Chapter 7 - Functionalism Flashcards
1
Q
Was Herbert Spencer famous?
A
- Yes
- Darwin called him “our philosopher”
- One of the most prolific writers of the time
- Writings were included in popular magazines
- 1882: Arrived in America to great fanfare
- Was very neurotic and mentally ill
2
Q
What’s Spencer’s life story?
A
- Born in Derby, England, and tutored by his school master father and uncle
- No formal post-secondary education
- Age 17, started working for a railroad, for the next 10 years
- Became a journalist, junior editor of “The Economist”, and then a freelance writer
- Inspired by John Stuart Mill (i.e., writings of British empiricists)
- Friends with Huxley and other intellectuals
3
Q
What was Spencer’s view of evolution?
A
- Coined ‘survival of the fittest’ in 1852
- Early follower of Lamarck and Darwin
- Views on evolution:
- Saw evolution being applied to animals, human behaviour, and human societies
- Suggested our nervous system evolved (humans will act in ways conducive to survival and avoid behaviours that are not
- Through this lens, saw human perfection as inevitable
4
Q
What are the main principles of Social Darwinism?
A
- System of philosophy that brought Herbert Spencer acclaim
- Development of all aspects of the universe is evolutionary, including human character and social institutions
- In a free society, the fittest will survive
- No interference, minimal government regulation, laissez-faire economics
- People who are not fit to survive die out and the “best society” will remain
- It was mentioned repeatedly by American businessmen
5
Q
Why was social darwinism so big in America?
A
- Very compatible with American values and individualistic spirit
- Free enterprise, self-sufficiency, indepedence from government regulation, pioneer spirit, land for the taking
6
Q
What was Spencer’s synthetic philosophy?
A
- Synthetic = synthesizing/combining, not fake or artificial
- Idea that knowledge and experience ca be explained in terms of evolutionary principles (outlined in 10 books between 1860 and 1867)
- 2 volumes became “The Principles of Psychology” (this was used by William James)
7
Q
Who was the driver of the idea of mechanical evolution?
A
- Samuel Butler - an English writer, friend of Darwin
- Proposed that mechanical evolution is the struggle to create new machines and gain some competitive advantage
- A similar process to human evolution
- Evolve to become more efficient
8
Q
Who was Herman Hollerith?
A
- Engineer who invented a new way of processing information
- It was driven by necessity, so that the US census can be more efficient
- Dramatically shortened time to complete the 1890 US census
- Started the company that would later become IBM
- Example of mechanical evolution
9
Q
T/F: William James found functional psychology.
A
- FALSE
- Didn’t found functional psychology, but presented his own theories within the framework
10
Q
What’s William James’ life story?
A
- Born to a wealthy family in New York (dad second richest man in America)
- His younger brother Henry James would become a famous novelist
- His father prescribed to a fringe Christian theology
- As a child, James attended schools in numerous European countries (was sent abroad when he felt poorly)
- Enjoyed a life of travel and intellectual stimulation
- Pursued a career as an artist at 18 but wasn’t very good, so went into chemistry
- Left med school and travelled to Brazil to do some field work but didn’t like it/got sick
- Recovered in Germany, began reading philosophy, read Wundt’s work, attended Helmholtz lectures
- Returned to Harvard and got his med degree
- Continued to suffer from depression
- Actually committed himself to an asylum
- Turning point: read an essay by Charles-Bernard Renouvier on free will
- Offered a job at Harvard and started his own pedagogical psychology lab
- Never took a formal course in psychology, the 1st lecture he attended was his own
11
Q
What does neurasthenia refer to?
A
- A nerve disorder popular among the American upper classes
- Sometimes referred to as “Americanitis”
- Caused by working way too hard
12
Q
What was William James’ family life like?
A
- In 1878, married Alice Howe Gibbens, chosen by his father
- Was ‘unsettled’ after their children were born, left for venice for a year after their second child was born
- Wrote Alice telling her he fell in love with an Italian woman
- Told her she should not resent him for it
- They stayed married, but he would frequently fall in love with other women
- Alice was not impressed with his flirtatious nature, but appears to have tolerated it
- He died peacefully in her arms
13
Q
What was the ordeal concerning James’ textbook he wrote?
A
- Convinced by Henry Holt to write a textbook
- Took him 12 years to write
- Aged 48, in 1890 it was completed
- James was dissatisfied with it, disgusted by the sight of the book
- Thought it was way too long
- Wold have cut it in half if he had more time
14
Q
What were the reactions to James’ textbook?
A
- Wundt thought it was well-written but did not consider it psychology
- Titchener was also highly critical as were others trained at Leipzig
- However, most other psychologists of the day reacted favourably
- Became the dominant psychology text for several decades. Finally a good text for undergraduate students
15
Q
What did James do after he published his book?
A
- Nothing left to say about psychology
- Turned his attention toward philosophy
- Recruited Hugo Munstenberg to take over his lab at Harvard where he focused on more applied psychology to address real-world problems
- James became America’s leading philosopher
16
Q
Why was “The Principles” so important?
A
- Lays the groundwork for Functionalism in that psychology should focus on people and the environment
- Evolution can then be incorporated
- 3 reasons for James’ influence: clear and magnetic writing style; directly opposed Wundt; an alternative viewpoint of psychology
17
Q
What was William James’ view of consciousness?
A
- Thought that conscious experiences are not a collection of elements
- Simple sensations are just a convoluted inference and these individual elements cannot exist independently
18
Q
What was James’ stream of consciousness?
A
- Thought that consciousness is a continually flowing process
- Any attempts to reduce to elements will distort it
- The mind is selective, we can only pay attention to fragments of experiences at a time
- Mind selects the most relevant information (doing so allows us to make logical conclusions)
- Function is the purpose of consciousness
19
Q
What was James’ major method of psychological investigation?
A
- James acknowledged the necessity of introspection but it still has limitations
- Developed the ‘comparative method’ as a compliment. Compare functioning between groups, ages, and even animals
- Needed multiple forms of data
20
Q
What’s at the heart of functionalism?
A
- Pragmatism - the doctrine that the validity of idea is measured by their practical consequences
21
Q
What were the two types of personalities developed by William James?
A
- Tender-minded - rational, optimistic, religious, but believe in free will
- tough-minded - fact focused, pessimistic, non-religious, less inclined toward free will
22
Q
What was James’ theory of emotions?
A
- Contradicted current thinking about the nature of emotional states (ex. angry dog, we are afraid, so we run)
- Thought the arousal of the physical response precedes the appearance of the emotion
- Later leads to the “james-Lange theory of emotions”
- Ex. Angry dog, we run, then we are afraid because of the physiological response
23
Q
What was James’ three-part self?
A
- Material - everyhting unique that a person calls their own (i.e. clothes). Thought clothing was important for self-expression, had an eclectic style
- Social - recognition we get from others
- Spiritual - our inner and subjective being (i.e., everything we think and feel)
24
Q
What was James thoughts regarding habits?
A
- All creatures are a ‘bundle of habits’
- Formed and strengthened when an activity is repeated
- Influence of physiological influences
- Repetitive or habitual actions involve the nervous system (seen today)
- Serve to increase the plasticity of neural matter (behaviour changing brain structure)
- Habits have enormous social implications and they keep us within the bounds of ordinance
25
What were William James overall contributions to psychology?
- Incorporated evolution into psychology
- A departure from structuralism and Wundt
- A functional psychology that lead to other schools of psychology
- Encourage a broad range of topics.ideas
- Influenced numerous students at Harvard
- A textbook to rally behind
26
What's the life story of Mary Whiton Calkins?
- Raised in Buffalo, New York and in Massachusetts
- Graduated from Smith College in 1885
- Began teaching at Wellesley college
- Needed someone to teach experimental psychology, arranged for her to train for a year
- James agreed but Harvard's president said no (very sexist)
- James and several others convince him to allow Calkins to attend graduate classes
- Male students withdrew from classes as a result
- Also did research at Clark university under Edmund C. Sanford
- Presented findings at the first APA meeting in 1892
- Later worked under Munsterberg
27
What was the general arc of Mary Whiton Calkins career?
- Harvard refused her a PhD because she was a woman (even though it was brilliant work)
- Chose to decline marriage in order to pursue her research
- Established a psychology lab in 1891
- Published 4 books and over 100 articles
- Became the first woman president of the APA in 1905
- Retired from Wellesley in 1929, died a year later
28
Who developed the paired-associate technique?
- Mary Whiton Calkins developed it while working with Munsterberg
- Designed to study frequency and vividness of memories in the lab
1) Colours paired with numbers
2) Several pairings shown
3) Colours shown alone, participants asked for the paired numbers
- Still commonly used in memory research
29
What was the variability hypothesis?
- A widely accepted idea during the time
- The notion that men show a wider range and variation of physical/mental development than women (ex. intelligence)
- Thought this was validated through methods testing where physical strength was also a determinant of mental capacity
- The abilities of women are seen as more 'average'
- Thought that education beyond basic schooling would do 'emotional damage'
30
Who contested the variability hypothesis?
- Mary Whiton Calkins
31
What's the life story of Helen Woolley?
- Born in Chicago in 1874
- Family that valued education, all three daughters attended university
- Described as brilliant by John Dewey, who taught her at the University of Chicago
- Director of her own lab at Mount Holyoke College
- Married Paul Woolley (a physician), moved to the Philippines
- In 1908, became a director with public school system in Ohio
- Had influence on the state's labor laws (kids were working 10 hour days, 6 days a week)
- 1924, became director of the Institute of Child Welfare Research at Columbia university
- Worked for 30 years as a teacher and researcher
32
What was the main research topic of Helen Woolley?
- Her doctoral dissertation was the first experimental test of the Darwinian notion that women were biologically inferior to men
Results:
- No sex differences in emotional functioning and non-significant differences in intellectual abilities. Women were slightly superior to men in memory and sensory perception
- Attributed differences to social and environmental factors (i.e., childrearing)
33
What's the life story of Leta Hollingworth?
- Born in Nebraska in relative poverty
- Raised by her grandparents, then removed by father and stepmother
- Enrolled at the University of Nebraska
- Married Harry Hollingworth in 1908, moved with him to New York where he was hired as a psychology instructor. Leta had a hard time finding work as a married women in New York
- Able to assist her husband in his research on caffeine in Coke (the company was having major backlash for having cocaine in their product)
- Enrolled as a graduate student at Columbia, took courses from Thorndike
- After he PhD, worked as a psychologist for the civil service in New York
- Active role in the women's suffrage movement
- Died at 53 from stomach cancer
34
- What research topic did Leta report on extensively?
- Conducted extensive empirical research on the variability hypothesis
- Her data refuted the variability hypothesis and other notions of female inferiority (ex. the menstrual cycle was not related to performance deficits)
- Challenged the concept of an innate instinct for motherhood
- Also challenged the belief that women were not as intelligent as men
- Also encouraged women to have career aspirations and advocated for women's suffrage
35
Who termed "gifted" children?
- Leta Hollingworth
36
What's the life story of G. Stanley Hall?
- Born on a farm in Ashfield, Massachusetts in 1844 (demanding father)
- 1863, studied Scottish common sense philosophy at Williams College
- Afterwards, studied theology but realized he had little interest in the clergy (preached for just 10 weeks). Interest in evolution
- Then spent some time in Germany studying philosophy, and having fun
- Taught languages and philosophy at Antioch College in Ohio (also a librarian)
- Read Wundt's Principle of Physiological Psychology
- In 1876, became an instructor of English at Harvard, became friends wth James
- Conducted research in the medical school, completed the first psychology dissertation in the US
- Left again for Europe, studied under Wundt and became friends with Fechner (he did not follow Wundt's methods)
- Returned to the US and was unemployed
- Began giving lectures on teh psychology of children
- Invited by Harvard to give a series of lectures, this led to a lecturer position at Johns Hopkins University
- At 1883, he established the first formal american psychology lab
- 1887, founded the American Journal of Psychology
- 1888, became the president of the newly created Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts
37
What was Stanley Hall's time like at Clark University?
- Left for Europe to recruit for Clark (his biography suggests a lot of his time was spent doing other things)
- Goal was to mold Clark into the German model emphasizing research and teaching (a research powerhouse)
- As president, also created two new journals including the journal of applied psychology
- Instrumental in founding the American Psychological Association in 1892
- Spent 36 years at Clark and graduated 81 doctorates in the psychology department
- Known for hosting hours long and grueling graduate student seminars
- Regularly admitted women and faculty at Clark
- Also encouraged students from other ethnic groups and countries
- Cecil Sumner, first African American PhD in psychology
38
What happened for the 20th anniversary of Clark University?
- Hall became interested in Freud's work
- Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Sandor Ferenczi sailed to the US
- Freud delivered five lectures (labelled a "dirty, filthy man" by some, others were highly impressed)
- Hall stated "everything in the university centered around Freudianism"
39
Why were people either disgusted or impressed with Freud's lectures made at Clark University?
- Disgusted by the extent he was talking about sexuality at the time
- Impressed by the fact that he applied his understanding of the unconscious to understanding mental illness at the time
40
Which was one of the first American universities to present Freud as a speaker?
- Clark University in 1909
41
What were some of the other notable attendees at Clark University's 20th anniversary speaker series?
- G. Stanley Hall
- Sigmund Freud
- Carl Jung
- William James
- E. B., Titchener
42
What did G. Stanley Hall end up doing in his later years?
- Lived with bipolar disorder
- WOuld return to his farm, and roll down a hill in the nude, like he did in childhood. Said it helped his mental health - The first APA president, then served a second term near the end of his life
- Died at the age of 80
- Friendship with James ended in his later years (criticized by James as difficult, petty, and untrustworthy
43
What were the major "firsts" the Hall did as a psychologist?
- First American PhD in psychology
- First American student in the first year of the first psychology lab
- Began what is often considered to be the first psychology journal
- Was the first president of Clark University
- One of the first applied psychologists
44
What were Hall's general thoughts on evolution?
- Was fully engaged in evolutionary explanations
- Argued that evolution, not physics, should be the foundation for all of science
- Once introduced as the 'Darwin of the mind'
- Became fascinated with humans and animal development
- His goal was to apply psychology to the functioning of children
45
What was Hall's recapitulation theory?
- Children in their personal development repeat the lfe history of the human race
- Evolving from infancy to childhood to rational human being
- The "Adolescence" book became controversial because of focus on sex (people called him a madman)
- Thorndike stated his disapproval
- Started talk on this topic at Clark and wouldn't weren't allowed to attend because of the content matter
46
Who kind of started the field of adolescent psychology?
- G. Stanley Hall
- Published "Adolescence"
47
What were Hall's thoughts regarding co-education?
- Had an opposition to co-education
- Suggested that the genders have different trajectories and need to be separated (or else they will get distracted)
- Inhibition of sexual desire leads to a better society ("powerful feelings, checked and redirected, erotic energy converted to mental energy")
48
T/F: Functionalism was intentionally started.
- FALSE
- Functionalism was not started intentionally
- Began as a protest against the restrictions and limitations of Wundt's version of psychology and of Titchener's structuralism
- No single form to functionalism
49
What does functionalism place emphasis on?
- Mental functions: look at real-world problems
- How people function in, and adapt to, different environments (this eventually developed into clinical psychology)
50
In addition to James, which two other psychologists contributed to the "founding" of functionalism, often termed the "Chicago School"?
- John Dewey
- James Rowland Angell
51
What's the life story of John Dewey?
- Born in Burlington, Vermont in 1859
- Had a normal childhood
- Eventually entered graduate school at Johns Hopkins University and received his PhD in 1884
- Became a professor at the University of Minnesota, then chair at the University of Michigan
- 1894, moved to the University of Chicago where he spent 10 years
- Founded a laboratory focused on radical innovation in education
- Was very progressive in his child-rearing techniques
- Eventually moved on to Columbia University
- Described as brilliant but boring (long lectures)
52
Which psychologist let his kids call hm by his first name?
- John Dewey
53
Who promoted the idea of practical orientation? What is it?
- John Dewey
- Applying psychology to educational/philosophical problems
54
What was Dewey's Reflex arc?
- Dewey argued that neither behaviour nor conscious experience could be reduced to elements (in contrast to Wundt)
- Any unit of behaviour ends with the response to a stimulus, which is modified by the stimulus
- The reflex arc forms more of a circle than an arc
55
What's an example of the reflex arc?
- Eg. Flame & child
- Approach flame but then pull hand back
- Response has altered the child's perception
- Stimulus (flame) response (pain) are a unit
- Demonstrates why the entire experience of learning is important (i.e., can't be broken down into units)
56
What's the life story of James Rowland Angell?
- Born into an academic family in Vermont
- Studied under Dewey at the University of Michigan
- Was influenced by James's "The Principles of Psychology"
- Studied in Berlin, attending lectures by Ebbinghais and Helmholtz
- Wished to study with Wundt, but he wasn't taking students
- Never actually completed a PhD, but was still offered a faculty appointment at the University of Minnesota Would end up receiving 23 honorary degrees)
- A year later, accepted a position at the University of Chicago
- Worked there for 25 years, and then became President of Yale University
- 15th president of the APA
- Friendly and likeable person
57
What was significant about Angell's textbook "Psychology"?
- It embodied the functionalist approach
- Was very successful, with four editions in four years
- Goal of psychology: study how the mind assists the organism in adjusting to its environment, which can help improve the organism
58
What were the three major themes of the functionalist movement?
1) The psychology of mental operations (not elements, Wundt was too simplistic)
2) The psychology of the fundamental utilities of consciousness (rationale was this since consciousness has survived, it must serve a purpose)
3) The psychology of psychophysical relations (mind-body relations)
59
Who were two major contributors to the functionalist movement at Columbia?
- James McKeen Cattell: work on mental tests embodied the American functionalist spirit
- E. L. Thorndike: research on problems of animal learning reinforced the functionalist trend toward greater objectivity
60
What's the life story of Robert Woodworth?
- Born in Belchertown, Massachusetts in 1869
- Father was a minister
- Attended Amherst college
- After reading James's Principles, attended Harvard to study in the psychological lab
- Moved to Columbia to complete his PhD under Cattell
- Spent most of his career at Columbia
61
What was Woodworth's dynamic psychology?
- Concerned with the influence of causal factors and motivations on feelings and behaviour (i.e., consciousness and behaviour)
- Emphasized physiological events underlying behaviour more than the Chicago school (cause and effect relationships)
- Introduced: S-O-R (stimulus-organism-response)
62
What did Woodworth think the goal of psychology should be?
- To determine why people behave as they do.
63
What were some of the major criticisms of functionalism?
- Came mostly from those in structuralism
- Thought that any approach that deviated from introspection could not be called psychology
- Criticisms of the functional psychologists' interest in practical concerns (practical application is very important today)
- Ongoing dispute between psychology as a pure or as an applied science
64
What were some of the consequences that came from switching to a functionalist approach in psychology?
- Research on animal behaviour
- Studies of infants, children, and people with mental disabilities
- Data obtained from other methods (i.e., mental tests, questionnaires, and objective descriptions of behaviour)
- By 1930, the functional victory was complete (Wundt and Titchener died in 1920 and 1927 as well)
- BIGGEST FUNCTIONALIST CONTRIBUTION = APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY TO REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS!
