Chapter 3 Flashcards
Germany and the Birth of a New Science (23 cards)
Why was Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) recognized as the founder of the science of psychology?
- He established the first psychology research laboratory to conduct experiments at University of Leipzig in 1879.
- He trained many of the first generation of psychologists (more than 180) and wrote the most important psychological textbook of his time.
- He also founded a journal “Philosophical Studies” to publish the new experimental work coming from his lab.
What is the philosophy of Wissenchaft promoted by university of Berlin?
Promoted profs to teach what they wished and research questions of their own choosing
What are the two factors in every conscious experience, according to Wundt?
- The content of the experience - the objects or events that are present for the observer
- Apprehension - how the experiencing individual interprets the content
What is the difference between mediate experience and immediate experience?
Mediate experience is the domain of natural sciences where as immediate experience is the domain of psychology
For example, the human listener making judgments about the sounds based on how loud the sounds appeared to that individuals
What was a primary goal of Wilhelm Wundt’s psychological research?
Analyzing human experience in terms of its basic component elements and compounds.
He aimed to identify the most fundamental elements of conscious experience and understand how these elements were organized into psychical compounds or aggregates.
What is the definition of apperception in voluntaristic psychology?
An active, intentional process involving the will, where parts of consciousness gain greater focus or clarity.
It is important for bringing aspects of conscious experience to maximal clarity and is the principal process by which psychical elements and compounds are synthesized into new conscious experiences (creative synthesis).
What is introspection, or experimental self-observation?
Structured experiments in which trained observers reported their immediate experiences in response to controlled stimuli
Describe the setup of an experimental trial in Wundt’s studies of consciousness.
In an experimental trial, Wundt’s observers, typically his doctoral or postdoctoral students, were presented with a specific stimulus condition, such as a visual or tactile stimulus. Observers were instructed to be in a state of readiness and knew when the stimulus would be presented. Immediately after the stimulus presentation, they were required to report their experiences. Trials often involved manipulation of the stimulus value to observe how changes affected the observers’ self-reports. This method included training of observers, manipulation of an independent variable (the stimulus), and measurement of the outcome through self-report (the dependent variable).
What is the reaction time method or nowadays mental chronometry?
Measuring the speed of nerve conduction and subtracting out the time required for the sensory (afferent) and motor (efferent) components
What is difference between simple reaction time task and choice reaction time task?
Simple reaction time task: press a key as soon as a light was turned
Choice reaction time: press one key if the light was red and another key if the light was green; mental processing time involved in this task
What was a major manufacturer of scientific instruments during Wundt’s time?
Kohl, producing chronoscope, Stern variator, Zimmerman memory drum, etc.
What were some of Wundt’s research areas?
Processes of sensation and perception, mental chronometry
What is the tridimensional theory of feeling?
Pleasant-unpleasant, tension-relaxation, excitement-depression, placed all emotions on three separate continua
What fields were studied in Wundt’s Völkerpsychologie (cultural or ethnic psychology)?
Higher human mental processes such as religion, art, language, custom, morality, myth, and culture
Describe Hermann Ebbinghaus and his study of memory
Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) published his famous book “Studies on Memory” in 1885 and received high praise from psychologists.
He used himself as the experimenter and subject, created more than 2300 nonsense syllables, such as XAJ, CIH, or BEQ
He also tried to keep his life conditions reasonably constant to avoid confounds, such as testing himself at the same time each day and constant testing environment
What were some other areas studied by Ebbinghaus?
- Forgetting curve
- How retention is affected by relearning
- The number of repetitions affects forgetting
What were Franz Brentano’s (1838-1917) contributions to psychology?
Act psychology is a molar psychology focusing on the actions of consciousness rather than its contents, emphasizing the intentionality and purpose of conscious acts
重视意识行为而非内容的心理学，强调意识行为的目的性和有意性
He opposed the use of introspection, believing it was impossible for observers to accurately report on their own states of consciousness
What was Carl Stumpf’s (1848-1936) contributions to the field of music psychology?
Research on Tonal fusion: the common experience of hearing a single tone when two different tones were played together, reason may be the degree of consonance of the tones
Published “The Origins of Music”
What were the major contributions of Georg Elias Müller (1850-1934) to the study of memory?
- Müller extended Ebbinghaus’ memory experiments, invented the memory drum to systematize stimulus presentation in memory tasks, and pioneered the study of interference theory, including proactive and retroactive inhibition. 发明了记忆鼓来系统化记忆任务的刺激呈现，并开创了干扰理论的研究，包括前向干扰和后向干扰。
- He improved understanding by asking subjects to report strategies used in memory tasks, such as assigning meaning to meaningless stimuli or chunking syllables into meaningful units. 他通过要求被试报告在记忆任务中所使用的策略（例如，赋予无意义刺激以意义，或将音节分块以赋予意义），来了解人们在记忆时使用的各种认知策略。
What was Christine Ladd-Franklin (1847-1930)’s connection to Müller’s laboratory?
Ladd-Franklin completed her doctoral research in Müller’s laboratory, and despite initial non-recognition of her degree, she made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, logic, and theories of vision and color perception.
对女性学者的不公可以在她身上体现出来
How was Külpe’s (1862-1915) systematic experimental introspection conducted?
Observers were to experience stimuli or events, then provide a comprehensive account of the mental processes involved, post-event. This retrospective method involved breaking down tasks into meaningful components with introspective accounts after each, known as fractionation, to circumvent memory issues and systematize the introspections.
What is a mental set, and why is it important in cognitive psychology?
Mental set refers to the phenomenon where task instructions are internalized beforehand, allowing tasks to be executed automatically without conscious deliberation when triggered. This is crucial in cognitive psychology as it demonstrates that thought processes can operate automatically, without explicit direction.
心理设定是指任务指令在执行前已经被内化，使得当任务呈现时，个体无需再次思考即可自动执行任务。这一现象在认知心理学中非常重要，因为它说明思维过程可以自动化，不需显式指令。
How did the development of psychology laboratories in Germany and North America differ by the early 20th century?
By 1900, North America hosted over 40 psychology laboratories, more than any other country, including Germany. The development in North America featured a distinctive approach, emphasizing the application and dissemination of experimental psychology.
