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Structuralism
Chapter 5:
Titchener: Structuralism
Central task of psychology:
analysis of conscious experience
These conscious experiences are dependent on a person
Psychology is different from other sciences because its subject matter requires the presence of a human being
Other sciences – subject matter is independent of experiencing persons
Titchener: Structuralism
Structural psychology: pure science Only legitimate purpose:
to discover the facts (structure) of the mind
Applied aspects are not needed, and not scientific
Only appropriate subjects: normal adult humans
The content of conscious experience
Titchener warned against stimulus error:
Confusing our human experiences of events (mental processes) as the actual events
The content of conscious experience
““apple”apple”
Introspection: Self-observation Trained observers Used detailed, qualitative, subjective reports Of mental activities during the act of introspecting
Opposed Wundt's approach Titchener interested in elements/parts, not
“wholes” Much more mechanisitc than Wundt His observers were passive, impartial,
mechanical instruments recording stimuli
The content of conscious experience
Titchener’s experimental approach Experiment = an observation which
had Frequent repetition
Strict isolation (control)
Vary observations widely
The content of conscious experience
Examples of Some Experiments1. Reagents swallowed a tube,
- Hot water poured down, experience described by reagent- Repeated with cold water
2. Reagents wrote down descriptions of the sensations of urinating and defecating
3. Reagents made notes of sensations during sex, attached devices to measure physiological responses
The content of conscious experience
Proposed three elementary states of consciousness
Sensations: sounds, sights, smells, etc lead to perceptions
Images: ideas made from sensations, memories
Affective states emotion
Elements of consciousness
Each element could be categorized Quality:
attribute differentiating each element from the other , e.g., “cold,” “red”
Intensity: strength, weakness, loudness, or
brightness of sensation Duration:
sensation’s path over time Clearness
refers to amount of attention given to element
Elements of consciousness
Characteristics of mental elements
Discovered 44,000 basic and irreducible elements of sensation
Each is conscious
Each is distinct from all others
Each could combine with others to form perceptions and ideas
Elements of consciousness
Elements of consciousness
Defined three essential problems for psychology
1. Reduce conscious processes to simplest components (the bulk of his work)
2. Determine laws by which elements associated
3. Connect the elements with their physiological conditions
Same aims as natural sciences
Stopped talking about elements, and became more interested in the dimensions you could use to categorize elements (quality, etc.)
Considered changing name of movement (and method of collecting data) to “existential psychology,” which would emphasize experience as it occurs, without analysis or breaking it down to elements
Died before any real changes were made to his system
Later in his Career…
Criticisms of structuralism
Methodology: Introspection
Had been attacked for a century or more Kant, Comte, Maudsley
Titchener could not give an exact definition of what introspection meant
Freud proposes the unconscious, which said that part of our mind cannot be consciously experienced, and greatly affects our behavior
Sterility / artificiality of lab experiments New specialties did not fit with Titchener’s
definition of psychology (child psychology, animal psychology)
Contributions of structuralism
Subject matter clearly defined Research methods: good science Introspection remains a viable
method Impact on cognitive psychology Strong base against which others
could rebel
Precursors to Functionalism
Chapter 6:
Movement from acceptance of biblical creation story to curiosity about …
Many new species discovered: how could they all fit in Noah's ark?
Chimpanzees and orangutans available for viewing
Skeleton of gorilla and human strikingly similar
Fossils and bones of extinct species found
Constant change in everyday life; “Change was the order of the day”
Growing domination of science; industrial revolution
Darwin’s life
HMS Beagle journey: 1831-1836 Worked on his theory of evolution for 22
years Problems with physical health caused by
anxiety Alfred Russel Wallace: wrote Darwin about
a theory of evolution similar to Darwin’s that Wallace developed in 3 days
Darwin’s ethical dilemma
Darwin’s life
HMS Beagle journey: 1831-1836 Worked on his theory of evolution for 22
years Problems with physical health caused by
anxiety Alfred Russel Wallace: wrote Darwin about
a theory of evolution similar to Darwin’s that Wallace developed in 3 days
Darwin’s ethical dilemma
Darwin took friends’ suggestion to have Wallace’s paper and portion of his forthcoming book presented at scientific meeting on same day that Darwin’s son was buried
Darwin overwhelmed with new physical illness
Wallace not bitter over Darwin’s fame; Instead was happy to have brushed fame and content to have unconsciously spurred Darwin to complete his book
Darwin’s life
Not clever, limited ability to follow abstract thought
Poor critic: admired work upon 1st reading; only after reflection perceived deficits
Memory “extensive, yet hazy” Careful, astute, industrious observer and
collector of facts Love of natural science Motivation to explain the observed, and to group
facts under general laws Hypothesis generation: free mind open to
modification Ample leisure; no need to earn income
What Darwin said about himself…
Darwin’s other work 1871: the descent of man
Evidence for human evolution from lower forms of life
Emphasized similarity between animal and human processes
1872: the expression of the emotions in man and animals
Expressions descended from behaviors that originally had a practical function
1877: “A biographical sketch of an infant”; Based on his son’s developmental stages
Darwin’s life
The Theory of Evolution
There is variation among members of a species This variability is inheritable Each member of a species participates in a
struggle for survival Only the fittest survive Natural selection: process that leads to survival
of organisms which adapt to the environment; those that can not adapt die
Generalized from Lamarck's and Malthus’ observations and principles to form his ideas
Recent Data
The finches’ beaks: evolution at work Finches’ evolution occurred quicker than Darwin
predicted Severe drought: food supply = large, “tough spiky
seeds” Only the 15% of finches with thickest beak could open
seeds; many with slender beaks couldn’t and died Thicker beaks = tool for adaptation Offspring inherited that characteristic; 4-5% thicker
beaks Adaptation in one generation Rain and floods: large seeds swept away; Only small
ones left Same cycle but reverse outcome as above: slender
beaks a survival advantage Only the most fit in a given environment lived
Evolution as a challenge to religion
Theory thought to negate Christian God
Laws about teaching evolution in schools
1972, Tenn minister Darwin’s theory “breeds corruption, lust,
immorality, greed, and such acts of criminal depravity as drug addiction, war, and atrocious acts of genocide”
The white supremacy argument
Protests to Evolution
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Social Darwinism: application of the theory of evolution to human nature and society
Coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” all aspects of universe “evolved,” including
human traits and social institutions Promoted individualism and a laissez-faire
economic system; opposed government interference
Individuals and institutions that fail to adapt should be allowed to perish
Utopian view: human perfection inevitable if nothing interferes with the natural order
Myth of male superiority
Derivative of variability hypothesis based on Darwinian ideas
Hypothesis: “the notion that men show a wider range and variation of physical and mental development than women; The abilities of women are seen as more average.”
Therefore, it was argued, women Less likely to benefit from education Less likely to achieve intellectually Had less evolved brains than men Showed a smaller range of talents than men
Led to common acceptance of inequality between sexes
Darwin’s influence on psychology
Hypothesis: continuity in mental functioning between humans and lower animals
Implied that study animal behavior vital to understanding human behavior
Goal of psychology became how organism functioned in adapting
Methods and techniques were broadened in scope
Increased focus on individual differences and their measurement
Animal psychology and the development of functionalism
Before Darwin: animals considered automata After Darwin: the expression of the emotions
in man and animals Continuity between humans and animals Search for evidence of intelligence in
animals Human emotional behavior: inheritance of
behavior once useful to animals
Individual differences: Francis Galton (1822-1911)
Individual differences The topic was considered
inappropriate for psychology by Wundt and Titchener
Had been examined by Weber, Fechner, Helmhotz
Galton’s life Estimated IQ = 200 Diverse, novel ideas and inventions Youngest of 9 children Wealthy family Pressured by father to study medicine; Didn’t like it Entered Cambridge university to study mathematics Traveled extensively; Wrote popular book, the art of
travel Cousin Charles Darwin published on the origin of
species: Galton fascinated by theory of evolution, which guided his subsequent work
Mental inheritance 1869: hereditary genius
Eminent men have eminent sons Specific forms of genius inherited Founded eugenics: improve inherited
human traits through artificial selection Applied statistical concepts to heredity
problems Eminence not a function of opportunity
Statistical methods Quetelet: first to apply statistical
methods and normal curve to biological and social data
Galton Assumed similar results true of mental
characteristics Developed mean and standard deviation Produced correlation measure
Modern derivatives: methods for validity, reliability, factor analysis
Pearson’s r: for Galton’s discovery of regression toward the mean
Mental tests Originated by Galton, but term from Cattell Assumed: intelligence can be measured in terms of
sensory capacities Developed his own instruments His tests were prototypes for standard psychology lab
equipment 1884: established anthropometric laboratory
Aim: the definition of the range of human capacities of the entire British population
To determine its collective mental resources His data
Statistically reliable (1985) Provided information on developmental trends