Evolutionary Insights: Functionalism and Darwin's Theory

1. Chapter 9 – Functionalism: Darwin, galton, cattell, james & hall Dr. Nancy Alvarado

2. Functionalists • Functionalists were the first major non-German school of psychology. • They were interested in studying the functions of the mind and the adaptive value of consciousness. • These concerns were a product of the intellectual climate of the 19th century, dominated by Darwin’s theory of evolution. • Their work was later extended by the American functionalists at the Univ. of Chicago and Columbia.

3. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) • Darwin was born to a wealthy family with interests in medicine and natural science. • The pivotal experience of his life was his 5-year voyage on the Royal Navy survey ship, the H.M.S. Beagle, where he collected specimens. • He first left med school & got a “poor” (third-class) degree in religion. • He was initially seeking confirmation of the Biblical account of creation, but his experiences changed his mind.

4. The Voyage of the Beagle At each stop, Darwin travelled extensively inland.

5. Questions • Darwin’s findings raised many questions: • Why had God created so many different species? • Why had God allowed giant armadillos (found as fossils) to become extinct but not the smaller armadillos? • Why had God allowed some species to become totally extinct? • How would there have been room on the ark for the giant fossils? • How could the earth have been created in 4004 BC when the age of the fossils was much older?

6. The Galapagos Islands The Galapagos Islands are part of the country of Ecuador.

7. Galapagos Observations • Tortoises from islands just 50-60 miles apart had clearly different shells. • On one island, finches had strong thick beaks to crack nuts and seeds, while on another island they had smaller beaks and fed on insects. • On a third island they had beaks better suited for eating fruit, berries & flowers. • Darwin wondered how such differences had developed – perhaps species are not fixed but are able to adapt and change over generations.

8. Drawings of Darwin’s Finches • Large ground finch • Medium ground finch • Small tree finch • Green warbler finch • David Lack, 1947

9. Theory of Evolution • Darwin’s eventual theory was influenced by writings of several theorists before him: • Darwin read Quetelet’s summary of Malthus’s view of population growth – Malthus predicted an increasingly severe struggle for existence due to lack of food. • “It at once struck me that, under these circumstances, favorable variations would tend to be preserved and unfavorable ones destroyed” Darwin wrote. • He called this idea “Natural selection” or “Survival of the Fittest.” (1859) He delayed publication for 20 yrs.

10. Publication of His Theory • First Darwin published his journal “The Voyage of the Beagle” which was very popular. • In 1858, he became aware of Wallace’s theory of natural selection, and agreed to present both his and Wallace’s theory jointly to the Linnean Society. • There was little reaction. • In 1859, he published his “Origin of the Species,” which sold out immediately. • His theory was hotly debated (see famous Oxford Wilberforce/Huxley debate on pg 308 of text).

11. Similarity of Man to Animals • Do we share behavioral, emotional and cognitive characteristics with other species? • In “The Descent of Man,” Darwin argued that “there is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties.” (1871) • Morgan’s canon: “In no case may we interpret an action as the outcome of the exercise of a higher psychical faculty if it can be interpreted as the outcome of the exercise of one which stands lower in the psychological scale.”

12. Mechanism • Darwin suggested no genetic mechanism for evolutionary change. • Lamarck proposed that acquired characteristics can be inherited by offspring, speeding up change. • Gregor Mendel demonstrated inheritance of physical characteristics in plants and laid the foundation for modern genetics. • This was the mechanism for evolution.

13. Darwin’s Psychology • “The Expression of the Emotions in Man & Animals.” • Darwin studied facial expressions, anticipating later research by Paul Ekman. • Darwin kept detailed records on the growth of his son, Erasmus, and published them in “A Biographical Sketch of an Infant” in Mind, 1877. • His methods were repeated by Jane Goodall, Piaget, and B.F. Skinner. • Dar win’s theory raised questions about the adaptive value of consciousness and mind & survival

14. Francis Galton (1822-1911) • Galton was one of the last amateur scientists, with eclectic interests: • Meteorologist, experimented with stereoscopic photos, studied fingerprints, invented an early teletype. • Anthropologist and explorer (sought source of the Nile). • Galton was impressed by how well people he met had adapted to their harsh desert environment (Kalahari). • He published “Art of Travel.”

15. Individual Differences • Galton was interested in measuring things: • Whenever you can, count.” Fidgets per minute in kids, middle-aged and elderly. “Beauty map” of Britain. • In 1884 he established an anthropometric laboratory to collect data on individual differences. • Psychometrics – measurement of mental powers. • Visual & auditory reaction times, highest audible tone. • He published a method for quantifying correlation later derived mathematically by Karl Pearson (r). • He used questionnaires, associations & tests of imagery.

16. Galton as Hereditarian • In “Hereditary Genius” he discussed the relative contributions of environment & genetics to ability. • “I propose to show in this book that a man’s natural abilities are derived by inheritance under exactly the same limitations as are the form and physical features of the whole organic world.” • He proposed that abilities were on the same continuum as other physical traits – Quetelet’s law of deviation from the average (like the normal curve). • Quetelet & Galton established the “normal man”.

17. Galton & Statistics • Galton developed the following terms: • Median, bell-shaped curve, correlation, dispersion, interquartile range, regression, percentile. • Galton’s student Pearson introduced: • Histogram, kurtosis, random sampling, random walk, skewness, standard deviation, variance. • Formula for the correlation coefficient, Pearson’s r. • The concept of dealing with individual differences in a probabilistic way – the characteristics of a population are regular, even if people are not.

18. Nature and Nurture • Galton argued that because talent seemed to concentrate in eminent families (Hereditary Genius), individuals must be inheriting such abilities. • He introduced the terms nature vs nurture into the debate and the idea of twin studies, see pg 322. • Candolle criticized this idea, cataloging the favorable circumstances in eminent families. • In response, Galton wrote: • “English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture.”

19. Galton and Eugenics • Galton was fascinated by the idea of human improvement via genetic control, which he called Eugenics. • He proposed voluntary means of improvement. • Eugenics societies and idea were widespread after WWI – G.B. Shaw & Isadora Duncan (his brain…). • Abuses were justified in the name of eugenics, including forced sterilization and restrictive immigration in the US. • With the rise of the Nazis, these were implemented as Hitler’s “final solution to the Jewish question.”

20. Inquiries into Human Faculties • In 1872, Galton published “Statistical Inquiries into the Efficacy of Prayer.” • He advocated for the use of control groups in statistical comparisons. • Are prayers beneficial? Royalty have shorter lifespans. • There is no evidence that missionary voyages are safer. • In his “Inquiry into Human Faculties and Development,” the chapters on prayer were omitted from future editions due to controversy.

21. James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944) • Cattell was one of the first students to get a Ph.D. with Wundt, then he was appointed to Cambridge. • He was strongly influenced by Galton, and like Galton measured everything he could about himself. • In 1888, Cattell founded a lab at the University of Pennsylvania using Galtonian measures with students but moved to Columbia College in 1891. • He discussed 10 mental tests in “Mental Tests and Measurements,” published in Mind – The Freshman Test.

22. Cattell’s Anthropometric Tests • The 10 tests included: • Dynamometer pressure, Rate of Movement, Sensation-Areas, Pressure causing Pain, Least Noticeable Difference in Weight, Reaction-Time for Sound, Time for Naming Colours, Bi-Section of a 50-cm. Line, Judgment of 10 Seconds Time, Number of Letters Remembered on One hearing. • Wissler found no correlation between the tests. • These tests were abandoned in favor of better mental measurements (see Chapter 11).

23. Cattell’s Other Work • Experimental research on judgments of relative rank, such as shades of gray rank ordered on brightness. • Leading psychologists ranked those in their profession. • Backgrounds of famous scientists – a person had the best chance if their father were clergy or professor. • His famous students were: Thorndike, Woodworth, Strong (vocational test). • Published Science (AAAS). Founding member of APA. His company developed WAIS, WISC, TAT.

24. William James (1842-1910) • In early 20th century, America’s foremost psychologist. First on everyone’s list (Cattell). • As a young man, James floated directionless, rejecting chemistry, natural science, dabbling in medicine, until finally discovering psychology. • He visited Fechner, Helmholtz,Wundt & DuBois-Reymond. • He finally graduated in medicine. He was offered a job at Harvard teaching physiology & anatomy. • He contemplated suicide at age 28.

25. Principles of Psychology • In 1874, James taught his first class on physiology and psychology (making it up as he went along). • In 1882, he took a leave of absence to visit European psychologists again. • In 1890, he published Principles of Psychology which became an instant classic. • Theodore Roosevelt was a famous student of James. • After the success of his book, he withdrew from experimental research -- not worth the effort.

26. Link to Principles of Psychology • Available as an ebook that can be read on the web: • http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/j/james/william/principles/complete.html

27. Eclectic & Philosopher • He became increasingly interested in mind-body relationships and psychical phenomena. • Psychosomatic illness led to interest in “mind cures.” • He studied automatic writing, telepathy, clairvoyance, fortune-tellers, religious experience (energy flow). • He wrote “Pragmatism” expressing a practical philosophy – pragmatic criteria for judging truth. • All beliefs are judged by their consequences in action. • If a belief in God works, it is a pragmatic truth for that person.

28. James as a Psychologist • He opposed the Wundt-Titchener approach. • He proposed an analytical approach that studies the functions of consciousness & its characteristics. • Consciousness is adaptive – lets us adjust to environment • Also, personal, ever-changing (a stream), selective. • James-Lange theory of emotion – the perception of changes in the nervous system constitute emotion. • Cannon criticized this view • Habits are formed by nurture early in life.

29. Views on Memory • James said the strength of a memory depends on the quality of the structure of the brain, an innate characteristic not influenced by experience. • Systematically linking facts together might improve memory. • This contradicted the dominant view, formal discipline, that said a general intellectual faculty could be developed via exercise. • Memorizing poems (Victor Hugo’s Satyr and Milton’s Paradise Lost), he demonstrated interference.

30. G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924) • A contemporary of James, Hall grew up in a farm family of Puritan heritage. • At age 16, he worked as a village school teacher. • Later, he attended Williams college and Union Theological Seminary in NYC. • In 1869, he went to Europe, then returned & finished seminary and taught at Antioch College. • He ultimately did his Ph.D at Harvard, then went back to Europe to study in Wundt’s lab.

31. Hall’s Early Career • Hall lectured on the German psychologists at Harvard and Johns Hopkins which led to a job there • The president of Johns Hopkins created fellowships for grad students which attracted excellent students. • Hall founded a great psychology dept and The American Journal of Psychology. • Hall was the founding president of Clark University. • Lots of problems, including being raided by Univ of Chicago (2/3 of faculty & 70% grad students left). • Hall helped found the APA in 1892 & was president

32. Hall as Developmentalist • In 1883, Hall developed questionniares for Boston kindergarten children to assess the content of their minds – how children think. • He was the first psychologist to describe adolescence as a separate stage. • He stressed the importance of genetics & evolution. • He developed a recapitulation theory (embryological development recapitulates evolutionary development). • As he grew older he became interested in aging.

33. Hall vs Margaret Mead • Hall felt that adolescent “storm & stress” was largely biological, mediated by family & culture. • Mead disagreed, using a 1928 ethnography of Samoa to depict adolescents as free of turmoil. • Freeman (1983) criticized Mead’s book, claiming that she had diminished “the aggression, violence, and rivalry of Samoan life and exaggerated thedegree of sexual freedom.” • Orans (1996) supported Freeman, not Mead.

34. Mead in Samoa Although flawed, her book is still the most widely read book in anthropology.

35. The Clark Conference • Hall organized the first opportunity for Americans to meet Freud. • Freud gave 5 lectures, Jung gave 3 lectures – both received honorary degrees. • The lectures were published, bringing them to a wider audience.