HISTORY NOTES
MODULE 1
ANTECEDENTS TO PSYCHOLOGY
Early Philosophy
From approximately 600 to 300 BC, Greek philosophers explored a wide range of topics
relating to what we now consider psychology.
Socrates and his followers, Plato and Aristotle, wrote about such topics as pleasure, pain,
knowledge, motivation, and rationality.
They theorized about whether human traits are innate or the product of experience, which
continues to be a topic of debate in psychology today.
They also considered the origins of mental illness, with both Socrates and Plato focusing
on psychological forces as the root of such illnesses.
17th Century
René Descartes, a French mathematician and philosopher from the 1600s, theorized that
the body and mind are separate entities, a concept that came to be known as dualism.
According to dualism, the body is a physical entity with scientifically measurable
behavior, while the mind is a spiritual entity that cannot be measured because it
transcends the material world.
He believed that the being able to identify thoughts was the only way to truly know that
you existed.
Descartes believed that the two interacted only through a tiny structure at the base of the
brain called the pineal gland.
His emphasis on thought processes (cognition) influenced not only philosophy, but also
the field of psychology.
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were English philosophers from the 17th century who
disagreed with the concept of dualism.
They argued that all human experiences are physical processes occurring within the brain
and nervous system. Thus, their argument was that sensations, images, thoughts, and
feelings are all valid subjects of study.
As this view holds that the mind and body are one and the same, it later became known as
monism.
Today, most psychologists reject a rigid dualist position: many years of research indicate
that the physical and mental aspects of human experience are deeply intertwined.
Psychology Emerges as a Separate Discipline
, The first use of the term “psychology” is often attributed to the German scholastic
philosopher Rudolf Göckel, who published the Psychologia hoc est de hominis
perfectione, anima, ortu in 1590.
However, the term seems to have been used more than six decades earlier by the Croatian
humanist Marko Marulić in the title of his Latin treatise,
Psichiologia de ratione animae humanae. The term did not come into popular usage until
the German idealist philosopher Christian Wolff used it in his Psychologia empirica and
Psychologia rationalism (1732–1734). In England, the term “psychology” overtook
“mental philosophy” in the middle of the 19th century.
The late 19th century marked the start of psychology as a scientific enterprise. Psychology
as a self-conscious field of experimental study began in 1879, when German scientist
Wilhelm Wundt founded the first laboratory dedicated exclusively to psychological
research in Leipzig.
Often considered the father of psychology, Wundt was the first person to refer to himself
as a psychologist and wrote the first textbook on psychology, entitled Principles of
Physiological Psychology.
Wundt believed that the study of conscious thoughts would be the key to understanding
the mind.
His approach to the study of the mind was groundbreaking in that it was based on
systematic and rigorous observation, laying the foundation for modern psychological
experimentation.
He systematically studied topics such as attention span, reaction time, vision, emotion,
and time perception.
Wundt’s primary method of research was “introspection,” which involves training people
to concentrate and report on their conscious experiences as they react to stimuli.
Wundt's Perspective:
He perceived the subject as the study of human consciousness and sought to apply
experimental methods to studying internal mental processes.
While his use of a process known as introspection is seen as unreliable and unscientific
today, his early work in psychology helped set the stage for future experimental methods.
An estimated17,000 students attended Wundt’s psychology lectures, and hundreds more
pursued degrees in psychology and studied in his psychology lab. While his influence
dwindled as the field matured, his impact on psychology is unquestionable.
The Science of Psychology
Empirical Evidence
Refers to data being collected through direct observation or experiment.
Empirical evidence does not rely on argument or belief.
Instead, experiments and observations are carried out carefully and reported in detail so
that other investigators can repeat and attempt to verify the work.
,Objectivity
Researchers should remain totally value free when studying; they should try to remain
totally unbiased in their investigations. I.e., Researchers are not influenced by personal
feelings and experiences.
Objectivity means that all sources of bias are minimized and that personal or subjective
ideas are eliminated. The pursuit of science implies that the facts will speak for
themselves, even if they turn out to be different from what the investigator hoped.
Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and
social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence. (The Science
Council, 2009)
Control
All extraneous variables need to be controlled in order to be able to establish cause (IV)
and effect (DV).
Hypothesis testing
E.g., a statement made at the beginning of an investigation that serves as a prediction and
is derived from a theory. There are different types of hypotheses (null and alternative),
which need to be stated in a form that can be tested (i.e., operationalized, and
unambiguous).
Replication
This refers to whether a particular method and finding can be repeated with
different/same people and/or on different occasions, to see if the results are similar.
If a dramatic discovery is reported, but it cannot be replicated by other scientists it will
not be accepted.
If we get the same results over and over again under the same conditions, we can be sure
of their accuracy beyond reasonable doubt.
This gives us confidence that the results are reliable and can be used to build up a body of
knowledge or a theory: vital in establishing a scientific theory.
Predictability
We should be aiming to be able to predict future behavior from the findings of our
research.
Structuralism
Structuralism was the first school of psychology and focused on breaking down mental
processes into the most basic components.
, Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method
known as introspection.
Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of the first experimental psychology lab, is often associated
with this school of thought. However, Wundt referred to his view of psychology as
voluntarism.
A movement considered to be the first school of psychology as a science, independent of
philosophy.
Usually attributed to Wilhelm Wundt, but probably more strongly and directly influenced
by Edward Bradford Titchener, structuralism defined psychology as the study of mental
experience and sought to investigate the structure of such experience through a
systematic program of experiments based on trained introspection.
Titchener's Structuralism
Titchener's structuralism stressed three important tasks in the study of the human mind: -
1. To discover how many processes there were, identify the elements of these processes,
and explain how they work together.
2. To analyze the laws governing the connections between the elements of the mind.
3. To evaluate the connections between the mind and nervous system.
Structuralism began formally with the teachings and writings of Wilhelm Maximillian
Wundt (1832–1920) in the late nineteenth century. Historians of psychology generally
agree that Wundt founded the first psychological laboratory in 1879 in Leipzig.
Many important experiments were performed in Wundt’s laboratory: reaction time, color
mixing, afterimages, psychophysics, and word associations.
Wundt’s interpretation of the nature of psychology became the first psychological system
or framework within which one could organize the facts and theories of psychology.
At the turn of the century, many young pioneers in psychology came to study with Wundt
at the University of Leipzig—among them Hall, Cattell, and Titchener. Edward Bradford
Titchener (1862–1927) took Wundt’s psychology to the United States, where he named
the system structuralism.
He modified and enlarged Wundt’s basic tenets and headed the experimental laboratory
at Cornell University.
Both Wundt and Titchener defined psychology as the study of consciousness or
conscious experience.
This kind of knowledge was dependent on the experiencing individual as opposed to
experience independent of the individual, which was the subject matter of physics and
chemistry.
This definition focused psychology on human experience. Throughout the first three
decades of the twentieth century, structuralism was a dominant school in American
psychology. By the early 1930s, however, the system was beginning to decline in
popularity.
MODULE 1
ANTECEDENTS TO PSYCHOLOGY
Early Philosophy
From approximately 600 to 300 BC, Greek philosophers explored a wide range of topics
relating to what we now consider psychology.
Socrates and his followers, Plato and Aristotle, wrote about such topics as pleasure, pain,
knowledge, motivation, and rationality.
They theorized about whether human traits are innate or the product of experience, which
continues to be a topic of debate in psychology today.
They also considered the origins of mental illness, with both Socrates and Plato focusing
on psychological forces as the root of such illnesses.
17th Century
René Descartes, a French mathematician and philosopher from the 1600s, theorized that
the body and mind are separate entities, a concept that came to be known as dualism.
According to dualism, the body is a physical entity with scientifically measurable
behavior, while the mind is a spiritual entity that cannot be measured because it
transcends the material world.
He believed that the being able to identify thoughts was the only way to truly know that
you existed.
Descartes believed that the two interacted only through a tiny structure at the base of the
brain called the pineal gland.
His emphasis on thought processes (cognition) influenced not only philosophy, but also
the field of psychology.
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were English philosophers from the 17th century who
disagreed with the concept of dualism.
They argued that all human experiences are physical processes occurring within the brain
and nervous system. Thus, their argument was that sensations, images, thoughts, and
feelings are all valid subjects of study.
As this view holds that the mind and body are one and the same, it later became known as
monism.
Today, most psychologists reject a rigid dualist position: many years of research indicate
that the physical and mental aspects of human experience are deeply intertwined.
Psychology Emerges as a Separate Discipline
, The first use of the term “psychology” is often attributed to the German scholastic
philosopher Rudolf Göckel, who published the Psychologia hoc est de hominis
perfectione, anima, ortu in 1590.
However, the term seems to have been used more than six decades earlier by the Croatian
humanist Marko Marulić in the title of his Latin treatise,
Psichiologia de ratione animae humanae. The term did not come into popular usage until
the German idealist philosopher Christian Wolff used it in his Psychologia empirica and
Psychologia rationalism (1732–1734). In England, the term “psychology” overtook
“mental philosophy” in the middle of the 19th century.
The late 19th century marked the start of psychology as a scientific enterprise. Psychology
as a self-conscious field of experimental study began in 1879, when German scientist
Wilhelm Wundt founded the first laboratory dedicated exclusively to psychological
research in Leipzig.
Often considered the father of psychology, Wundt was the first person to refer to himself
as a psychologist and wrote the first textbook on psychology, entitled Principles of
Physiological Psychology.
Wundt believed that the study of conscious thoughts would be the key to understanding
the mind.
His approach to the study of the mind was groundbreaking in that it was based on
systematic and rigorous observation, laying the foundation for modern psychological
experimentation.
He systematically studied topics such as attention span, reaction time, vision, emotion,
and time perception.
Wundt’s primary method of research was “introspection,” which involves training people
to concentrate and report on their conscious experiences as they react to stimuli.
Wundt's Perspective:
He perceived the subject as the study of human consciousness and sought to apply
experimental methods to studying internal mental processes.
While his use of a process known as introspection is seen as unreliable and unscientific
today, his early work in psychology helped set the stage for future experimental methods.
An estimated17,000 students attended Wundt’s psychology lectures, and hundreds more
pursued degrees in psychology and studied in his psychology lab. While his influence
dwindled as the field matured, his impact on psychology is unquestionable.
The Science of Psychology
Empirical Evidence
Refers to data being collected through direct observation or experiment.
Empirical evidence does not rely on argument or belief.
Instead, experiments and observations are carried out carefully and reported in detail so
that other investigators can repeat and attempt to verify the work.
,Objectivity
Researchers should remain totally value free when studying; they should try to remain
totally unbiased in their investigations. I.e., Researchers are not influenced by personal
feelings and experiences.
Objectivity means that all sources of bias are minimized and that personal or subjective
ideas are eliminated. The pursuit of science implies that the facts will speak for
themselves, even if they turn out to be different from what the investigator hoped.
Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and
social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence. (The Science
Council, 2009)
Control
All extraneous variables need to be controlled in order to be able to establish cause (IV)
and effect (DV).
Hypothesis testing
E.g., a statement made at the beginning of an investigation that serves as a prediction and
is derived from a theory. There are different types of hypotheses (null and alternative),
which need to be stated in a form that can be tested (i.e., operationalized, and
unambiguous).
Replication
This refers to whether a particular method and finding can be repeated with
different/same people and/or on different occasions, to see if the results are similar.
If a dramatic discovery is reported, but it cannot be replicated by other scientists it will
not be accepted.
If we get the same results over and over again under the same conditions, we can be sure
of their accuracy beyond reasonable doubt.
This gives us confidence that the results are reliable and can be used to build up a body of
knowledge or a theory: vital in establishing a scientific theory.
Predictability
We should be aiming to be able to predict future behavior from the findings of our
research.
Structuralism
Structuralism was the first school of psychology and focused on breaking down mental
processes into the most basic components.
, Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method
known as introspection.
Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of the first experimental psychology lab, is often associated
with this school of thought. However, Wundt referred to his view of psychology as
voluntarism.
A movement considered to be the first school of psychology as a science, independent of
philosophy.
Usually attributed to Wilhelm Wundt, but probably more strongly and directly influenced
by Edward Bradford Titchener, structuralism defined psychology as the study of mental
experience and sought to investigate the structure of such experience through a
systematic program of experiments based on trained introspection.
Titchener's Structuralism
Titchener's structuralism stressed three important tasks in the study of the human mind: -
1. To discover how many processes there were, identify the elements of these processes,
and explain how they work together.
2. To analyze the laws governing the connections between the elements of the mind.
3. To evaluate the connections between the mind and nervous system.
Structuralism began formally with the teachings and writings of Wilhelm Maximillian
Wundt (1832–1920) in the late nineteenth century. Historians of psychology generally
agree that Wundt founded the first psychological laboratory in 1879 in Leipzig.
Many important experiments were performed in Wundt’s laboratory: reaction time, color
mixing, afterimages, psychophysics, and word associations.
Wundt’s interpretation of the nature of psychology became the first psychological system
or framework within which one could organize the facts and theories of psychology.
At the turn of the century, many young pioneers in psychology came to study with Wundt
at the University of Leipzig—among them Hall, Cattell, and Titchener. Edward Bradford
Titchener (1862–1927) took Wundt’s psychology to the United States, where he named
the system structuralism.
He modified and enlarged Wundt’s basic tenets and headed the experimental laboratory
at Cornell University.
Both Wundt and Titchener defined psychology as the study of consciousness or
conscious experience.
This kind of knowledge was dependent on the experiencing individual as opposed to
experience independent of the individual, which was the subject matter of physics and
chemistry.
This definition focused psychology on human experience. Throughout the first three
decades of the twentieth century, structuralism was a dominant school in American
psychology. By the early 1930s, however, the system was beginning to decline in
popularity.
