Chapter 4: Psychology in the Laboratory

1. Chapter 4: Psychology in the Laboratory

2. Psychology: Social, Economic, and Cultural Contexts of the 19th Century

3. Psychology Experimental science Mental philosophy Psychology as a subject of studies developed in the 19th century within at least two fields. One was experimental science, including physics, biology, physiology, or medicine. The other was so-called mental philosophy.

4. Psychology: science and popular beliefs A fashion, a trend, and a faith—spiritualism was a belief that the living could correspond with the deceased through special channels of communication. Clairvoyance or clear seeing, stood for the supposed extrasensory power of an individual, that is, the power to see or feel objects or events that could not be perceived by the senses or measured objectively.

5. Psychology: science and popular beliefs Phrenology (or cranioscopy) A theory connecting the size and shape of the brain with human behavior and the individual’s personality. Gall divided the brain into two large groups and 37 zones representing emotional characteristics (such as desire to live, reverence, or imitation) and intellectual characteristics (such as order, calculation, and comparison). Phrenology turned into a popular movement, with dozens of phrenology societies formed in Europe and the United States. In the 19th century, phrenology became a big business: people were willing to pay money to get evaluated.

6. Studying Psychology at Wellesley College. Source: Calkins, 1892 • Course: Psychology including Experimental Psychology

7. Some Discoveries of the 19th Century Physiology that Impacted Psychology Studies of the speed of nervous impulses The all-or-none principle of nerve conduction The membrane theory of nerve conduction Theories of the eye convergence, binocular vision, color blindness Identification of the visual and speech centers in the brain Studies of dark and light adaptation The new method of staining individual nerves and cell structures Studies of reflexes of the brain and the spinal cord Identification of several motor areas in the brain

8. Early Measurements in Psychology The existence of remarkably consistent differences in measurement between any two observers had been established in several experiments and was labeled as personal equation. The beginning of experimental studies of the reaction time. The main finding of these studies was that personal psychological characteristics such as attention or anticipation could significantly affect reaction time and behavior in general.

9. Early Measurements in Psychology Psychophysics, according to Gustav T. Fechner (1801–1887) was an exact science of the functional relations of dependency between body and mind. In 1850, Fechner suggested a possibility that subjective estimations of measurements such as weight or length may develop in an arithmetic series in response to a geometric series of physical changes. He found the supporting evidence in experiments on weights, brightness, tactile perception, and visual differences.

10. Early Measurements in Psychology Fechner’s law states that the magnitude of a subjective sensation increases proportional to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity: S = k log I where S = subjective experience, I = physical intensity, k is a constant Gustav Fechner was physicist, philosopher, writer, poet, and scientist who wanted us to enjoy the beauty of his carefully crafted experiments Fechner’s main work, Elements of Psychophysics, was published in 1860.

11. Early Measurements in Psychology Major Findings by Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909)

12. First Psychological Laboratories Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) was founder of the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany. Thirty-three American and scores of students from other countries worked on their doctoral degrees under Wundt’s supervision.

13. First Psychological Laboratories Wilhelm Wundt’s Academic Accomplishments A new research program for psychology that became a model to follow. According to this method, the researcher had to carefully observe his own experience as a response to a physical stimulus. Wundt’s method involved evaluations of quality, intensity, and duration of such experiences.

14. First Psychological Laboratories Wilhelm Wundt’s Academic Accomplishments The first psychological laboratory on the university campus in Leipzig. No one before Wundt was capable of undertaking a project of similar scale and significance. His lab (founded in 1879) and the Institute for Experimental Psychology (founded in 1894) in Leipzig became a precedent for others to look at, admire, and repeat.

15. First Psychological Laboratories Wilhelm Wundt’s Academic Accomplishments The academic study of scientific psychology in Europe. In 1874 he wrote Principles of Physiological Psychology. He created a doctoral program in experimental psychology. In 1879, Wundt assisted his first graduate student at “pure” psychological research. Many prominent psychologists of the early 20th century have been his graduate students or worked in his laboratory. In 1881, he started the journal PhilosophischeStudien (Studies in Philosophy), which became an early academic publication for psychology research. In 1883, he taught the first course titled experimental psychology.

16. First Psychological Laboratories In the United States, psychologists found a favorable environment. A combination of public financial support, tuition, and private donations created an infrastructure with available resources for experimental research and training of future psychologists. Two great psychologists, Stanley Hall and James Cattell, were among the first returning American students who, after studying with Wundt, brought back their experiences and aspirations. The first laboratory of psychology was organized by G. Stanley Hall at the Johns Hopkins University in Maryland early in 1883. James Cattell formally opened a psychology lab in 1887 at the University of Pennsylvania.

17. Wilhelm Wundt’s Views Experience Psychology: an experimental science of experience Method: Experimental Introspection Apperception: selective and constructive process of attention Sensations Feelings

18. Wilhelm Wundt’s Views Physiological Psychology: The study of experiences functionally related to physiological processes. “Second Psychology”: The psychological study of experiences that are incarnated in the brain and the nervous system and appear in the form of myths, fairy tales, and beliefs.

19. Wilhelm Wundt’s Legacy Physiological Psychology • Limited Influence • Theory • “Second • Psychology” • Lasting Influence • Creation of the Laboratory • Practice • Education and Training of Psychologists

20. William Titchener (1867-1927) The task of the psychologist is to describe these elements and learn how they interconnect. In the process of introspection, a scientist should not use common labels, such as, “I see the table and it is brown.” Instead, the scientist should describe the elements of his or her conscious experience. The nature of psychological phenomena is in mental elements, those elementary “bricks” from which the larger mental structures are created. The problem was to identify how these complex structures were formed. Sensations as mental elements have four basic characteristics: quality, intensity, duration, and clearness

21. Birth of the American Psychological Association In December 1892 at the University of Pennsylvania, the first annual meeting of the American Psychological Association took place, representing 31 original members (18 had attended the first meeting). The composition of the association was diverse and included psychiatrists, philosophers, experimental psychologists, and experts in education (called pedagogists). They were all men. The average age of the members was 35, with the most mature 54 years old.