbinghaus - the first person to study memory scientifically and systematically; used nonsense syllables and recorded how many times he had to study a list to remember it well. Edmund Husserl - Called for a pure phenomenology that sought to discover the essence of subjective experience. Oswald Külpe - Applied systematic, experimental introspection to the study of problem solving and found that some mental operations are imageless. Carl Stumpf - Psychologist who was primarily interested in musical perception and who insisted that psychology study intact, meaningful mental experiences instead of searching for meaningless mental elements. Edward Bradford Titchener - Created the school of structuralism. Unlike Wundt's voluntarism, structuralism was much more in the tradition of empiricism-associationism. Hans Vaihinger - Contended that because sensations are all that we can be certain of, all conclusions reached about so-called physical reality must be fictitious. Although fictions are false, they are nonetheless essential for societal living. Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt - The founder of experimental psychology as a separate discipline and of the school of voluntarism. Alfred Binet - found that following Galton's methods of measuring intelligence often resulted in falsely concluding that deaf and blind children had low intelligence. He attempted to measure directly the cognitive abilities he thought constituted intelligence. Cyril Burt - Claimed that his studies of identical twins reared together and apart showed intelligence to be largely innate. Evidence suggested that Burt invented his data, and a major scandal ensued. James McKeen Cattell - Worked with Galton and developed a strong interest in measuring individual differences. Cattell brought Galton's methods of intelligence testing to the United States. Charles Darwin - devised a theory of evolution that emphasized a struggle for survival that results in the natural selection of the most fit organisms. By showing the continuity between human and non-human animals, the importance of individual differences, and the importance of adaptive Behavior, he strongly influenced subsequent psychology. Sir Francis Galton - influenced by his cousin, Charles Darwin, was keenly interested in the measurement of individual differences. Galton was convinced that intellectual ability is inherited and therefore recommended Eugenics, or the selective breeding of humans. He was the first to attempt to systematically measure intelligence, to use a questionnaire to gather data, to use a word association test, the study mental imagery, to define and use the concepts of correlation and median, and to systematically study twins.         Henry Herbert Goddard - Translated Binet's intelligence test into English and used it to test and classify students with mental retardation. Goddard was an extreme nativist who recommended that those with mental deficiencies be sterilized or institutionalized. As a result of Goddard's efforts, the number of immigrants allowed into the United States was greatly reduced. Leta Stetter Hollingworth - Rejected the belief, popular at the time, that women achieve less than males do because they are intellectually inferior to males; instead, her explanation emphasized differences in social opportunity. Her career focused on improving the education of both subnormal and gifted students. Jean Lamarck - Proposed that adaptive characteristics acquired during an organism's lifetime were inherited by that organism's offspring. This was the mechanism by which species were transformed. Thomas Malthus - economist who wrote 'Essay on the Principle of Population', which provided Darwin with the principal he needed to explain the observations that he had made while aboard the Beagle. The principle stated that because more individuals are born than environmental resources can support, there is a struggle for survival and only the fittest survive. Charles Spearman - using an early form of factor analysis, found that intelligence comprised specific factors (s) and general intelligence (g). He believed the ladder to be largely inherited. Herbert Spencer - First a follower of Lamarck and then of Darwin. His applied Darwinian principles to society by saying that Society should maintain a laissez-faire policy so that the ablest individuals could prevail. His position is called social Darwinism. William Stern - Coined the term mental age and suggested the intelligence quotient as a way of quantifying intelligence. Lewis Madison Terman - Revised Binet's test of intelligence, making it more compatible with U.S. culture. He, along with Goddard and Yerkes, was instrumental in creating the Army Alpha and Army Beta tests. He also conducted a longitudinal study of gifted children and found that, contrary to the belief at the time, gifted children tended to become healthy, gifted adults. Robert M. Yerkes - Suggested that psychology could help in the war effort (World War I) by creating tests that could be used to place recruits according to their abilities and to screen the mentally unfit from military service. The testing program was largely ineffective and was discontinued soon after the war Study Questions and Objectives Chapters 8-10 1. Describe the Bell-Magendie law of neural transmission and explain its significance. Describe the Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies and its significance. Briefly describe the work of Johannes Muller (1801–1858) with respect to (a) adequate stimulation (or specific irritability), and (b) the relationship between consciousness and sensations and reality.  While operating on the spines of rabbits, British physiologist Charles Bell established that motor nerves come from the ventral root of the spinal cord while sensory nerves    enter the dorsal root. Bell's Findings broke the study of nerve physiology into two parts: The study of movement and the study of sensation. Bell demonstrated that mental processes are controlled by different structures in the brain, providing his colleagues with irrefutable evidence. Though Bell had only shared his discovery with 100 of his fellows, a French physiologist named François Magendie recreated these experiments 11 years later. This sparked a lively debate between followers on both sides, and the law has since been named the Bell-Magendie law. Since Bell's discovery, we know the sensory nerves carry impulses from the receptors to the brain. Then motor nerves carry that signal to the muscular system in a forward motion separate from the sensory nerves. The Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies, created by the eminent physiologist Johannes Müller is an expansion on the Bell-Magendie law. Muller learned through experimentation that different types of sensory nerves correspond to different senses that respond in unique ways regardless of the stimulation (i.e., pain originates when pain receptors are stimulated, when the visual receptors are disrupted, this can lead to disruptions in vision, among others). He also believed that each nerve contained individual and specific energy. Adequate Stimulation or specific irritability is a term coined by Muller that means the organs of sense are not equally sensitive when similar stimulation is applied and that each sense is most effected by specific stimulus (i.e., touching a hand stimulates the skin and blowing in the ear may cause goosebumps, but touching the skin will have a greater impact on the sense of touch). Muller implied through his doctrine that Sensation is determined by our central nervous system rather than physical stimulation. Similar to Kant’s Categories of Thought, Muller believed that the nervous system acts as a liaison between the physical (objects) and thought (consciousness) limiting our understanding of the physical world to the sensory receptors we have. 2. Briefly describe the life and work of Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894). Describe his positions and theories with respect to (a) vitalism, (b) the principle of conservation of energy, (c) the rate of nerve conduction, (d) theory of perception (including his notion of unconscious inference), (e) theory of colour vision, and (f) theory of auditory perception. Summarize his contributions to psychology. Comment: Finally, with Muller—and especially Helmholtz—we see a treatment of biopsychology that begins to resemble a modern science. Helmholtz’s scientific spirit is particularly evident in the way in which he measured the rate of neural impulses, first in frogs and later in humans. Although he later came to question these results, even this reconsideration reflects a scientific approach to data analysis. Helmholtz’s theory of colour vision is often cited as an illustration of the usefulness of theory in psychological science. His theory explained many of the known facts about colour vision by supposing that there are separate receptors for red, green, and blue violet.         Hermann von Helmholtz was a 19th century German scientist who made considerable contributions to the fields of Physiology, Psychology, and Physics. Describe his positions and theories with respect to Vitalism the principle of conservation of energy the rate of nerve conduction theory of perception (including his notion of unconscious inference) theory of colour vision theory of auditory perception. Summarize his contributions to psychology. 3.Briefly describe the work of Ewald Hering (1834–1918). Describe his views concerning spatial perception and his theory of colour vision. Briefly describe the work of Christine Ladd-Franklin (1847–1930). Describe her theory of colour vision. Comment: Ladd-Franklin’s accomplishments are impressive in any case, but especially considering the sex discrimination she had to overcome. We can only imagine how much greater the advances of science would have been had not half the population of potential scientists been largely excluded.  4.Define phrenology and describe the development of this field, including the work of Franz Joseph Gall and the influence of phrenology on education in the form of the notion of formal discipline. Briefly describe the life and work of Pierre Flourens (1794–1867) in relation to the phrenologists.  5.Briefly describe the life and work of Paul Broca (1824–1880). What is Broca’s area? Describe Broca’s beliefs on the relation between brain size and intelligence. Briefly describe the work of Gustav Fritsch (1838–1927), Eduard Hitzig (1838–1907), and David Ferrier (1843–1928) and their work with electrophysiology.  6.Briefly describe the work of Ernst Heinrich Weber (1795–1878), especially with respect to (a) touch and kinesthesis and (b) the relative versus absolute nature of psychophysical judgments (including Weber’s law). Define a two-point threshold and a just noticeable difference (jnd).  7. Briefly describe the work of Gustav Fechner (1801–1887). Describe (a) his other half, Dr. Mises; (b) his work in psychophysics; (c) his use of the jnd as a unit of sensation; and (d) his three methods for determining thresholds. Describe Fechner’s contributions to the development of psychology. Comment: Fechner also brings us close to the modern era of psychological science. With his formula, S =k logR, we see a law of behaviour much like the laws of chemistry and physics, except that human behaviour is now part of the equation. For centuries, philosophers had discounted the possibility of psychology as a science due to the subjective nature of mental life. However, by using behaviour as a dependent variable (for example, people’s judgments about whether one weight was heavier than another or one light was brighter than another), Fechner was able to establish a mathematical relationship between external environmental stimuli and people’s subjective reactions to those stimuli. This was an important achievement and paved the way for subsequent important discoveries.  8. Describe Wilhelm Wundt’s (1832–1920) early experiment with his thought meter. Briefly describe his work, including the nature of voluntarism. Summarize his contributions with respect to (a) the goals of psychology including the nature of mediate and immediate experience and (b) the role of introspection; (c) the two elements of mental experience; (d) perception, apperception, and creative synthesis; (e) mental chronometry (i.e., the use of reaction time as a dependent variable), including the work of Franciscus Cornelius Donders; (f) psychological versus physical causation; and (g) Völkerpsychologie. Describe the general problem of the misunderstanding of Wundt’s work. Comment: Wundt was a champion of psychology as a separate discipline and of the idea that psychology is a science. The notion that psychology is a science is controversial even today, but in Wundt’s time many influential thinkers believed that it was impossible for psychology to ever be a science. As Henley indicates, Wundt has been widely misunderstood. Although he founded experimental psychology, Wundt’s work has not been properly represented. This underscores the virtue of reading the work of historical figures in the original, rather than relying on secondhand accounts (i.e., such as this one; put this down now and get Wundt from the library!).  9. Briefly describe the life and work of Edward Bradford Titchener (1867–1927). Describe the following aspects of his work: (a) his behaviour toward women colleagues and students, (b) his view of Structuralism’s goals and methods, (c) his use of introspection, (d) mental elements, (e) the law of combination, (f) the context theory of meaning, (g) neurological correlates of mental events, and (h) the decline of structuralism.  10. Briefly describe the life and work of Franz Clemens Brentano (1838–1917), including his work in act psychology. Briefly describe the life and work of Carl Stumpf (1848–1936) and his influence on Gestalt psychology. Who is Clever Hans and how is he related to Stumpf?  11. Briefly describe the life and work of Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), including his views on the appropriate methodology for psychology and his goal. Briefly describe the life and work of Oswald Külpe (1862–1915), including his concepts of imageless thought and mental sets. Describe the other findings of the Würzburg school.  12. Briefly describe the life and work of Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909), especially his methods of studying memory and the basic findings of this work. Summarize the work of Muller and his findings on memory. Briefly describe the life and work of Hans Vaihinger (1852–1933) and his “as if” philosophy. Comment: Ebbinghaus’s work with nonsense syllables provided interesting findings regarding how people learn. However, Ebbinghaus’s method is also a source of a problem in psychology: studying verbal learning using artificial stimuli (i.e., nonsense syllables) rather than meaningful material. Although nonsense syllables permitted Ebbinghaus to minimize the effect of meaningfulness on learning, the end product was a study of verbal learning in a way that does not occur when, for example, students read from a book. Although this is not a problem in and of itself, later researchers followed Ebbinghaus’s lead and also used nonsense syllables in their research. Such an emphasis has, in effect, deprived us of a science of meaningful verbal learning relevant to the way in which learning occurs with real students reading real books in real classrooms. This is only one example of how psychologists have studied problems under artificial laboratory conditions that have prevented their results from being applied and understood in such enormously important fields as education. Comment: Vaihinger’s book The Philosophy of “As If” (1911) is available from the Athabasca University Library. Vaihinger’s fictionalism is an interesting approach. Vaihinger points out that many of the concepts and words we use in everyday life are fictional in nature but serve a useful purpose. A few examples of such fictions are the statistical concept of the mean, the idea of what is possible, hypotheses we hold about what might be true, and metaphors. They do not exist, but it is helpful if we behave “as if” they were real or true to achieve certain pragmatic outcomes. In science, hypotheses are frequently used to provide a focus for scientific investigation and to frame a problem in such a way that the proper investigative methods can be brought into play to prove or disprove this fictional hypothesis. From a larger perspective, it is interesting to reflect on the extent to which much of human action is based on Vaihinger’s fictions.  13. Briefly describe the work of Jean Lamarck (1744–1829). Briefly describe the life and work of Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), including his view of evolution and social Darwinism. Describe the Spencer-Bain principle.  14. Briefly describe the life and work of Charles Darwin (1809–1982). Describe the following aspects and elements of his work: (a) his voyage on the Beagle, (b) his life after the voyage, (c) his theory of evolution also as applied to the earth and humans, and (d) his influence on science and psychology.  15. Briefly describe the life and work of Sir Francis Galton (1822–1911). Describe his work and beliefs with respect to (a) the measurement of intelligence, (b) eugenics, (c) nature versus nurture, (d) word association test (e) mental imagery, (f) anthropometry, and (g) statistical correlation (as well as regression toward the mean), and (h) his contributions to psychology. Who is James McKeen Cattell (1860–1944)? Summarize his role in psychology. Comment: Cattell and Wissler’s data showed little correlation between the tests they had developed and student academic performance. This led them to abandon their work in mental testing. Although it is perhaps unusual to think of this as an accomplishment, what we have here is a case study that testifies to the virtue of empiricism and empirical validation of tests. Since Cattell’s tests did not pass the empirical test of having predictive power, the tests were abandoned. The important thing here is that this was an indication of scientific advance in psychology because it was using empirical grounds to determine the success of a particular approach, something that philosophy generally could not do, at least not efficiently.  16. Briefly describe the life and work of Alfred Binet (1857–1911). Describe his (a) work in individual psychology, (b) work in assessing deficiencies in intelligence, (c) work in developing the 1905 Binet-Simon scale of intelligence, (d) role in developing the intelligence quotient (IQ), and (e) his legacy and notion of mental orthopedics. Comment: As suggested in the Overview, Binet provided a helpful concept of intelligence as something that can be changed, not something set in stone by hereditary forces. Binet’s notion of intelligence did not prevail, however, leading to a more or less passive stance with respect to educational intervention that continues today.  17. Briefly describe the life and work of Charles Spearman (1863–1945), including his work in factor analysis and his two-factor theory of intelligence. Contrast Spearman and Binet’s views regarding the nature of intelligence. Briefly describe the life and work of Cyril Burt (1883–1971), including the scandal associated with his work. Comment: Leon Kamin’s 1984 book, The Science and Politics of the IQ, reviewed Cyril Burt’s data and attempted to show that studies indicating that IQ is inherited are flawed. In this section, Henley concludes that Burt’s conclusions about the heritability of intelligence were essentially correct even if his data were fabricated. However, in his book, Kamin found that all the data showing the heritability of IQ were flawed. In any case, voices can be heard on both sides of this issue, which remains controversial.  18. Briefly describe the life and work of Henry Herbert Goddard (1866–1957), including his study of the Kallikak family and his involvement in the testing of immigrants to the United States during the early 20th century.  19. Briefly describe the life and work of Lewis Madison Terman (1877–1956), including his (a) work in developing the Stanford-Binet tests, (b) beliefs regarding the inheritance of intelligence, and (c) study of gifted children. Comment: Terman perpetuated the myth that intelligence is not subject to modification due to an enriched environment. However, his longitudinal study of high-IQ youths provided a real service by dispelling the myth that intelligent people are somehow maladjusted and flawed in other broad domains of humanness and human competence. Terman’s study found that the gifted are generally well adjusted. Even today intelligence is sometimes stereotyped in movies and television, with gifted individuals portrayed as evil geniuses. In North America, it has also become commonplace for intelligent students in K-12 schools to be disparaged, often because intelligence is taken as a sign of not fitting in with social groups.  20. Briefly describe the life and work of Leta Stetter Hollingworth (1886–1939), including her work in dispelling myths regarding women and people classified as mentally defective and her work with gifted children. Briefly describe the life and work of Robert M. Yerkes (1876–1956), including his work in testing soldiers.  21. How did Yerkes work rekindle nativists’ views of intelligence and what was the response? Summarize the research question around intelligence as a single general factor or multiple factors. Briefly describe the work of David Wechsler (1896–1981) and his contribution to modern intelligence testing.    rekindled eugenic concerns about the deterioration of the nation's intelligence level-About half of the white males tested in the army had native intelligence equal to that of a 13-year-old or lower, and the situation was even worse for black soldiers - This nativist view was challenged -- people realized that performance on so-called intelligence tests could be at least partially explained by such factors as early experience and education. -Rather than simply measuring native intelligence, the tests were to some degree also measuring personal achievement and the influence of life's circumstances. To better understand intelligence Charles Spearman postulated a statistical theory of intelligence based on correlation that became known as factor analysis. Spearman found that intelligence could be described as individual competency (in subjects like maths, languages, and music) which he called specific factors. Finding correlation between measures of specific factors like music and maths, he proposed that an overarching intelligence, he called general intelligence was born. He believed that general intelligence was largely inherited. Thus, Spearman created two-factor intelligence, one relating personal ability and one describing general intelligence. On the other side of the argument, Alfred Binet argued that intelligence was complex, encompassing multiple factors, and molded by experience. Although Binet believed that inheritance might limit the upper range of one’s intelligence, he thought that everyone had the capacity for intellectual growth when receiving proper help and guidance. While working at Bellevue Hospital before WWII, Wechsler developed a new kind of intelligence test to understand his adult patients. He had worked as a volunteer IQ score taker for US soldiers during WWI. He identified and fixed an issue with the StanfordBinet and other intelligence tests by no longer linking age to score and instead opted for a standard score of 100 with standard deviations above and below the 100 threshold. He revised the test again during and after WWII and created the WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) and WISC (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children). Eventually, the Stanford-Binet test was changed to align with Weschler’s scoring system. Both the WAIS and the WISC are still generally used today.