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Margaret Floy Washburn Women in Psychology…. General Schooling. Born July 25 th , 1897 Graduated from high school Entered Vasser College in 1886 Graduated from Vasser in 1891. Graduate Schooling. Entered Cornell University Became E.B. Titchner’s first graduate student
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General Schooling • Born July 25th, 1897 • Graduated from high school • Entered Vasser College in 1886 • Graduated from Vasser in 1891
Graduate Schooling • Entered Cornell University • Became E.B. Titchner’s first graduate student • 1893 Awarded Master’s degree from Vasser College • Received her Ph.D. in psychology in 1894
Publications • The Animal Mind, 1908 • Movement and Mental Imagery, 1916 • Published 68 studies from Vassar laboratory, 1905-1938
Editor To… • The Journal of Animal Behavior • The Psychological Review • The Journal of Comparative Psychology
Accomplishments • 1903 Was Included as one of Cattel’s list of 1000 most important “Men of Science” • 1921 Elected President of the APA • 1931 Became Second Woman to be Elected to the National Academy of Sciences • Received a $500 Award for a study of “The Emotional Effects of Instrumental Music
Her life, cont’d… • Retired in June of 1937 From Vassar College • Died October 29th , 1939 at her home in New York
Historical Antecedents Undergraduate work at Vasser: • Studied under president Taylor • Read handbook of psychology • Translated Wundt’s book
Studied under Cattel… • She was encouraged to publish articles • Urged her to attend graduate school at Cornell
Titchener • He “didn’t quite know what to do with [her]” • Received her Ph.D.
Zeitgeist in which Margaret Washburn was developing her ideas… Rough timeline of her achievements: • 1886: Began College at Vasser • 1894: The first woman granted a doctorate by an American University • 1898: published The Animal Mind: A textbook of Comparative Psychology • 1916: published Movement and Mental Imagery: Outline of a Motor Theory of Consciousness • 1921: President of the American Psychological Association
What was happening then… • Most psychologists no longer agreed with Wundt’s introspection, the existence of mental elements or the need for psychology to remain a “pure science” (Schultz & Schultz, 2004) • Psychologists were beginning to favor functionalism instead • Functionalism: A system of psychology concerned with the mind as it is used in an organism’s adaptation to its environment
Continued… • 1913, Behaviorism movement with John Watson as its leader • Behaviorism: Watson’s science of behavior, which dealt solely with observable behavioral acts that could be described in objective terms • Early 20th century, Positivism gaining popularity • Positivism: The doctrine that recognizes only natural phenomena or facts that are objectively observable • Animal Psychology also becoming popular (this was a major influence on Washburn) • Women encouraged to study psychology, although still not allowed into some aspects of it
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) • Voluntarism: the idea that the mind has the capacity to organize mental contents into higher level thought processes • Introspection: Examination of one’s own mind to inspect and report on personal thoughts or feelings • Three-Dimensional Theory of Feelings: Wundt’s explanation for feelings states based on three dimensions: pleasure/displeasure, tension/relaxation, and excitement/depression • Apperception: the process by which mental elements are organized
E.B. Titchener (1867-1927) • Structuralism: E.B. Titchner’s system of psychology, which dealt with conscious experience as dependent on experiencing person • “Titchener focuses on mental elements or contents, and their mechanical linking through the process of association, but he discarded Wundt’s doctrine of apperception. In his view, psychology’s fundamental task was to discover the nature of the elementary conscious experiences—to analyze consciousness and its component parts and thus determine its structure” (Schultz & Schultz, 2004)
John B. Watson (1878-1958) • Behaviorism: Watson’s science of behavior, which dealt solely with observable behavioral acts that could be described in objective terms • Methods of Behaviorism • Observation, with and without the use of instruments • Testing methods • The verbal report method • The conditioned reflect method • Instincts: behaviors that seem instinctive are really socially conditioned responses • Emotions: physiological responses to stimuli • Little Albert & the Rabbits • Thought Processes: “Thought, like all other aspects of human functioning, was a type of sensoriomotor behavior” (Schultz & Schultz, 2004)
Darwin and Animal Psychology Anecdotal Method: the use of observational reports 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
Particular Professional Obstacles/Struggles of Margaret Washburn Education: • At Columbia University, she was only allowed to take classes as a ‘hearer’ because she was a woman, so she transferred to Cornell University in 1892 (Gardner & Stevens, 1982)
Career: • Although, or perhaps because, she was the first woman to be awarded a Ph.D., she was unable to acquire a job • She wrote a paper for the Philosophical Review and Titchener, who had always supported her education (despite his openly misogynist ways) disagreed with her position and she took it as a personal attack (Gardner & Stevens, 1982)
Career Cont’d… • She worked for one year as an assistant professor and head of the department at the University of Cincinnati after her conflict with Titchener. She loathed the position. • Financial backing to create adequate laboratories was not offered to women psychologists of the time and she was unable to perform near as many experiments or as much research as she desired (and as compared to her male counterparts in the field) • For similar reasons, Washburn was unable to found a school of thought, which consequently would have given her a lot more fame and recognition
Experiments, research, clinical data… • Sensation • work on Weber’s Law (two points) • Washburn’s experiments • Jastrow & Pierce’s experiments • Cattel’s experiments • James’ experiments with stimuli
Continued… • Motor theory • work with human subjects • work with animal subjects (pigs, birds, etc.)
Continued… • Visual perception • Allen’s experiments with color • experiments (with Bentley) on color vision in brook fish • experiments (with Abbott & Kittredge) on red colorblindness in animals • Breese’s experiments
Continued… • Other miscellaneous theories and experiments • collects French and German experiments as part of Movement and Mental Imagery • women’s questionnaire pertaining to emotion • learning in mice (maze work) • experiments with words/language • recall/memory • loss of associative power • work with Wundt
Strengths & Weaknesses of Washburn’s Ideas and Theories • Research • used experimental methods in research • utilized research to formulate ideas • conducted experiments multiple times • used research to correct her mistakes, fill gaps in theories
Strengths Cont’d… • Animal/Comparative psychology • worked with a variety of animals to formulate theories • stressed importance of learning in animals • attributed consciousness to animals
Weaknesses… • Research • used almost only lab studies • theories remained static despite other research • problems with introspection • theories based upon introspection applied to animals • appropriate measurement for introspection?
Weaknesses… • often used women in research, forming theories • Animal/comparative psychology • anthropomorphic attitude • assumes uniformity of learning, other characteristics across animals
Washburn’s Legacy“Vindicated Womanhood from a Professional Perspective” What she taught through her legacy: • Women can achieve in higher education— • First woman to receive her Ph.D. in psychology • Last year: • 2,702 women received their Ph.D. in psychology • 847 women received their Ph.D. in clinical psychology
Legacy… • Women can achieve professional positions— • APA president • Professorship • Women’s Dormitory Warden (second to the Dean)
Legacy • Women should have equal pay— • She was not paid equally as a man, but was paid highest salary ever awarded to a woman at Wells College • Women can study their passions— • Interests: animal mind, led to studies in animal mental processes • Travel: studied in London and Copenhagen • Language: studied French and German, translated one of Wundt’s books • Music: won Edison Phonograph Company award for research on emotions and music
Legacy… • Women should not be passive— • Educated women were considered dangerous, but she was not passive and accused Watson of undermining her work • Challenged Descartes’ idea that animals have no mind, and compared their learning capacities to humans • Women were not supposed to express ‘higher reasoning,’ although she continued to challenge the prominent professional views of her colleagues
Legacy… • She continued to fight against prejudice and sexism, as her work was overshadowed by more prominent men in the field… • Darwin was seen as the influential person in the studies of the mental processes of animals, despite her research in this area
In summary… • Margaret Floy Washburn was the first woman to ever receive a Ph.D. in psychology • She was denied admission to Columbia because she was a woman, so she received her degree from Cornell University • She was a student of Titchener, and was his first doctoral student • Her research focused on animal behavior and the animal mind • She also studied music, motor theory, and learning in animals • She became a professor, president of the APA, and was a friend and mentor to many women in the field • She died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1939, at the age of 69
References… Bumb, J. Margaret Washburn. Retrieved February 12, 2004, from http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/washburn.html Burkhardt, R. W. (1987). The Journal of Animal Behavior and the early history of animal studies in America. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 101, 223-230. De Vries, A. & Washburn, M.F. (1909). Minor studies from the psychology laboratory of Vassar College: A study of retinal rivalry in the after-image. American Journal of Psychology, 20, 131-135. Domjan, M. (1987). Comparative psychology and the study of animal learning. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 101, 237-241. Murchinson, C. (1932). Autobiography. A History of Psychology with Autobiography. Retrieved February 10, 2004, from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Washburn/murchinson.htm
References cont’d… Severance, E. & Washburn, M.F. (1907). Minor studies from the psychological laboratories of Vassar College: The loss of associative power in words after long fixation. American Journal of Psychology, 18, 182-186. Schultz, D.P. & Schultz, S.E. (2004). A History of Modern Psychology, 8th Edition. Wadsworth: Belmont. Tweney, R.D. & Budznski, C.A. (2000). The scientific status of American psychology in 1900. American Psychologist, 55, 1014-1017. Washburn, M.F. (1903). The genetic function of movement and organic sensations for social consciousness. American Journal of Psychology, 14, 337-342.
