Wilhelm Wundt's Students

Wundt’s Academic Family Tree

  • Students…

    • James Cattell

    • James Mark Baldwin

    • Hugo Munsterberg

    • Edward Titchener


James Cattell

  • Brought experimental research methods to the USA

  • Introspection was unreliable

  • Influenced by Galton by measuring and observing human abilities

  • Created mental tests to assess intelligence via memory and reaction times

  • Goals of psychology were to…

    • Build on observable behavior

      • NOT speculations on mental processes

    • Improve human condition

      • Laid ground work for…

        • Functionalism

        • Behaviorism

        • Humanistic Psychology


James Mark Baldwin

  • Established first Canadian reseach lab

  • Father of developmental psychology

  • 2 Main contributions…

    • Baldwin Effect

      • Based on evolution

      • Learned behaviors aren’t inherited

      • Ability to learn new behaviors

        • Inherited

    • Child Developmental Psychology

      • Child mind develops in stages as child interacts with enironment and parents

      • Laid foundation for cognitive development

  • Bordello Incident

    • Visited “bawdy” house

    • Met John Watson at Johns Hopkins University

    • Had to resign over bordello

    • Watson took over department


Hugo Munsterberg

  • Psychology is broad and practical

    • How can it help mankind?

  • Areas of interest include…

    • Clinical

    • Forensic

      • Lie detector test

    • Industrial

  • Mental illness is caused by something physical

  • Treatments included hypnosis

  • Reciprocal Antagonism

    • Used to overcome undesirable thoughts

    • Good thoughts → blocked bad thoughts

  • Didn’t accept Freud’s view of unconscious mind

  • wrote on the witness stand