Early Cognitive Psychologists FLASHCARDS

Early Cognitive Psychologists

Francis Donders (1818-1889)

• Reaction Time Study (1868): Donders was a pioneer in cognitive psychology who sought to quantify mental processes. His significant study involved measuring the time interval between the presentation of a stimulus and the participant's response. This laid groundwork for experimental psychology.

  • Types of Reaction Time Tasks:

    • Simple RT Task: In this task, the participant presses a button immediately upon seeing a light, allowing measurement of the speed of sensory perception and motor response.

    • Choice RT Task: This more complex task required participants to press one button if the light appeared on the right and another if it appeared on the left. This introduced the concept of decision-making into cognitive psychology.

  • Conclusion: Donders aimed to infer the mental processes involved in decision-making by analyzing how response times varied between these tasks.

Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909)

• Retention Curve (1885/1913): Ebbinghaus was instrumental in studying memory and forgetting. He approached memory scientifically by introducing the concept of the retention curve.

  • Method: He memorized lists of nonsensical syllables (e.g., "DAX", "QEH") to investigate memory recall without the influence of prior knowledge.

  • Relearning Experiment: After a set delay, Ebbinghaus would relearn the same list to assess how much he retained initially by measuring the time taken to relearn the list.

  • Savings Calculation: The formula he developed, Savings = (Time to learn list originally) − (Time to relearn list after delay), quantified learning efficiency.

  • Savings Curve: His findings indicated that memory loss occurs quickly at first (initial forgetting) before plateaus, revealing the dynamics of memory retention over time.

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

• First Psychology Laboratory (1879): Wundt is often regarded as the father of modern psychology. He established the first formal laboratory dedicated to psychological research at the University of Leipzig, Germany, marking the separation of psychology from philosophy and biology.

  • Structuralism: He introduced the concept of Structuralism, focusing on the analysis of conscious experiences by breaking them down into their simplest elements. This methodological approach aimed to understand the structure of the mind itself.

  • Techniques: Wundt employed introspection as a primary method of data collection, requiring trained participants to report their conscious experiences in response to stimuli. This subjective data collection was foundational to the development of experimental psychology.

William James (1842-1910)

• First American Psychologist (1890s): James is celebrated as the first American psychologist and contributed significantly to psychology's understanding in a practical context.

  • Authored Principles of Psychology: His seminal text provided an extensive overview of psychological principles, integrating cognitive and behavioral aspects.

  • Functionalism: He developed the functionalist perspective, emphasizing the purpose of mental processes in helping individuals adapt to their environments. This approach contrasted with structuralism and focused on how mental activities helped individuals thrive.

  • Areas of Study: His interests encompassed various areas including thinking, attention, memory, perception, and reasoning, which influenced subsequent psychological research and the methodologies employed in studying human behavior and cognition.