History and Systems of Psychology test 1

Why study the history of psychology

No single “school of thought” accounts for all behavior, history is the study of the evolution of schools of thought, science is about people who pursue ideas

When does psychology begin?

Ancient times with reflections on human nature, 200-300 years ago with science techniques applied to the study of behavior, formal founding of discipline in late 1800’s

historiography

techniques and principles employed in historical research

History compared to science

History: retrospective, data not replicable, no manipulations;comparisons only

Science: Inspection, prospection, data replicable, manipulation of variables

retrospection

loking back

information sources

memory, personal diaries, professional journals, records, letters, photographs, archives, interviews, machines, data

problems with retrospection

subjective interpretation, data fragments, lost data, supressed data,translation distortion, self serving data, distortion by observer

zeitgeist

“intellectual climate”, social context, political context, economic context

what was one of the first types of psychology to be invented economically

educational psychology

example of the zeitgeist at work

stalin

Psycological testing was used to do what in WWI

examine leadership qualities/characteristics

after WWI, business leaders learned

psychological testing was good

William James

Published the 1st edition of principles of psychology

Mary Calkins

broke gender barrier at Harvard

2 views of historical development

Personalistic and naturalistic

personalistic

“the person makes the times”

naturalistic

“The times make the person”

parent disciplines of psychology

Methodological and Philosophical

Parent influences of Psychology

Philosophy and physiology

empiricism

conclusions drawn from observational process

important concepts for the methodological trends

Mechanism, determinism, reductionism

mechanism

mechanical principles can explain everything

determinism

every act is determined by past acts

reductionism

understand by taking apart

Rene Descartes

French Mathematician, mind-body problem, promoted literacy efforts

Monism

everything is explainable/ based on biology

dualism

two types of stuff (matter and spirit)

interactive dualism

both mind and body exist, both influencing the other

Pineal gland

descartes believed that was where mind and body interacted

theory of reflex action

movement can occur unintentionally

localization of function

pineal gland as site of mind/body interaction

doctrine of ideas

derived ideas and innate ideas

British influences on American Psychology

Colonial period, shared language, shared cultural inheritance, british empiricists

John Locke

Emphasized how the mind worked, two types of experience, 2 kinds of ideas, 2 qualities of ideas

2 types of experience according to Locke

sensation- sensory stimuli impinge on sense and form impressions

Reflection- forming simple ideas from reflection on sensations

2 kinds of ideas

simple- arise from sensation and reflection

complex- active combining of simple ideas

2 qualities of ideas

primary- exist independently of observer

secondary- exist because of observer

George Berkeley

Irish American Bishop, mentalist, basis of knowledge is mental experience

According to Berkeley

simple ideas result from accumulation of sensations held together by association, complex ideas are simple ideas bound together by habit, association of sensesations can account for experience

David Hume

Scottish Philosopher, agreed with Berkeley but omitted god as a permanent receiver

3 laws of association

resemblance, contiguity, cause and effect

David Hartley

british country doctor, believed tabula rasa (no knowledge at birth)

According to Hartley

nerves are solid tubes which vibrate in response to stimulus

James Mill

mechanistic, mind is passive until set in motion by external stimulus

mechanisticm

mind as a machine

Laws of association according to mill

Synchronous- sensations occuring together, successive- sensations occuring in sequence

John stuart mill

mental chemistry, simple ideas combined through association take on new qualities not seen in simple elements

August Comte

founded positivism

positivism

emphasis should be on objectivly verifiable facts

Descartes and Hartley

pineal gland and nerves

Bell-Magendie Law

Sensory and motor neurons are distinct and separated into tracts

Charles Bell

British anatomist

Francois Magendie

French Anatomist

Doctrine of specific nerve energies

stimulation of speecific nerve produces specific sensation

Johannes Muller

German Physiologist

Both ____________ and ________ supported research on localization of functions in the brain

Bell-Magendie and Doctrine of specific nerve energies

localization of function

trying to ascribe a function of functions to specific brain locations

Mass function

functions organized as networks

Marshal Hall

Stimulated nerves eposed following decapitation

Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Hitzig

first systematic use of stimulation to map motor cortex

Pierre Flourens

localization research: identified 6 distinct brain areas by function

Charles Sherrington

analysis of spinal level neural activity mapped motor pathways

what did charles sherrington do

defined and named gap between neurons: Synapse

speed of neural connection

90 feet per second

ernst weber

concept of threshold and Just noticeable difference

Fechner

founder of psychophysics