Introducing Psychology $ INFLUENTIAL FIGURES IN THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY The formal study of Psychology dates from the late 1880s. The first proper Psychologists were Wilhelm Wundt, William James and Herman Ebbinghaus. However, Psychology actually has its roots in Philosophy. The history of Psychology could, therefore, really be said to begin in the early 17th Century with the Philosopher Rene Descartes. The following is a description, in more or less chronological order, of the significant figures in Psychology through the years. There is a list of names at the beginning and your task is to match the name with the numbered description. At the end of the handout is a further list of names and you are asked to find photographs of some famous psychologists. All information can be found in Myers, Atkinson, Hayes, Gross (good for photos) and the various other books in the department. Have fun! NAMES TO MATCH WITH THE DESCRIPTIONS A. Broadbent B. Darwin C. Descartes D. Ebbinghaus E. Freud F. James G. Piaget H. Rogers I. Skinner J. Watson K. Wundt (1) Early philosopher (d. 1650) who was responsible for the notion of Cartesian Dualism (the idea that the mind and body are separate and independent of each other). He thought that the body is essentially a complex machine and the mind is the seat of the soul. The mind, being independent, is not affected by what happens to the body. This was an important idea and formed the basis of Western thinking for centuries - it is only relatively recently that the notion of an interlinked mind and body has been entertained. A great deal of recent research suggests that the mind and body are anything but separate: for example, the strong link between stress (mind) and illness (body) is now fairly well established. Nevertheless, Cartesian philosophy has been influential in Psychology - the debate surrounding the mind/body problem is still alive today. In addition, Cartesian ideas about the distinction between humans and animals has been very influential: the notion is that animals operate on instinct (mechanistic) whereas humans have the capacity to reason. This makes humans special, according to Cartesian notions. The famous phrase Cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am) emphasises this ability of humans to reason. Do some Psychologists (and other scientists) still make this distinction between humans and animals and therefore treat them differently? Do you? The influence of this man on the beginnings of Psychology cannot be ignored - though the emergence of Psychology as a separate discipline can usually be dated from the next significant figure.
(2) This early Psychologist would claim that Psychology is the study of how the mind works. The difference between Psychologists and early Philosophers was that the Psychologists attempted to investigate how the mind works by devising investigations under controlled conditions in a laboratory. Philosophers tend not to do this! In 1879, this Psychologist opened the first Psychological laboratory in Leipzig, to investigate a range of problems - the major interest being the study of consciousness. He had the aim of making experimental Psychology into an independent discipline to mark out a new domain of science (1874). He embraced the notion about a separate mind and body and studied mental experiences, independent of physical functions, in their own right. Observations of mental experiences were collected through introspection (thinking about thoughts and feelings and reporting them), in controlled - laboratory - conditions for the first time. The next influential figure used similarly controlled conditions to investigate a major cognitive process: memory. (3) In 1885, this man produced a monograph on the working of human memory. One of the most important aspects of this man s contribution to Psychology was the way he carried out his research. He used extremely methodical, detailed techniques to collect his data, controlling as many aspects of the environment in which he carried out his research as he possibly could. He used himself and a research assistant as subjects and developed systematic methods for learning the experimental materials. Many of the discoveries made by this man are still regarded as valid today, mainly because his methods were so thorough. For example, he identified four different forms of remembering and two effects in memory that are still investigated today. He firmly established the use of scientific methodology in Psychology. The next influential figure continued this tradition and extended it to include not only memory and emotion, but the acquisition of skills and experience of the infant. (4) This American Psychologist also investigated mental experience through introspection. His book, Principles of Psychology (1890) developed ideas and theories very similar to some that are in use more than 100 years later. For example, he studied attention and claimed that we can only really attend to one thing at a time, unless we are doing tasks which are habitual. This notion is still advocated by some Psychologists today. He also claimed that we have more than one kind of memory - one for items held for a short space of time, another for longer lasting memories. This distinction became widely accepted in memory research for the next 90 years. He did not only have ideas about memory and attention, he also developed a theory of emotion, claiming that emotions occur as a result of us perceiving changes in our body - he claimed We do not weep because we feel sorrow, we feel sorrow because we weep (1890). Another favourite quote from this man concerns his ideas about how infants perceive the world. He claimed that the infant s perceptual world is a blooming, buzzing confusion. In other words, he claimed that infants have to learn to perceive. This
introduces one of the major debates in Psychology, between the idea that behavioural capabilities are inborn (nature) and the idea that they are learnt (nurture). The next influential figure introduced biology into Psychology, suggesting that if we really want to understand humans then we should really look to animals for clues. (5) The influence of the previous figures on Psychological study was important, but so was the influence of biology - in particular the impact of evolutionary theory on Psychology was profound. This man s theory suggested a degree of continuity between humans and other animals making it possible to investigate fundamental processes, such as learning, in other species and generalise this knowledge back to humans. This meant that some Psychologists chose to study animals, such as rats, pigeons and apes, because they expected important aspects of human behaviour to be present in a simpler form in other species. This man s early observations of animal behaviour and infant development gave important insights into the similarities between species. Another important outcome of evolutionary theory came from its emphasis on the functional aspects of behaviour - the idea that behaviour evolves because it serves some kind of function that helps the animal to survive. This assumption that all behaviour serves some function rather than just being an interesting curiosity is very deep rooted in Psychology. This notion that it is worthwhile to study other species and refer back to humans was developed by a particular school of Psychology known as behaviourism. This school of Psychology reacted against the introspectionist methods used by previous Psychologists, arguing that objectivity should be the aim and that all we can directly observe is behaviour. The next influential figure was one of the earliest to use other animals to discover more about human behaviour and began behaviourist ideas. (6) This man published a paper called Psychology from the standpoint of a behaviourist (1913) which emphasised the importance of a scientific approach to Psychology. He considered introspection to be too vague and claimed that if objectivity is the aim then all that can be directly observed is behaviour. He looked for the basic units that would go together to make up behaviour, in just the same way as physicists searched for atoms and biologists searched for cells. He considered that these basic units could be found in the form of simple associations between stimuli in the external environment and responses made by the animal. So, he argued that eventually we would be able to explain all behaviour in terms of learned associations. He claimed that Psychology should be the study of how such learning takes place. To find out how this learning takes place, he considered that using animals was valid because in evolutionary terms, we all come from the same stock. Therefore, the basic mechanisms underlying all species behaviour may be the same. These ideas were extended by the next influential figure in Psychology. (7) This Psychologist focused on a method of learning he called operant conditioning. He suggested that learning took place not only through associations between stimuli but also if the animal is rewarded in some way for what it does. The great influence of his
theory was that he showed how even novel forms of behaviour could be explained using behaviourist principles and consequently his ideas strengthened the behaviourist school of thought and enhanced its influence on Psychology. His theories are even applied in clinical settings today and influence many practising Psychologists. The same can also be said of the next influential figure, whose ideas were the antithesis of behaviourism, emphasising the importance of the unconscious at the expense of observable behaviour. (8) This man was born in Czechoslovakia, but lived most of his life in Vienna, until pressure from anti-semitic factions forced his move to Britain in the late 1930s. His ideas were very different from behaviourist principles, stressing the importance of the unconscious mind in motivating behaviour. His psychoanalytic theory was revolutionary in its time and still maintains its influence on some Psychologists today. He emphasised the analysis of Psychological problems, seeing the human being in terms of inner conflicts and anxieties. He did not collect experimental evidence for his claims, but relied on interpretations of what people said, did, thought and felt. His work began a whole new area of Psychological study and understanding, influencing many subsequent theorists. His theories included accounts of how children s personalities develop. Another important theory from a European researcher concerned with the development of the child, but very different from psychoanalytical theory, was proposed by the next influential figure. (9) This theorist was a Swiss Biologist who was interested in the development of different forms of knowledge. He was interested in how human thinking develops and how it might have evolved. His theories were rooted in evolutionary theory and in early cognitive notions. He proposed a major theory about how a child s mind develops - this theory dominated child Psychology for years and still remains influential today. He described and explained the development of knowledge and skills in a child based on observation and experimentation with his own and other children over many years. His theories shifted the emphasis away from the emotional aspects of development, stressed by psychoanalytical theories, towards the development of language, thought and the acquisition of knowledge and skills in children. His methodology turned back towards the scientific and away from the introspective. This approach, with its emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge, was taken further by theorists during the 1960s, interested in new work on computers and communication technology. The next influential figure was one of the first to embrace this new technology. (10) Working on defence technology during World War II, this theorist realised that many aspects of cognition had been ignored - for example, what influences sustained attention? How long could a pilot maintain vigilance without making mistakes? How could important pieces of information be brought to the attention of air traffic controllers? This so-called information processing approach (i.e. interest in how humans process the
information they are faced with) became very popular during the 1950s and 1960s and this Psychologist s theories typify the approach. His early model of attention, based on experimental methodology, was inadequate, but gave impetus to many studies of information processing and helped the study of Psychology to shift further away from introspection and further towards the scientific study of behaviour. However, many Psychologists were aware of the limitations of this method, being based almost entirely on rigorous laboratory investigations, often far removed from real life situations. The final influential theorist covered here rejected all such methodology, attempting to move away from attempts to develop general laws to explain behaviour and moving towards ideas of humans as unique individuals. (11) This Psychologist was one of the founders of a new school of thought - humanistic Psychology - in the USA in the 1960s. He considered behaviourist ideas were inadequate to explain human experience. He emphasised the importance of the self and of personal growth - of getting in touch with feelings and in seeing each person as a unique individual with specific needs. He developed his theory from his encounters with clients who came to him for therapy. He did not use experimentation, just observation, self report and interpretation. He developed a whole new style of therapy based on client-centred therapy rather than therapist-directed treatments. The humanistic movement represents rejection of scientific methodology in Psychology and an emphasis on the whole person. This gives some idea of just a few of the major theorists through the ages who have influenced the development of Psychology. There are many more theorists and many more theories for you to learn about! JUST FOR FUN: SEE IF YOU CAN FIND PHOTOS OF THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE IN ONE OF THE PSYCHOLOGY TEXT BOOKS:- Piaget Freud Skinner Fromm Vygotsky Erikson Pavlov Lorenz Mischel