Aspects of the History of Psychology - Assignment Example

History of Psychology Dec 14th, 09 History of Psychology This paper reviews many different aspects of the history of psychology. It reviews introspection and its use in Wundt's studies and its inappropriate linkage with structuralism. Evolutionary theory and its relationship to comparative psychology. It also compares Freud and his theories with those of Wundt and James. Finally it reviews the Gestalt theory and takes a look at three of its largest contributors. Answer to Question 1: Wundt's Psychological Methods and Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt occupies an institutional importance in psychology. His contributions were diverse and generally involved studying consciousness through experimental means. Thus hailed the father of experimental psychology. Wundt's major interests lied in discovering the components of consciousness, how these components interacted to form an experience and elaborating the resultant experience in observable terms. Such pursuits led him to conclude that consciousness was not simply a static state of mind composed of several elements, but a functional component causing much activity of the mind. This he referred to as the principle of actuality and asserted, was the core matter to understanding psychology (3). Wundt's protocol was experimental and defined psychological experiences through physiological reactions. He endorsed the idea of psychophysical parallelism that every physical event was produced as a result of mental activity and in turn every mental could be expressed by physical response produced. And so it was possible to import experiments of the natural sciences for measuring the function of consciousness. He therefore, introduced his very popular method of experimental introspection or self observation (4, 6). However it was possible to observe and measure elemental interactions of consciousness through physiological approaches, it could by no means describe consciousness. Wundt identified that conscious experience was formed through complex association of sensations feelings and emotions which culminated in generating a large working memory called the perception field. The perception field stored all the experience of an individual. The intensity with which they were felt was determined by what an individual decided to focus on or attended to. The process of selective attention was what Wundt termed apperception that is the consciousness the individual is aware of (3). In essence then Wundt's' psychology emphasized on the contribution of an individuals will to selectively decide and chose. The mind was also capable of creative synthesis, that is the consciousness had the capacity to rearrange the elements attended and generate entirely novel experiences. Wundt called this system of psychology Voluntarism. Voluntaristic psychology considered mind to be subjected under voluntary control and therefore apperception emerges as a key factor in the normal functioning of mind, often found missing in disorganized mental states (1). Sensations alone however do not derive consciousness. Several cultural specific factors such as language, morality, history contribute as well. These factors fall beyond the scope of experimental scrutiny and so therefore Wundt maintains that psychology is not entirely dependent on natural sciences (4). For long Wundt's studies on consciousness and its elements were conceived to be a contribution to the structuralism school of thought. Albeit similar in some respect, Wundt's research deviated more than it correlated to structuralism (3). On the surface the approach of Wundt and the main stream structuralism psychologist Titchener were similar. Both undertook experimental introspection as a means to decipher consciousness (4). But while Titchener studies lasted only to the understanding of the elements as fragments of consciousness. Wundt's stretched further and explained the elemental interactions in the normal functioning of mind (4) Neither was Wundt's introspection rigorous about the responses it recorded. It was more interested in the cause and effect with simple observations compared to introspection in structuralism which called for a vivid description of every sensation felt (4). Voluntary control of the mind was an important aspect of Wundt's psychology and asserted that mind was an active component. Unlike Wundt structuralism had virtually no room for the willful actions of the mind and so selective attention was rejected and had no account for apperception either (4). Answer to Question 2: Comparative Psychology Comparative psychology uses lower animals such as dogs, cats, primates, or mice to help shed light on complex human emotions and help better understand human psychology. The rationale for doing this originates from the idea that humans are merely extremely evolved animals. Since much of our genetic background can be compared to a variety of animals, the ape being most commonly used in this respect, studying them could give insight into us (2). Besides this, animals are thought to be of a simpler mind than humans and, therefore, can be easily controlled within a testing environment.Their motivation and attitudes can be more easily predicted and manipulated to fit the experiment. It is also easier to determine whether or not the results of any experiment can be related to a deep, underlying psychological thought patter or a simple instinctive urge. Not to mention the fact that it is currently far easier to test with animals (4). Most studies in comparative psychology revolve around cognitive abilities or social interactions with other animals or with humans. These types of studies often revolve around determining whether or not certain animals are able to solve problems using the same types of reasoning a human would use. This is often tested with various memory or puzzle solving experiments. They might also show if the animal is able to show human-like emotions. An example would be the ability to share the perspectives of others, social cooperation, or showing various signs of empathy towards other humans in general (2). Answer to Question 3: Comparison on Freud's Consciousness with Wundt's and William James The main differences between Sigmund Freud verses either Wilhelm Wundt or William James lied in the object of their field of study and also the methodology adopted in order to conduct their studies. Freud was mainly interested in the unconscious mind as well as the thoughts the unconscious mind might hold (5). Freud heavily theorized that the unconscious mind was able to control the conscious mind without that person being aware of such control and, in effect, makes the person do something they didn't mean to. His studies generally pertained to abnormal states of mind. Wundt, on the other hand, was much more concerned about the conscious mind. He used the experimental method to subject his test subjects to various stimuli and then recording its effect on the conscious mind. In his opinion, no one could describe an experience better than the one experiencing it. As regards the methodology chosen by Wundt, it is obviously experimental. Freud on the other hand introduced the psychoanalysis method by which he made observations and analyzed them through clinical cases obtained from conversations with the patients (4). While advocating the method of psychoanalysis Freud undertook a reductionist approach, Wundt was largely anti- reductionist and claimed that psychology was not entirely derived from natural sciences (4) William James, much like Wundt and unlike Freud, also concentrated on the conscious mind. Also unlike Freud, James followed the method of introspection by evaluating the way the conscious mind reacted to stimuli. James tried to discover the production of meaningful behaviors and thus approached conscious behavior through functionalism within the conscious mind in order to understand how we measure reality. Reality, he asserts, is created around the interests of the subject and so behavior was dictated by consciousness. Freud, on the other hand, would most likely argue it was buried deep within the unconscious and would, therefore, be unattainable by the conscious mind (5). Also while Wundt and James continued to believe the interaction of external environment's influence on the consciousness and therefore psychology Freud dismissed any such stance and maintained psychological states come from within one's unconsciousness (5). Answer to Question 4: Gestalt Perspective on Consciousness Gestalt psychology formed around the structuralism of Wilhelm Wundt and focused on how people interpreted the world. According to Gestalt psychology, the whole of something is greater, or at least different, than the sum of its parts. This means that when several parts are put together they are no longer seen by the human mind as a set of parts, but instead the whole item that it now represents. Based upon this thinking psychologists developed a set of principles to explain different ways the human mind perceives organization even though there might not be any (4) Such laws include: the Law of Similarity which states that items that are similar tend to be grouped together; the Law of Pragnanz which states that reality is reduced to the simplest form possible; the Law of Proximity which states that objects near each other tend to appear as though they are grouped; the Law of Continuity which states that lines are seen as following the smoothest path; and the Law of Closure which states that objects grouped together are seen as a whole (4). The three main contributors to Gestalt psychology are Wolfgang Kohler, Max Wertheimer, and Kurt Koffka. Even though they were working alone, they all came up with the same conclusion: there was something missing in German psychology. They all believed that items were viewed differently when viewed as a whole verses being viewed as a separate entity. While one was important, so was the other. Not studying this other view would prevent us from gaining important insight on human behavior and cognition (1). Conclusion By far consciousness was advocated to explain the functionality of the mind and behavior through careful measurements by experimental means such as the use of introspection. Where as a contrasting explanation was sought through psychoanalysis where unconsciousness was held responsible for the behaviors and motivation experienced by an individual. So conclusively, the evolution of psychology was made possible through contributions of several psychologists foremost among them Wilhelm Wundt, Sigmund Freud and William James. Alongside these pioneers were also the Gestalt psychologists and the contributions by psychologists for the development of comparative psychology. Bibliography 1. Benjamin, L.T. (2007) A Brief History of Modersn Psychology. Malden MA, U.S: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2. Eysenck, M.W.(2004) Psychology: An International Perspective. New York NY, U.S: Psychology Press Ltd. 3. Hergenhahn,B.R, B.R. (2009).An Introduction to the History of Psychology. Belmont, U.S: Wadsworth. 4. Leahey, T. (2004). A History of Psychology: Main currents in psychological thought. (6th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. 5. Weiten,W. (2007) Psychology: Themes and Variations. Belmont, U.S: Wadsworth. 6. (2006, June 16). Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt. Retrieved December 11, 2009, from: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wilhelm-wundt/ Read More