Psychology 3351: Learning

1. Day 3 Psychology 3351: Learning D. Rush McQueen, Ph.D. drmcqueen@troy.edu 334.399.1028

2. Quiz • Epistemology refers to: • The study of the nature of knowledge. • The study of the origins of the Christian church • The idea that introspection is a primary means of gaining understanding. • The idea that our human experiences trigger recollection of our soul’s experiences in heaven. • The Reminiscence theory of knowledge suggests that: • One can gain understanding by studying human behavior. • One can gain understanding by studying animal behavior. • The belief that the universe is governed by numerical relationships influencing the physical world • Our human experiences trigger recollection of our soul’s experiences in heaven. • Plato was a: • Behaviorist. • Rationalist. • Nativist. • Both B and C. • Aristotle was a: • Functionalist. • Rationalist. • Empiricist. • Both B and C. • Aristotle first described the: • Laws of association. • Law of similarity. • Law of contiguity. • All of the above.

3. Quiz (part II) • Which of the following is NOT true of Darwin’s ideas regarding human behavior? • Human behavior has origins in biology. • Human behavior has origins in individual human experience. • Human behavior can be understood by studying animal behavior. • Human behavior is fundamentally different from animal behavior. • In your text, this person is with the Voluntarism school of thought: • Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt • Edward Titchener • William James • John B. Watson • In your text, this person is with the Structuralism school of thought: • Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt • Edward Titchener • William James • John B. Watson • In your text, this person is with the Functionalism school of thought: • Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt • Edward Titchener • William James • John B. Watson • In your text, this person is with the Behaviorism school of thought: • Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt • Edward Titchener • William James • John B. Watson

4. Plato versus Aristotle: Two versions of Rationalism

5. The Case of Phrenology • Faculty psychology (Thomas Reid 1710 – 1796) • 27 faculties of the mind: innate powers or skills • Phrenology (Joseph Gall 1758 – 1828) • Faculties are localized in the brain • Shape of skull over brain regions reflects relative development • Analysis of bumps or protrusions or cavities can evaluate relative strength or weakness in faculties

6. The Case of Phrenology • Phrenology’s effects on psychology • Generated interest in and research regarding localized brain function • Increased practice of challenging students to “exercise” their faculties with formal discipline, sometimes to a fault

7. Psychology’s Early SchoolsVoluntarism (Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt 1832 – 1920) • Psychology’s first school (of thought) • First experimental laboratory • Focus on introspection • German rationalism focused on human will • Apperception: humans can selectively attend to particular elements of thought • Creative synthesis: arrangements of elements of thought in combinations

8. Psychology’s Early SchoolsStructuralism (Edward Titchener 1867 – 1927) • Transfer of Wundt’s voluntarism to U.S. • Cornell University • Training in introspection regarding and means of reporting immediate experience • Decreased emphasis on apperception • Stressed laws of association (Aristotle) • Short-lived school of thought with the growth of Functionalism

9. Psychology’s Early SchoolsFunctionalism (William James 1842 - 1910) • Influence heavily by Darwin • Functionalism: the utility of consciousness and behavior in adjusting to the environment • Encouraged study of lower animals to understand humans • Consciousness was of interest, but not in and of itself, but because of its function in adapting to the environment • Interest in applied psychology

10. Psychology’s Early SchoolsBehaviorism (John B. Watson 1878 - 1958) • “Because consciousness could not be reliably studied, it should not be studied at all.” (your text) • Behaviorism: behavior and how it varies with experience • Had an affair with a student (Rosalie Rayner), resulted in divorce and being asked to leave Johns Hopkins University • Became an advertising man and studied behaviorism from another perspective • The original “Mad Man”