The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) became known because of what he called 'my dogmatic slumbers'. He was trained in the Leibnizian tradition and had written before on subjects such as the origin of God and the difference between absolute and relative space. He was stimulated by one of John Locke's successors to start thinking about 'critical philosophy’, which ultimately led to subtle but crucial changes in how Germany, until then, thought about humanity and nature.
It was the Scotsman David Hume who caused Kant to become inspired to bring empiricism and associationism to an extreme. In addition, he started the logical status of the causal connection (the intuitive belief that certain events are directly 'caused' by certain other prior events).
They started from a cause, which implied a necessary consecutive relationship between certain preconditions and subsequent events. It also suggests that when we observe events, we immediately attribute causality to them. Hume brought this assumption, however, in doubt. He states that 'causality' is nothing more than that we expect events that took place in a certain way in the past, will occur in the same way in the future. The supposed connection between the events is never directly observed, so causality only has a probable rather than an absolute base.
From a practical point of view, these considerations make no difference. People thrive best in the real world by anticipating regularities in nature, whether or not this causality is genuine or assumed. For a philosopher like Kant, who dealt with the essential nature of human knowledge, this matter was crucial. Kant responded to this challenge with a simple but revolutionary variant of the nativist argument. He argued that even though causality could not be proven to exist in the external world, it nevertheless seemed to be an inevitable part of our experience. Therefore, according to him, it will be an innate quality in our minds.
He assumed two separate domains of reality, one complete within the human mind and one complete out there. The external or noumenal world consists of things-in-itself: objects in a pure state of independence of human experience. Despite that assuming that a certain object exists and that it interacts with the human mind, the noumenal world can never directly being seen. When this object encounters the human spirit, said spirit transforms the object into the inner or phenomenal world. The term phenomenal comes from the Greek phainomenon, meaning 'appearance', and reflects Kant’s argument that people never directly experience the true reality of things-in-themselves. Instead they experience a number of 'apparitions' or 'phenomena', which are the creation of an active mind who experiences the noumenal world.
To create this phenomenal world, the Kantian spirit inevitably follows a certain amount of own rules. In this way, the mind localizes the phenomenon in space and time, dimensions which Kant called intuitions. In addition, Kant stated that the mind automatically organizes phenomena into twelve categories, based on their quality, quantity, relationships and manner. Among these categories of relationships, there is also the concept of causality. Thus, human beings inevitably experience the world as organized in time and space, and as active according to causal laws. This does not happen because the noumenal world is necessary or 'real', but because the mind can do nothing else than to structure the phenomenal experience in this way. The consequences of his critical philosophy, Kant described in a series of books between 1781 and 1798, starting with the 'Critique of Pure Reason' and concluding with 'Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View'
Ironically, Kant emphasized the importance of studying the organization of the mind, but at the same time he also claimed that this study could never be a real science like for instance physics is. Kant assumed that mental phenomena, in contrast to the physical objects that are examined by physiological scientists, (1) have no spatial dimension, (2) are too fleeting to hold onto for persistent observation, (3) cannot be experimentally manipulated and, possibly most important of all, (4) cannot be arithmetically described or analysed. For these reasons, Kant always thought that psychology was a philosophical rather than a scientific discipline.
In the century after Kant, there were still a number of scientists who did seriously study the human sensory processes, focusing on many situations where conscious experience clearly differs from the objective external stimuli that lead to the experience. In the footsteps of Kant's philosophy, these changes seemed to be interpretable as the effects of an active, creative mediator. The simplest and most natural of these situations are optical illusions, in which one's conscious impression of a visual stimulus is clearly different from the 'objective' characteristics of the stimulus. Discovered in a similar line of research, neurophysiologists demanded a law of specific nervous energies early in the nineteenth century. This law states that every sensory nerve in the body transmits only one kind of sensation. This was first proposed by Charles Bell (1774-1842), and further elaborated in 1830 by John Müller (1801-1858).
A simple experiment shows the visual specificity of the optic nerve, which is led to the brain from the retina in the back of the eye. With normal vision, the optic nerve is stimulated by photochemical reactions of light on the retina and brings signals to the brain that result in conscious visual sensations of light. If you, however, have your eyes turn to the right, as far as you can, close your eyes, and gently push on the left side of you left eye ball, you see a coloured light on the right side of your visual field. You have your retina stimulated and thus the optic nerve with tactile pressure instead of the normal light rays, but the effect is still visual. You have literally seen the pressure on your eyeball because the optical nerve can only transmit visual sensations. The same specificity also applies to the other sensory nerves. Furthermore, scientists increasingly see the usefulness of conceptualising of the physical world as consisting of different forces, waves, and energies. These are, just like Kant's things-an-sich, not perceptible with the senses.
Hermann Helmholtz (1821-1894) and Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801-1887) studied and discovered the relationships between new measurable aspects of the physical world and the way in which it is consciously experienced. Fechner laid the foundation for an arithmetic-based experimental psychology by examining how differences in the physical intensities of stimulation can be observed psychologically. The law of Fechner means that an increase in physical intensity of a stimulus leads to a greater increase in psychological intensity of the sensation. In the early twentieth century, a group of emerged that were called the Gestalt psychologists. They showed other ways in which an active and creative mind forms the important aspects of a conscious perceptual experience.
Helmholtz was born near Berlin. He was accepted into a medical education at the age of seventeen, despite the fact that he was more interested in physics. During the second year of his studies, he began studying physiology with Johannes Müller. He also became friends with a brilliant group of fellow students, including Emil du Bois-Reymond, who would later work with Helmholtz in discovering the physical nature of the nerve impulse. Even with his respect for physics, Müller still insisted on vitalism. Vitalism assumes that all living organisms are infused with an indescribable 'life force'. This life force gives them their vitality, which is not analysable by scientific methods. Believing in vitalism suggests that there is a limitation in the possible scientific understanding of physiological processes, because it is plausible that the life force itself is beyond the reach of the scientific analyses. Helmholtz and his friends respected their teacher but refused to accept his implicit limitation of science. For them, the use of the physical principles in physiology provided so much, that it seemed stupid to them to bring any limitations to this approach. They rejected vitalism and adopted it physiologically mechanism.
The physiological mechanism states that it is possible to understand all physiological processes in terms of everyday physical and chemical principles. Müller only disagreed with his students in his assumption that at one point, there would be a limit to the mechanism, when the life force comes into view. At the age of 21, Helmholtz got his medical title and began his military obligation. He became a surgeon in the army, but he had enough time for himself to build a small laboratory in the barracks, where he studied metabolic processes in frogs. On the basis of this research, Helmholtz showed that everyday chemical reactions are capable of producing (though not necessarily actually doing it) all physical activities and heat generations within a living organism.
In 1847 the idea of conserving energy came into being, which means that all kinds of forces that exist in the universe, are possibly interchangeable forms of a single large, reservoir of energy that is not variable in quantity. Energy can be transformed from one form into another, but it can never be created or destroyed by a physical process.
The total amount of energy in the universe is constant. The government saw how brilliant Helmholtz was, and shortened his military obligation. In 1849, he was appointed professor of physiology at the university in Königsberg. Here he performed a study on the speed of a nerve signal. His friend Bois-Reymond had already speculated that the nerve signal could be an electrochemical signal that travels through the nerve on a slower pace than anyone had ever imagined. Helmholtz then thought it was slow enough to observe in the laboratory. To test this idea, he designed an ingenious one device with the needle of a galvanometer to measure smaller time units than before possible. He examined this in the leg of a frog, with an electrode that ran electricity through the paw. The bending of the leg would then turn off the electrical current. This was measured by his device. He discovered that the elapsed time was measurably longer when the electricity was applied to points of the leg that were further away from the foot: extra time because the nerve impulse had to travel further. He then also investigated this people. He did one of the first studies on variations in reaction time: the measured time between the presentation of a stimulus and a specific reaction. At first, many scientists did not see the value of Helmholtz's work because of his dense literary style, making it difficult to understand. In addition, some things were too surprising to be easily believed, so that scientists from that time did not believe it quickly. However, Helmholtz's ideas became gradually more and more accepted.
Helmholtz tries to describe all available knowledge about the senses of sight and hearing in the Handbook of Physiological Optics (1856-1866) and The Theory of the Sensation of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music (1863). He approached both senses with one similar strategy, which is explained with his dissertation of vision. He started with dividing his general subject into primary physical, physiological and psychological categories, while keeping in mind that they are related. The physical studies saw the eye as an optical instrument. These studies examined the process by which light from the external world is transformed into an image on the retina. The physiological analyses were mainly the problem of how an image of the retina is converted into signals in the brain, what results in conscious sensations of light. The psychological analyses went a lot further and wondered how sensations of light are converted into meaningful perceptions of discrete objects and events. There is a difference between sensation and perception, according to Helmholtz. Sensations are the 'raw elements' of conscious experiences, with no previous experiences whether learning processes are needed. Perceptions, on the other hand, are the meaningful interpretations of sensations.
On page 146 of this book, an image explains how the eye works. The field of the eye with maximum sharpness is very narrow, namely only that part of the image that falls inside a small section of the retina. This section is known as the fovea. Everything outside this area is vague. However, we do not notice this because the eye has the possibility to 'scan' the environment, whereby the focus is fast and flexible and shifts between one part of the visual field to another part. Helmholtz observed even more 'defects' in the optical properties of the eye. For example, colours are not perfectly reproduced on the retina, because the liquid in the eyeball is not perfectly colourless and because the lens breaks has the relatively longer wavelength of the red light less than the shorter wavelength of blue-violet at the end of the spectrum.
An imperfect tuning of refractive surfaces, known as astigmatism, distorts images in the eyes, but this happens to a very different degree. Possibly the most dramatic defect of all is the blind spot, which arises because a small portion of the retina, where the optic nerves leave the eye, does not have photosensitive cells. Helmholtz stated that the registered image of the external 'reality' on the retina is not perfect reproduction of the external stimulus. The above-mentioned changes and disruptions have one inevitable influence and on a psychological level transformations and disturbances are still further enlarged. Helmholtz illustrates this fact on the basis of his influential treatment to see the subject of colours.
Isaac Newton discovered through a solar spectrum that the 'white' light of the sun is more complicated than it seems. He stated that the different colours of the spectrum represent light of different wavelengths and that the white light of the sun consists of all these wavelengths mixed. When sunlight passes through a prism, shorter waves become more broken than longer ones. Something similar happens when sunlight comes alongside water and produces a rainbow. Experiments with mixing colours which show that the true situation is more complex, also show that the visual sense sometimes responds to mixes of wavelengths. This happens exactly the same way as with individual spectrum colours. So, very different physical stimuli can produce identical conscious sensations of colour.
Several scientists have studied the mixing of colours, which in 1855 has been described the most extensively by Scot James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879). Multiple pairs of complementary colours were identified. These are pairs of spectrum colours that, when mixed properly, can create a sensation of white light that cannot be distinguished from sunlight. The colours red, green and blue-violet are therefore called primary colours. This phenomenon is explainable because the retina contains three different types of recipient cells, each of which is strong reacts to light waves from one of these three primary colours. When it comes to sensory signals sent through the nerves, Müller assumed a specific type (visual, auditory, tangible etc.) and of a specific quality (red, green or blue-violet). Because the English scientist Thomas Young (1773-1829) had proposed a similar idea, it was named as the Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory.
According to the theory, one type of receptor is strongly stimulated when there is a spectrum of red, green or blue-violet that falls on the retina, resulting in a sensation of a 'pure' primary colour. When, for example, red and green are stimulated, orange or yellow is created. All three together leads to white. Colours are therefore now more seen as products of the human sensory systems than as properties of physical reality.
Helmholtz did not entirely agree with Kant about perception. Sensations that are interpreted during the perceptual process undergo further transformations in the Kantian 'spirit'. Sometimes the mind causes the perception to contradict reality, such as with optical illusions. The mind then makes a false interpretation of the visual sensation. The discussion deals with the origin of the perceptual processes (including those involved in illusions). It is a discussion of the nativist versus empiricist. According to Kant, spatial perception is mainly determined by innate intuitions. Helmholtz stated that experience and learning are more important perception. He demonstrated perceptual adaptation in his experiments, which he believed to be the result was a process that he called unconscious inference. A classical series of experiments showed how spatial perception can be changed by experience. Helmholtz set up a pair of glasses with participants, so that the visual field was systematically disturbed by moving the images of objects a few degrees to the right of their normal location. When subjects were asked to look at an object, then close their eyes and reach for the object to touch it, their first reactions were far too much to the right - towards the apparent rather than the real location. However, if they got a few minutes touching objects while looking through the glasses, perceptual adaptation took place. First, the participants had to give themselves the order to consciously move their hands to the left of the apparent objects they saw, but this action quickly became natural, automatic and unconscious. When the glasses were removed, they made mistakes again, but now to the left of right side. Perceptual adaptation had become so complete and automatic that it a minute or two before it was restored again. A visual experience, such as the manipulation of objects while wearing glasses that distort vision can lead to the unconscious use of certain rules that operate according to the main assumptions in logical syllogisms. For example, the main position can be: The size of the image of an object varies conversely with his distance to the eye. The second proposition is then: The size of the image of a ball is getting smaller at the moment. The conclusion is then that the ball moves away. The difference between perception and syllogistic reasoning lies in the fact that perception is immediate and effortless, while working out a syllogism can be laborious and time-consuming. This difference is possible because the main starting point of a perception is as good as automatic and unconsciously learned. Syllogisms can lead to wrong conclusions, so can unconscious inferences sometimes also lead to erroneous perceptions, such as optical illusions.
In 1871 he was appointed professor of physics at the University of Berlin. From that moment on, his research was mainly about thermodynamics, meteorology and electromagnetism. After his death in 1894, he was seen as one of the most respected scientist. Helmholtz was also one of the pioneers in psychology because of two reasons. First, he showed how neurological processes that underlie mental functions could be studied in the laboratory. Second, he helped with the development of the scientific concept of the 'Kantian spirit', with his integrated physical, physiological and psychological study of seeing and hearing. Many of his ideas are still accepted as true today. However, it is nowadays also accepted that processing of colour does not end on the retina. His fellow scientist Ewald Hering emphasized the importance of colour after images. For example, if you look at a red stimulus and then turn your gaze to a neutral coloured background, you see an afterimage of the same stimulus, only then in the complementary colour blue-green. The extreme empiricism of Helmholtz was challenged by Eleanor Jack Gibson (1910-2002) and her colleague Walk. Babies are born with the innate ability to stand upright and walk, and not to fall over on steep slopes. In this way, human babies systematically avoid walking or crawling over platforms without visible undergrounds to avoid complications.
Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801-1887), like Helmholtz, started with a broad interest in physics and physiology, and then in psychology through the relationship between external physical reality and someone's conscious phenomenal experience of that reality. Both men worked on the same problem but did this in a different way and with a different reason.
Fechner was born in Germany. His father and grandfather were both religious pastors and when his father died, he went to live with an uncle. His father appreciated both science and religion. Fechner grew up with strong philosophical and religious interests but did not want to follow the family tradition. He started his medical training in Leipzig when he was sixteen, but never started a practice when he was finished. He started to translate French textbooks on physics and chemistry. He learned a lot, and went to conduct his own research un electricity, making him a teacher of physics at the University of Leipzig in 1824. In 1833 he was a professor of physics. Fechner also studied the philosophy of nature, a bit of a mystical, semi-scientific movement that was popular at the time Germany. This movement saw the entire universe as an organic entity with consciousness and others animal functions. When someone died, his individual consciousness became one with consciousness of the entire universe.
Fechner saw this movement as an antidote to materialism. He appreciated the scientific power of mechanistic analyses, but also felt suppressed by its implications. He found it a depressing doctrine. Fechner was obsessed with whether nature or the world had a soul. He had two different answers for this question. Fechner spoke of Tagesansicht and Nachtansicht. "Night-time" the mechanical version of the world view, with the universe as a dead machine and where life and consciousness were only side effects of this. The 'Tagesansicht' was the animated version of the world view, describing the universe as a place where consciousness plays a major role. The mechanical laws described in this perspective only a part of the whole.
For years, Fechner fought a mental war between his day and night image. In 1839 he got a serious eye condition, and emotional and philosophical factors worsened the situation. He became complete disabled, and often could not speak or eat. He withdrew from his professorship. He solved his eating problem slowly, after a mystical advice to to consume only fruit, ham and wine. In 1850 he suddenly got an idea while he was meditating in bed, through which he returned to the scientific world, and gained a position as one of the fathers of modern experimental psychology. He reflected on the relationship between the material and mental worlds, just like Helmholtz. But while Helmholtz has the differences between these worlds emphasized and wrote about the imperfections of the eye as an optical instrument and the incongruences imposed by the colour sensation device, Fechner saw the harmony between the physical and mental world.
Some simple, everyday observations about hearing and seeing can illustrate Fechner's idea. If we hear, we take it for granted that little noise is filtered from a lot of background noise. As with vision, when a small light can be clearly visible in a dark room, but not in a brightly lit room. These facts indicate that conscious sensations of stimulus intensity are not perfectly reflect the physical reality, because the same stimuli create different impressions of their strength under different circumstances. These are examples of Kant's point, namely that the sensory system presses and transforms them before they become conscious brought. Fechner thought it would be possible to see both the observed and the physical to measure intensities of sensory stimuli, and the mathematical relationship between the two measurements determine. His intuition told him that this relationship would be harmonious. This was the inspiring of the idea of what Fechner called psychophysics, the study of the relationships between the objectively measurable intensities of different stimuli and the subjective impressions of these intensities. Fechner's practical problem was how he could measure subjective intensities of stimulation. Several years rather, Weber had researched the ability of people to distinguish between objects that exist look the same but have different weights. He found that accurate judgement depended on the relative difference in weight. Weber concluded that it is just noticeable difference '(jnd) for this specific discrimination task - the minimum weight difference to distinguish them - always about 0.03. Weber found this kind regularities also for other types of sensory discrimination. Fechner discovered that the observed relation between the physical and subjective stimulus intensities for many different ones senses can be expressed by one general mathematical formula, which claims that the subjective intensity (S) of a stimulus measured in jnd units is always equal to the logarithm of his physical intensity (P) times a constant (k), which varies for every senses can be determined experimentally. This is called the law of Fechner. In 1860 this law was published in his book 'elements of psychophysics'. Critics pointed to studies that showed that his law was only about right and did not work for the extremes of high and low sensory intensities. They found that absolute limits differed from person to person, or even within the same person from time to time. Another criticism came from Stevens (1906- 1973), who found that for some types of stimulation, subjective intensities increased more rapidly than the physical intensities - the opposite of what Weber and Fechner emphasized. He came with the law of Stevens. However, this law was only good for the middle range of physical stimulation and also differed per individual and situation.
The name Gestalt psychology comes from the German word Gestalt and means 'form'. The Gestalt psychology focuses on the ways in which the mind organizes experiences and perceptions in organized units that are more than the sum of the separated parts. Austrian Christian von Ehrenfelds (1859-1932) wrote about certain perceptual 'form qualities' that could not be introspectively broken down into separate sensory elements. Instead, these form qualities resided in the overall composition of objects or ideas. Only around 1910 these Gestalt qualities were explored. Wertheimer (1880-1943), Koffka (1886-1941) and Köhler(1887-1967) set it to motion.
Wertheimer studied the optical illusion of apparent movement: the perception of continuous movement that arises when a succession of still slightly different still images being observed. Wertheimer showed, on the basis of different time intervals and still images, that a minimum interval is needed to see that it is two separate, still images. This apparent movement (a simplified form of a film) he called the phi phenomenon. Wertheimer showed that an observer (when they are random is faced with both apparent movement and real movement) could not tell the one that was different. Both the real and the apparent movement could be identical negative afterimages: a tendency to see static objects in motion in the opposite direction of the moving object that was observed immediately before. When we are observing actual movement, the light literally sweeps past the retina and it falls on all receiving cells that are in this path. With the phi phenomenon only the receiving cells that are located at the beginning and at the end of this path are physically illuminated. Movement is therefore one property that is possibly assigned to static images by the higher brain processes.
The mind seems to organize the elements of an experience in wholes. Unlike a lot other scientists, Gestalt psychologists do not start with the simplest 'elements' of their subject, but with these integers. Then they try to describe the functions of the parts, that together form the wholes. Gestalt psychologists state that perception always takes place within one 'field' in which there is a distinction between the figure and the background. The background is necessary for the figure because it is contrasts with it. A figure cannot exist without a background to exist on. For example, the words on this paper cannot be seen (as a figure) without the lighter background of the page. The figure on page 176 shows that you can never see the background and the figure at the same time, making the figure (or shape) in your perceptual field constantly changing.
Wertheimer, Koffka and Köhler emphasize that the mind tries to simplify and organize perceptual fields in which observed figures occur. This happens with more complex combinations of stimuli. These are perceived by consciousness as several small groups of stimuli. For example, the figure on page 163 suggests that there are three circles there, with which we can simplify and organize the figure. The same applies to auditory information, here too something must be heard against a relatively neutral background. This happens according to the principles of contiguity and resemblance.
In 1920-1930, the three pioneers of Gestalt psychology fled to America, what benefited the American psychology greatly. Koffka promoted the general Gestalt perspective as a counterpart to atomistic behaviourism that then dominated in the US. His book called 'Principles of Gestalt Psychology' remains the most comprehensive and systematic book on the Gestalt psychology in history. Köhler and Wertheimer expanded Gestalt principles from sensation and perception towards learning and thinking. Köhler saw that learning often includes insight. New and adaptive reactions often arise suddenly, after another organization of the perceptual field. Wertheimer analysed creative human thinking. He was in favour of free discovery and encouraged flexibility and understanding. His book was called 'Productive thinking'. He befriended the psychologist Maslow during his last years in New York. Köhler settled in Pennsylvania, where he tried to combine psychology with physics. He emphasized, for example, that perceptual and physical force fields are the same because each tries to organize itself over time into simpler configurations. According to him, the brain was a physical system that divided electric charges and processed them. He proposed the hypothesis of psychophysical isomorphism, according to which psychological facts and the underlying events in the brain are similar to each other concerns their structural characteristics. This did not mean that perceptual and brain processes were the same in relation to each other, but that they shared the same structural and relational characteristics with which they both existed. The brain should therefore be studied as an organized system, not as a conglomeration of separate individual components.
This idea was supported by Kurt Goldstein (1878- 1965). He was impressed by the Gestalt principles and was one of the publishers of Psychological Forschung, the original German-language magazine entirely devoted to Gestalt psychology. Kurt Lewin was a younger Gestalt psychologist, who came to America with his mentors. He claimed that every person stays in a unique psychological field, also called a person’s living space. This is the totality of his or her psychological situation at any arbitrary moment. It includes a person's physical and social environment as they are perceived, as well as someone's constantly changing motifs and actions, or locomotion, within this living space. This gets combined into forces or vectors within the field, which together determine a person’s behaviour. Lewin also studied the effects of democratic versus authoritarian leadership on group behaviour. This was one of the first experiments in social psychology.
Introduction to the book Pioneers of Psychology - Pioneers of Psychology - Fancher & Rutherford Historiography is the official term for the concept of writing about history, but it is difficult to determine when 'the history of psychology' exactly begun. Psychology, as a field of study, did not become an independent department within universities until the mid-nineteenth century, yet it was not uncommon for man to give thought to the mind and behaviour. General psychological and philosophical theories already arose in ancient times and these ancient theories can also be relevant for modern psychology still.
Over the last century, psychology has become one of the largest scientific studies there is. Within its stream, many sub-disciplines have arisen, some of which are related to each other. Every one of these branches has its own history, but it is sadly impossible to fully treat all of these different histories in a book.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), Francis Galton (1822-1911) and B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) have not only each left behind their well-known, published works, but also a lot of unpublished data. These unpublished works included background stories and information about their private lives that influenced their scientific work. This interaction between biographical and theoretical factors led to a greater appreciation and understanding of the abstract work and thinking they performed.
This is why this book contains a more personalistic way of writing. The goal is to give an accurate representation or important psychological ideas, which get more meaning when viewed in the context of the scientists' lives. In result, it will become clear how modern ideas have come about. The theories that we know now of as incorrect can become more understandable when seen in the view point of the researcher and it will be made clear how these theories have led to progress.
The pioneers in this book had to fulfil three criteria. Firstly, they must have been important for the development or psychological thinking. Secondly, because the ideas in this book are presented in the context of the life of the researcher, biographical information must also be available. In addition, the pioneers needed to have contributed to the broad field of psychology in a meaningful way.
For instance, Plato, known for his nativist conception of the brain, and Aristotle, known for his empirical view and observations, are not addressed in this book due to a severe lack of biographical information. Therefore, our starting point will be René Descartes, at the beginning of the sixteenth century.
Though excluded, Aristotle and Plato do return in René Descartes’ work, thus giving an overview of the important ideas of the ancient Greeks. Chapter one will portray his theories about body
.....read more Why does one study history of psychology? – Chapter 0Studying history offers the opportunity to take a step outside the internal mechanisms of the discipline of psychology. This can help you to see how all the elements have evolved in relation to specific problems.
A second advantage of studying history is seeing how ideas that we see as old or incorrect today, actually seem logical within their original context. This can help to better evaluate current psychological findings. This historical awareness can also contribute to your personal ability to critically evaluate contemporary ideas.
A third reason is that it helps us to appreciate the 'reflexive' nature of the field. Reflexivity refers to the human ability to become aware of and reflect on your own activities. This reflection can lead to changes in the understanding of yourself.
Psychologists have always been interested in studying their own history. One of the first American texts on the history of psychology appeared in 1912: Founders of Modern Psychology, by G. Stanley Hall. Another early text was A History of Experimental Psychology, published in 1929 by Boring. He wanted to strengthen the status of psychology as an experimental science.
It is clear that the history of psychology has the interest of psychologists for various reasons. In the US, John Watson was very influential. He was trained as a clinical psychologist but decided in 1959 to dedicate himself solely to the history of psychology. He published an article titled History of Psychology: A Neglected Area, resulting that in 1965, a department of the APA arose that devoted itself to history: division 26.
Historiography is the technical term for writing about history, but it can also refer to historical work. Some historians solely focus on the development of important ideas and their intellectual and disciplinary contexts, neglecting the social and political factors that played a role in them.
This distinction is called internalism versus externalism. Most historians try to find a balance between these two positions. Some adopt what they call the 'Great Man Approach', in which history is told by the contributions of important people in the field. In this case, external factors are often ignored. The Zeitgeist approach takes into account the fact that the ‘spirit of time’ can influence someone's ideas. In this book, a balance is maintained between the internalistic and externalist stand point, and between the Great Man and the Zeitgeist approach.
Some historians use presentism, which means they try to view a subject from the present and explain current circumstances by emphasizing that we have made progress thanks to our ancestors. Others adopt the perspective of historicism and try to see
.....read more Foundational ideas from the Antiquity - Chapter 1
Plato (424-347 BC) came from a wealthy family in Athens and was schooled mainly by sophists. Plato, however, wanted a modest teacher and found Socrates (470-399 BC). Socrates claimed that his only special wisdom was that he was aware of much he didn’t know. He wanted his students to appreciate what was true and permanent instead of temporary and popular.
He did this by conducting dialogues with his students, to discover their inner capacities of finding truths. The fact that Plato chose Socrates and, therefore, philosophy still has consequences to this day. Socrates didn’t leave any written documents of his thoughts because, according to him, trusting in writing weakened the faculties of memory and serious thinking. Plato, however, made many written accounts of him: the Socratic dialogues. These emphasize the importance of the higher capacities of rational thinking and mathematical reasoning.
The dialogues became the source of nativism - in which the innate is important, opposite to acquired qualities - and of rationalism, in which reason is emphasized. When Plato was 30, he founded the Academy, a place where pupils of different ages and interests could pursue their intellectual goals.
In 367 BC, Aristotle (384-322 BC) arrived at said Academy and became a top student. At the age of 37, he left again. Aristotle placed much more emphasis than Plato on the systematic observation of the natural, empirical world of the senses. He became the first supporter of empiricism - the notion that true knowledge is obtained from sensory experiences of the external world.
400 years before Plato's time, settlers from Greece spread and collected writings from wealthy Greek-speaking colonies. These colonies were developed very differently and had founded different types of governments. The Greeks, however, were all very proud of their language, and thought of all who spoke a language other than Greek as barbarians.
Shortly before Socrates began teaching, Protagoras (490-420 BC) claimed that it was useless to speculate on big questions such as the ultimate nature and layout of the universe. He was a sophist and focused on purely human experiences and behaviour. The sophists tried to understand people.
Hippocrates (460-370 BC) is often mentioned as a pre-Socratic, and, like Protagoras and the Sophists, he dealt with everyday human concerns. However, Hippocrates was mainly a physicist. He attracted a school of students and followers, called the Hippocrats, who together produced many medical writings known as the Hippocratic Corpus. In this, diseases were described as natural phenomena, instead of the result of demons or supernatural influences. The Hippocrats had a ‘humoral’ theory to explain health and viewed disease as the result of the disbalance or four prominent fluids in the human body: blood, yellow bile, black
.....read more Philosophy of the mind: what are the thoughts of Descartes, Locke and Leibniz? - Chapter 2René Descartes moved Paris in 1615, in the midst of an identity crisis. He did not think of his elite education as valuable because it had been too focused on the past. He also found it depressing that philosophy had never produced anything that was doubtful or uncertain. He became one of the first influential thinkers to have fully mechanical explanations for the traditional functions of the sensitive psyche or soul of Aristotle. Descartes described the human mind and body as two cooperating, yet different entities. According to him, both need their own analysis and explanation.
Descartes (1596-1650) was born in La Haye in France. He grew up with his grandmother. His father was a wealthy lawyer, but Descartes had little close ties with his family. His intelligence was noticed by his father, after which he sent his son to the most progressive school in France.
Young Descartes learned about a science which was dominated by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC). The Aristotelian view of the universe placed the earth in the middle, surrounded by a number of rotating crystalline globes, namely the planets in our solar system, the moon, the sun and the stars. The Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) published a book in 1543, in which he assumed that not the earth, but the sun was the centre of the system. His view was not taken seriously, however.
Descartes convinced his teachers that he could think best if he meditated in bed, allowing him to stay in bed all morning while other students were already working. When he left La Flèche at age 16, he was the best student of the best school in the country. He then migrated to Paris, and got influenced by Marin Mersenne, a French monk who offered Descartes intellectual and personal support. In 1618, he went into the army to see if the practical experiences of the "real world" would provide more satisfactory knowledge. The actual war had not started yet, so Descartes experienced seven months of boredom and learned quickly that the military had no more useful knowledge than scholars did.
A turning point for Descartes was when he met Isaac Beeckman (1588-1637) in the Netherlands, a physician and internationally known mathematician. He became a mentor to Descartes and helped him to get back his intellectual interest. With his support, Descartes wrote his first scholarly work, an essay about music. When Beeckman had to leave Breda, Descartes went with him, and during the trip to the south he got two insights. According to a legend, the inspiration came when he saw a fly humming in the corner of his room. He suddenly realized that the position of the fly at any time can be exactly determined by
.....read more Physiologists of the mind: which important scientists examined the brain in the period between Gall and Penfield? - Chapter 3Nowadays, we see the brain as the organ responsible for our intelligence and higher mental possibilities. However, it took about 200 years before this concept was accepted. Aristotle could hardly believe how a bloodless, numb and generally not impressive-looking organ could be the source of the highest human faculties. He supposed these functions were to be contributed to the heart. Descartes saw a number of important functions in the brain, however attributed the greatest functions to the rational soul.
Locke's teacher, Thomas Willis (1621-1675), paid more attention to the brain and was in 1664 the first to accurately publish a detailed work about it, named 'Anatomy of the Brain'. Willis saw that the brain tissue was not undifferentiated, as Aristotle thought, but consisted of two kinds of substances. Firstly, there is a fleshy, grey mass that forms the outer layer, also know as the cortex, (the inner part of the spinal cord and several discrete centres within the brain). Secondly, there is a fibrous white mass in the other areas. He speculated that this white mass consisted of narrow channels whose function is to distribute the "souls" that are created in the grey mass. In addition, he also accurately described the blood vessels in the brain, which proved that the brain is not a bloodless organ. Other doctors discovered that strokes can occur in the brain, and that, in case of injuries on one side of the brain, there are often paralysis or loss of feeling on the other side of the body. However, the brain only really became a topic of interest around 1800, in which the German physiologist Franz Josef Gall (1758-1828) played a big part.
Gall confirmed and developed many of Willis' basic ideas about the grey and white matter. He showed that the two halves of the brain are linked by stems of white matter that are called commissures and that other, narrower pieces of white fibres connect the two halves of the brain to the opposite sides of the spinal cord. This helped explain why damage on one side of the brain can lead to paralysis on the other side of it body. He also showed that the brain is in fact the centre for higher mental activity (by describing that animals with a larger brain tend to be more complex, more flexible and display more intelligent behaviour). Gall's anatomical findings were the basis for the later discovery that the brain and spinal cord consist of billions of neurons. Neurons are connected by dendrites, which receive signals from other neurons via axons. Axons tend to cluster together and thus form the white matter, while the cell bodies and dendrites form the grey matter.
Gall was also
.....read more The sensing and perceptive spirit: which developments took place in this area in the period between Kant and the Gestalt psychologists? - Chapter 4The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) became known because of what he called 'my dogmatic slumbers'. He was trained in the Leibnizian tradition and had written before on subjects such as the origin of God and the difference between absolute and relative space. He was stimulated by one of John Locke's successors to start thinking about 'critical philosophy’, which ultimately led to subtle but crucial changes in how Germany, until then, thought about humanity and nature.
It was the Scotsman David Hume who caused Kant to become inspired to bring empiricism and associationism to an extreme. In addition, he started the logical status of the causal connection (the intuitive belief that certain events are directly 'caused' by certain other prior events).
They started from a cause, which implied a necessary consecutive relationship between certain preconditions and subsequent events. It also suggests that when we observe events, we immediately attribute causality to them. Hume brought this assumption, however, in doubt. He states that 'causality' is nothing more than that we expect events that took place in a certain way in the past, will occur in the same way in the future. The supposed connection between the events is never directly observed, so causality only has a probable rather than an absolute base.
From a practical point of view, these considerations make no difference. People thrive best in the real world by anticipating regularities in nature, whether or not this causality is genuine or assumed. For a philosopher like Kant, who dealt with the essential nature of human knowledge, this matter was crucial. Kant responded to this challenge with a simple but revolutionary variant of the nativist argument. He argued that even though causality could not be proven to exist in the external world, it nevertheless seemed to be an inevitable part of our experience. Therefore, according to him, it will be an innate quality in our minds.
He assumed two separate domains of reality, one complete within the human mind and one complete out there. The external or noumenal world consists of things-in-itself: objects in a pure state of independence of human experience. Despite that assuming that a certain object exists and that it interacts with the human mind, the noumenal world can never directly being seen. When this object encounters the human spirit, said spirit transforms the object into the inner or phenomenal world. The term phenomenal comes from the Greek phainomenon, meaning 'appearance', and reflects Kant’s argument that people never directly experience the true reality of things-in-themselves. Instead they experience a number of 'apparitions' or 'phenomena', which are the creation of an active mind who experiences the noumenal world.
To create this phenomenal world, the Kantian spirit inevitably follows a certain amount
.....read more How did Wundt develop experimental psychology? - Chapter 5The German Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) developed a "Thought-meter" to test the assumed assumption that, when two different stimuli reach our senses at the same moment (for example, when we hear someone speak and at the same time see his lips moving), we also become aware of both stimuli at the same time. On page 174 is his 'thought-meter' with an explanation. When Wundt tested himself, he concluded that he had not consciously experienced visual and visual stimuli at the same time, despite the fact that they took place simultaneously. Instead separate moments of attention were needed. Wundt acknowledged that, like Herman Helmholtz and Gustav Fechner, that he now had a clear psychological process subject to experimentally study, while Kant had implied that this was impossible. Wundt therefore suggested that there was sufficient ground for setting up a new field of experimental psychology. This possibility he introduced in his book from 1862, ‘Contributions to the Theory of Sensory Perception’. He is still seen as the father of modern academic and experimental psychology today.
Wundt was born in a small village in Germany, where his father was a pastor. The family had good academic connections. As a child, Wilhelm got malaria, after which his parents decided to move to Heidelberg, with a healthier climate. He grew up as an only child and was often picked on. Wilhelm was a real daydreamer, and his first year in high school became a complete failure. Wundt's parents sent him to Heidelberg to live with his aunt and brother Ludwig. Here he found more connection with peers. However, he did not receive a scholarship to the University. Under the supervision of his uncle Arnold, professor of anatomy and physiology he did, however, have academic success.
Wundt's first experiment was led by the German chemist Robbert Bunsen (1811- 1899), and in 1854 he won a gold medal from the university for examining the effect of the nervus vagus on the breathing. Years later, Wundt worked as an assistant to Helmholtz. The 'thought-meter' was very similar to Helmholtz's work on the speed of nerve impulses. Astronomers had problems with the reaction speed for years. According to Helmholtz personal comparisons and differences arise because there are individual differences in the length of a person's sensory and motor nerves, or in the speed in which the nerves send impulses. It is also possible that the differences arise due to the speed of the central processing in the brain. He could demonstrate this with his thought-meter.
Wundt believed that his discovery, that stimuli are first registered in consciousness responded to it, supported the general philosophical tradition of Leibniz. This is a psychology that explains the receptive and creative qualities of the mind itself, beyond the influence of external stimuli in creating
.....read more The evolving mind: what psychological developments did Darwin bring? - Chapter 6Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) was unexpectedly asked for the position of naturalist on board of the ship the H.M.S. Beagle. Darwin would support the captain with geological, mineralogical and biological observations, but would also accompany the captain for the next five years in his room. Upon his return, Darwin was known as a talented and respected geologist and collector of biological samples. He had made a number of important observations, which were the beginning of his development of the theory of evolution through natural selection: a revolutionary biological theory with immeasurable implications for psychology.
Darwin came from a rich and respected family. His father was a doctor, his mother was from a famous family that produced Chinese tableware, and his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin (1731- 1802), was one of the most famous intellectual figures of his time. From early on in his live, Darwin possessed two important qualities. First of all, he was very curious and had a love for nature. He was also a warm and sympathetic man, which made him loved with almost everyone he met.
Darwin was sent to a medical school where he learned taxidermy. He didn’t think medications was interesting enough and he had bad memories of this school period. His father therefore placed him at the University of Cambridge, where Darwin was prepped to become an Anglican pastor. Here he became a member of a club called the Gourmet Club. This club was known for their hunt for birds and beasts, which were previously unknown to the taste buds of man. However, this came to an early end when they tried to eat a brown one owl.
Darwin liked geometry, but nevertheless had 'an argument' with binomial theory. Instead, he liked nature, and especially collecting beetles provided him with a lot of fun. He called this his "proof of my zeal." Darwin's enthusiasm for natural history and his friendly personality drew the attention from Cambridge's more scientifically oriented faculty. These people were mainly John Stevens Henslow (1796-1861) and Adam Sedgwick (1785-1873), professors in botany and geology. Darwin went on one of their excursions to the countryside and spent a lot of time with Henslow. After graduating in 1831, he went to the north of Wales for a summer for a geological tour with Sedgwick.
Darwin's journey on the Beagle began in December 1831. Darwin devised a sample bag, which he dragged behind the ship and in which he caught thousands of sea creatures he subsequently examined and classified. He read about geology, geography and biology. He kept
.....read more Measuring the mind: what are Galton's thoughts about individual differences? - Chapter 7London's International Health Exhibition of 1884 was characterized by a remarkable exhibition called the anthropometric laboratory that drew many spectators. These spectators became test subjects in this laboratory and eventually received some comparative information about themselves. The devices in it laboratory tested the test subjects different ways and gave them their score and the average score of the previous test subjects.
At that time, these tests were seen as mental tests to measure aspects of intelligence. Today, we see that intelligence uses "higher" mental processes, such as thinking, reasoning and logic. Nevertheless, the creator of these tests, Francis Galton, argued that the people with the highest intellectual possibilities, logically also had the most powerful and most efficient nervous systems and brains. He thought that the powers of one's brain was possibly in relation to its size. So the first test to measure the supposed intelligence of a person was to measure size of one’s head.
He also thought that someone's neurological effectiveness should be related to the speed in which this person can respond to something, therefore there was also a test of response time. He believed in two incorrect, but then generally accepted prejudices, which according to him proved a major correlation between sensory acuteness and intelligence. The first prejudice was that people with intellectual disabilities have both a sensory and intellectual disability. The second bias stated that women were generally less intelligent than men and that they can perceive things less vividly.
Fechner's psychophysics had studied the limitations of sensory discrimination and the Wundtian mental chronometry experiments had carefully measured the reaction time. But these previous studies only focused on established, general psychological principles that apply to all people, while individual differences in sharpness of mind or response time were avoided or rejected. The founder of the Anthropometric Laboratory assumed a Darwinian framework in which variability and adaptation were included. Individual differences in sharpness and reaction time were not "errors" or "irregularities" that were to be avoided but instead were the basic mechanism of evolution and therefore an important subject of interest. The anthropometric laboratory led to the development of the psychology of individual differences. This is a discipline that focuses on measuring variations between people at certain psychological characteristics.
Francis Galton (1822-1911) was the younger cousin and friend of Charles Darwin. He was a curious person and was discoverer, geographer, meteorologist and a biological researcher before he turned his attention to measuring intelligence and other psychological attributions. Many of his psychological ideas (such as his theory of measuring intelligence) were found to be incorrect and too simple. He was, however, the pioneer who came up with the idea that tests can be used to measure psychological differences between people. In
.....read more American pioneers: what are the thoughts of James, Hall, Calkins and Thorndike? - Chapter 8It became clear at the conference in Munich in 1896 that psychology was slowly becoming a respected scientific and academic discipline. The two professors who were responsible for this, were sadly not there: Wilhelm Wundt and William James (1842-1910). Ironic enough, despite the contribution of both professors to the creation of an intellectual climate, both the professors did not appreciate each other's work. Wundt thought that there was little new information or original content in James’s writing, except for his style, which Wundt called personal and informal (he thought it was beautiful literature, but that it did not fall under psychology). Another reason that Wundt was not all that enthusiastic about James' work, for one was because James also criticized the work of Wundt. The reason for this was in the fact that it took James twelve years old to write his book "The Principles of Psychology ". The two professors each had their own style and stood behind different ones psychology, yet they were two of the most influential professors of their time.
William James was born in New York. He was the eldest child and came from a rich family. During his childhood and adolescence, he regularly moved with his family around in Europe and America. His father, Henry James Sr., had suffered a restless life and experienced regular anxiety attacks. After he had recovered, he focused on teaching his children and he searched for the best place to do so. Despite that he never actually found this perfect place, all four children remained highly motivated to study.
James had a talent for drawing and art, but because the subject was rejected by his father, he was sent to Harvard in 1861 to study chemistry. At Harvard, he shifted his attention from chemistry to physiology and in 1864 he registered himself at the medical school. A year later ,he interrupted his studies to go on an expedition, supervised by Louis Agassiz (1807- 1873). Agassiz was a biologist and one of the most outspoken critics of Darwin's book 'Origin or Species'. During this trip, James found out that biology was not suitable for him anyway and he returned home.
James convinced his father in 1867 to let him go to Germany, for the mineral baths that were good for his back among other reasons. But after a series of events in 1870, he experienced his first anxiety attack as well and he had trouble recovering from it. Until he read an article about free will in 1870, written by the French philosopher Charles Renouvier (1815-1903). Because of this he started to believe in free will. Also an article about customs ('habits') written by the philosopher and psychologist Alexander
.....read more Psychology as behavioural science: how is this area affected by Pavlov, Watson and Skinner? - Chapter 9Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936) was interested in the congenital and reflexive saliva reactions in dogs, which he first called psychic secretions. It was about this saliva that arose automatically and involuntarily once there food was nearby. Pavlov saw that when dogs had become accustomed to the routine of the laboratory, they already started to drool as soon as they entered the research room came in. The dogs had associated the research room with food. These reactions were clearly learned and the result of experience and not of innate reflexes.
Pavlov saw himself as a physiologist and did not want to be associated with 'soft' psychology. After reading Sechenov's book, he became inspired enough to define his research into pure define physiological terminology. He called the psychic secretion conditioned reflexes and he called innate reflexes unconditioned reflexes. The relationship between the two could be examined in the laboratory and interpreted in physiological terms. Although Pavlov hated psychology, psychologists were interested showed for his work. One of those interested was Watson. He claimed the subject of psychology was the objective, observable behaviour, not the traditional mind and its subjective awareness. Inspired by the conditioned reflex of Pavlov, he became the founder of behaviourism.
As a poor, but gifted student, Pavlov started to study physiology at the University of St. Petersburg. There he focused on the new mechanistic physiology and soon he was known as an exceptionally accurate researcher who even helped doctoral students to get their degree, even before he got his own degree in 1883. Not that he could get started right away: jobs in conducting research were rare. Only after he was forty did he become a professor the St. Petersburg military medical academy, where he set up his own laboratory to carry out his dream: an experimental study into the physiology of the digestion.
Pavlov was known for having two different sides, depending on his environment. In his personal life he was known as naïve, but in the laboratory he was the complete opposite. There he was strict: his animals had to be well fed and the laboratory always had to be well stocked and taken care of. The remarkable thing about his laboratory was its organization. Although he had difficulty organizing his personal life, he succeeded in keeping his laboratory in order very well. Experiments were systematically performed and repeated. New employees were never assigned to a new or independent project, but always had to test existing experiments again. If the new and the old results matched, the new employee could start a new project. Systematic work was something that Pavlov gotten a strain on early on, and that was what he learned to others: working systematically at the gathering of knowledge.
In his laboratory he started studying
.....read more Social psychology: how did this psychology develop in the period after Mesmer? - Chapter 10Johann Joseph Gassner (1727-1779) was a priest who claimed that he could cure disease through exorcism. A lot of patients reported improvement after treatment, but many others thought he was going too far and applied it carelessly. That is why the Viennese physicist Franzz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) was asked to investigate the treatments of Gassner. Mesmer could try to cure patients in a similar way, but then through magnetism rather than of supernatural exorcism. Mesmer duplicated the effects of Gassner and stated that the effects were the result of a strong magnetic force. He explained Gassner's results in a naturalistic and scientific way. Gassner was banished and was not allowed to perform any more exorcisms. Mesmer did a number important discoveries about the phenomenon of hypnotism and has made an attempt to explain this scientifically. He also researched the social influence processes.
Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) was able to cure patients in the same way as Gassner, but he did also provoke a natural force as a therapeutic mechanism, instead of a so-called supernatural exorcism. He healed many patients and explained that this was due to a strong magnetic force that was concentrated in his own body. So he delivered a naturalistic and 'scientific' explanation. Gassner was then exiled and was not allowed to exercise exorcisms any longer. Mesmer made important discoveries about hypnosis, the process creating a mental concentration that leads to a state of high influenceability and tried to explain this in a scientific way. He also did important research in the field of social influence, which have led to many developments in the social psychology.
Of his life before 1766, little is known. In 1766 Mesmer got his doctorate in medicine. Much of his dissertation he had taken over from someone else, but one of the parts that he had not copied was about a force he called animal gravity. He argued that magnetism was caused by a group of invisible and mysterious liquids such as electricity, gravity and gases such as helium. His plagiarism remained unnoticed. He married a rich widow and became an active socialist. He was also a good amateur musician and became friends with Mozart. In 1773, Mesmer began to treat a patient who suffered from periodic seizures consisting of symptoms such as convulsions, vomiting and inflammation. He let his patient swallow some pieces of iron and placed magnets on different parts of her body. Then she felt a certain force through her body,
.....read more The mind in conflict: what does Freud's psychoanalysis mean? - Chapter 11Joseph Breuer and Bertha Pappenheim came up with the "cathartic method" as treatment. In that method. Breuer hypnotized Breuer Pappenheim and asked her to go back to the first times she had experienced a specific physical sensation (such as her symptoms). Hypnotizing made it easier to reach forgotten memories (but only high emotion memories, associated with symptoms). By recovering the forgotten memory, she can release the oppressed emotions. This way the symptoms could disappear.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), friends with Breuer, remembered the method years later tried it out. He found out that it works better than direct hypnosis. Together with Breuer, he wrote the book "Studies on Hysteria", which became the starting point for Freud's new field. He called this field psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis played an important role in the history of the Mental Hygiene Movement and the Child Guidance Clinics. In the book, different cases they showed and brought on the general hypothesis that patients with hysteria suffered this because of their repressed memories. It was not about normal memories, but memories about emotion-laden experiences that were stored in the unconscious, which turned them into a disease ("pathogenic ideas"). Without access to normal consciousness, the emotional energy that accompanies the pathogenic ideas is not expressed in the normal way and thus cannot be released. The stimulus that normally aroused the memories was now used to the pinched emotional energy, causing the hysterical symptoms. The hysterical symptoms were conversions (the transition of emotional information into physical energy). With hypnosis, people can consciously gain access to the pathogenesis ideas, allowing the normal expression of their pinched energy to take place. This is because the cause of the symptoms is directly addressed. One downside is that the "cathartic method" is only applicable to people who can be deeply hypnotized.
Freud grew up as the oldest child in his family, but with half-brothers who were as old as his mother and a nephew (grandson of Freud's father) who was older than he. By this unusual family composition Freud may have become susceptible to family relationships, which he later emphasizes in his theories. When Freud studied at the University of Vienna, he met the philosopher Franz Brentano, who became his inspiration. In 1874, Brentano published a book, "Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint". In his book, he emphasized the Act psychology, in which he put the essential nature of the subjects within psychology and those within the physical sciences directly opposed to each other. The physical sciences studied objects, while for Brentano, the basic units of psychological analyses were previously actions, which always referred to the contents of an object. For example, where the basic unit of physical analysis was probably an atom, the psychological base unit was an action like thinking about an atom or believing it that a certain atom exists. So all mental phenomena have a component that indicates what they are "about", a way in which the object is involved or implied in the consciousness. This, Brentano called intentionality.
Brentano also believed that each psychological theory must be dynamic, or able to take into account the influence of
.....read more Personality psychology: what are the thoughts of Allport and Maslow? - Chapter 12As discussed earlier, Titchener was involved in a new scientific approach of psychology, namely structuralism. He had tried to scientifically analyse experiences, but in the form of the most elementary sensations and feelings. Titchener was the opponent of Freud. The invitation that Gordon W. Allport (1897-1967) received for the conference "Society of Experimentalists", set up by Titchener, was probably one of the biggest mistakes he’s made, considering Allport was more focused on the subject of personality. Titchener responded negatively to Allport and belittled him during the conference. The disappointment in Allport was temporary, however, because he was the first to teach at the university in personality psychology.
Abraham H. Maslow (1908-1970) also could not find himself in Titchener's model. Allport and Maslow were similar to each other in the fact that they are both regularly the limits of psychology and searched for, but that was also just about it. Allport was interested in personality psychology, in which the subjects varied from individual case studies to statistical analysis of mutual relationships on a large scale. Maslow was interested in which factors caused people to be "normal" or "healthy". He formulated an influential theory on human motives, as they are in a hierarchy and became a supporter of humanistic psychology. Both theories formulated by Maslow and Allport were an important part of the development and evolution of modern psychology as we know it today.
Allport became fascinated by his teacher Munsterberg at Harvard, who felt that there were two fundamentally different types of psychology: Firstly, psychology is causal and objective, and is aimed at emphasizing deterministic and mechanistic relationships between specific stimuli and the reactions they produce. The other kind of psychology is purposeful and subjective, which requires psychologists to gain insight into certain thinking processes and perspectives of the participants and to share these insights.
After graduating, Allport became an English and Sociology teacher at a small school in Turkey. Later on he returned to Harvard for a PhD in psychology. He always had great admiration for the psychoanalysis and promoted this to academic psychologists. As an assistant to Floyd, he learned a lot about new developments in psychology. One of these topics was personality. Some psychologists were interested in measuring non-intellectual characteristics with personality tests. The corresponding concept of personality studies, according to Allport, was the focus on individual differences in properties. They suggested a model for of personality, consisting of four groups: intelligence, temperament, self-expression and sociality. In Hamburg, Allport met the professor William Stern (1871-1938), an advocate of the personalistic psychology, where
.....read more The developed spirit: how have Binet and Piaget contributed to the study of intelligence? - Chapter 13During the late 1880s Binet studied the behaviour of his daughters. He also tried new psychological tests on them. Some tests were about reaction time and sensory discrimination. He discovered that his daughters, without developed intellect, it did about as well as adults. He did not think the measurements were good indicators of intelligence. He wanted tests that were about higher and more complex functions, such as language and abstract reason. He was not the only pioneer in testing intelligence, Piaget did this too. He discovered that children have no concept of objects as stable and permanent, and as separate from yourself and your perception. The hypothesis the result is that the intelligence of a child is not is less than that of an adult, but qualitatively different is. There are different development stages.
Alfred Binet (1857-1911) was born in France. Binet graduated in law but then went to the medical school. However, he did not like this either. He read a lot of books in the library of Paris at the age of 22. He discovered books about experimental psychology and was instantly inspired by this. In 1880, he had his first scientific publication. He also became enthusiastic about the association psychology of John Stuart Mill. According to Binet, intelligence also works through the law of association. Then Binet became Charcot's assistant, and this remained the case for over a year. He published three books and more than 20 articles on various topics.
Eventually Binet found out that he had had too much faith in Charcot's name and prestige and had not been critical enough. Binet began to do experiments with his daughters at home. He was very aware of the individuality of everyone's intelligence. Deeply impressed by the individuality of man, he decided to work with his colleague Victor Henri in 1895 to set up a program that they called individual psychology (not too confuse with Alfred Adler's approach). They were looking for a series of short tests that would take less than 2 hours and could be carried out with each person. With the help of such tests, one was able to obtain as much information as you could with years of observations and interviews.
Binet anticipated many projective tests. He was looking for a combination of several long-term tests that could serve as a replacement for the extensive case study, but unfortunately he did not find it. He had confirmed his conviction with the help of the direct testing that the higher, complex mental functions, the significant intellectual differences could be measured.
Together with Theodore Simon (1873-1961) Binet decided to develop a test with
.....read more What does cognitive psychology entail? - Chapter 14There are three issues at the heart of this chapter. First, Hobbes was busy with analysing the properties and processes that underlie human reason. Hobbes was concerned with how the mind receives and acquires knowledge. His answer led to a second point. He suggested that mathematical calculations and logical reasoning are the same. Thirdly, since the use of Indo-Arabic numbers, mathematics had become a routine process through it apply a few simple rules.
Blaise Pascal's machine (1623-1662) was the first in a series of theoretical and technological innovations to create a mechanical likeness of the human mind. The Pascaline stands known as one of the first machines specially built for artificial intelligence (AI). After the "Pascaline", Leibniz came up with a new mechanism, which he called the "stepped cylinder". This could also carry out multiplications and divisions.
Leibniz began by constructing a new universal language for philosophy, the signs of which would function in the same way as the mathematical symbols. He imagined that different words would contain a different word, and that there was a logical hierarchy. An example is: the concept of "human" is included in the concept of "animal", and the concept "animal" is back in the concept of a "living thing". When the new universal language would be complete, all concepts would be given a rating that reflects the exact degree of inclusiveness in relation to each other. People would go out with the help of the new language different languages and cultures can not only communicate with each other, but also be able to calculate solutions for the problems that divided them. However, the dream of Leibniz didn’t ever come true. Logical statements could not be reduced to arithmetic. Classic logic and traditional arithmetic was seen as an example of general symbolic logic. Leibniz also came up with the idea of binary arithmetic - the representation of all figures through of ones and zeros.
Charles Babbage (1792-1871) designed a mechanical calculator that was very accurate in generating arithmetic tables and calculate polynomial functions. This machine he called the "difference engine" because it would use the "method of difference" to calculate things. He also came up with the analytical machine (or the "programmable computer"), with which he practically could perform all kinds of calculations. The machine consisted of five main components: An input system for the data and instructions. "The mill" to be able to carry out the calculations. This part was similar to the "difference engine". A controller to receive instructions from the input
.....read more What does the applied psychology mean? - Chapter 15Hugo Munsterberg (1863-1916) was known for his articles about how psychological knowledge could be applied in daily life. He felt that scientific psychology is superior to the normal human brain and that the methods had to be used to improve the way people judge others and the world around them. Munsterberg also showed interest in the influence of emotion, suggestion and dissociation on perception. He felt that these processes had consequences for the psychology of testimony and detecting deceit. That's why he thought that psychological expertise also applied had to be in court.
Munsterberg was eventually seen as the father of applied psychology. One of the first publications of Munsterberg was a report, in which he challenged Wundt, his teacher, about the subject of "will". He felt that the concept of will was actually the experiencing of one’s internal motor process when it is in response to a stimulus. After Munsterberg permanently established himself at Harvard, his interest grew towards applied psychology. Areas where he wanted to introduce applied psychology were legal testimony and individual psychotherapy. In the period in which psychotherapists assigned themselves the task to heal the mind, Munsterberg saw himself as an objective, scientific outsider. Every therapy that simply just assumed the existence of the unconscious (just like Freud had introduced), he saw as unscientific. The techniques used by Munsterberg were in stark contrast to those of psychoanalysis and were more functional in nature. In the approach that Munsterberg used, Clients were trained to forget their problems and deviant behaviors suppress. One of the interests of Munsterberg was the application of psychology in the business and industry. This approach was called psychotechnology.
To deal with the rapidly growing urbanization and industrial expansion, Frederick Winslow Taylor (1865-1915) designed a system, which he named scientific management. The purpose of this system was to increase the efficiency and productivity of the factories by applying scientific methods. One of the changes that Taylor encouraged was applying standardized tasks through careful analysis of industrial work. The emphasis was on increasing production by an increase of efficiency, or in other words: let employees do more work in a shorter time, by providing them with fast, repetitive tasks that were easier to do. Munsterberg quite like the approach that Taylor had.
Lillian Moller Gilbreth (1878-1972) and her husband Frank Bunker Gilbreth (1868-1924) together developed the complex motion studies to identify the most efficient way to get a task done. By using a camera, which registered the necessary movements made when performing of a task, the Gilbreths analysed different types of work and activities. As a result, they identified 18 basic hand movements, which they called "therbligs". They felt that efficiency could reduce fatigue. They also thought that the motion studies were able
.....read more What does clinical psychology mean? - Chapter 16Paul Meehl, wrote a book 'Clinical Versus Statistical Prediction: A Theoretical Analysis and a Review of the Evidence, in which he emphasizes the superiority of empirical data above clinical assessment when predicting behaviour described. He was a psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapist. The 1950s are also called the Golden Century for psychoanalysis in the US. Since then, the clinical psychology began to take shape.
After World War II, there was a shortage of professionals who had mental health problems treatment, especially the trauma. Psychologists were increasingly asked for psychiatrists to fill in. Molly Harrower (1906-1999) was a psychologist with a private practice in New York. Until then, this kind of privilege had only been reserved for psychiatrists. She was probably the first psychologist with a private practice in New York. She studied the psychological effects of operations and worked with neurosurgeon Penfield. Harrower looked at reactions from patients. She was also interested in the Rorschach projective technique, also known as the ink stain test, discovered by Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922). Rorschach was interested in the effects of mental states on perception. His test consisted of a series of unstructured stimuli - symmetrical ink stains. The tester shows the ink blot and asks: what could this be? Patients may then each give an answer. Rorschach found not the content but the perceptual processes of the answers important, and how this related to mental states or neurological conditions. The tester also looks at which determinants (color, shape, texture or movement) patients used when replying. Rorschach wanted to use it for diagnostics, but criticism was that the test was not properly validated. Harrower combined her interest in the Rorschach test with her interest in the psychological effects of operations. She discovered that the answers to the test of patients with brain tumours differed from patients without tumours. Harrower made it clear that diagnosing mental disorders is only one small task of a psychologist. Psychologists must have one overall picture of someone. According to Harrower, this is the distinction between psychiatrists and psychologists.
There was therefore a need for more clinical psychologists, and because of this the National Mental Health Act passed in 1946. David Shakow was chosen to participate in the 'Committee on Training'. He was prominent in designing a standardized graduation program for clinical psychology. He was trained as a researcher, just like Harrower. He became a professor in psychiatry at the University of Illionois Medical School, and psychology professor in Chicago.
There was tension within the APA between 'pure' experimentalists and applied psychologists. Psychologists also received external opposition from psychiatrists
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