Chapter 4 – wilhelm wundt and the founding of psychologyMidterm ResultsWilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)Nature vs Nurture in Wundt’s LifeThe German GymnasiumEarly YearsWundt’s Academic TreeHis Early Academic CareerWundt’s Program for PsychologyOther Early ActivitiesThe First Psychology Lab (1876)Haus zum RiesenFamous Students of Wundt“Principles of Physiological Psychology”ContentsImmediate vs Mediate ExperienceIntrospectionRules for IntrospectionWundt’s Concept of MindWundt’s ResearchWundt’s Research (Cont.)The Role of SubjectsWundt as AdviserWundt as WriterCultural or Ethnic PsychologyWundt the ManWundt in PerspectiveCHAPTER 4 – WILHELM WUNDT AND THE FOUNDING OF PSYCHOLOGYDr. Nancy AlvaradoMidterm ResultsScore GradeN41-50 A 636-40 B 631-35 C 1527-30 D 60-26 F 8Top score was 48 out of 50Top score for curve was 45Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)Psychology began as an experimental science with the founding of Wilhelm Wundt’s lab in 1879.He is often identified as “the world’s first true psychologist” and the “founder of Psychology.”Wundt with his lab research assistantsApparatus used in his studies.Nature vs Nurture in Wundt’s LifeShy, reserved person who disliked meeting strangers, new experiences.From a long line of famous scientists.Daydreamer.Hard worker.Strabismus (eye trouble)No playmates or siblings, alone a lot.Demanding father.Grandpa took him lots of places.Nurturing tutor from 8-12 years old.Worked with famous people at university.The German GymnasiumA fee-charging secondary school for students age 10 and over who meet high entrance standards.Presents a rigorous curriculum to prepare students for university study – like a “prep school” in the US.Teachers typically hold doctoral degrees and devote themselves entirely to teaching.The reputation of the gymnasium depends on the how well its students do on the university entrance exams.Wundt failed gymnasium because of unbridled day-dreaming, calling it his “school of suffering.”Early YearsCompleted medical training in 3 years at the University of Heidelberg (1855).His dissertation was on the touch sensitivity of hysterical patients; he called this his first experimental work.He worked with organic chemist Bunsen to study the effects of restricted salt intake on urine composition, using himself as the subject.He decided to pursue an academic and research career after seeing publication of his work in the Journal of Practical Chemistry (1853).Wundt’s Academic TreeWilhelm WundtUniv. of HeidelbergWilhelm BunsenOrganic ChemistAssistant to Hermann von Helmholtzat HeidelbergJohn Stuart Mill, an early influenceDoctoral AdvisorPostdoctoral MentorsAlso studied with Muller & Du Bois-Reymond in Berlin (1856)His Early Academic CareerIn 1857, Wundt returned to the Univ. of Heidelberg as a lecturer in the Dept of Physiology.He taught experimental physiology and had a health breakdown.When he returned, he worked as the assistant to Helmholtz who had recently joined the university.He taught physiology to med students and developed a course in anthropology (social and cultural psychology).He wrote a book on sense perception and outlined a program for psychology that he followed in his career.Wundt’s Program for PsychologyPsychology falls between the physical & social sciencesExperimental and research methods used in the physical sciences were to be applied to psychological questions.Three main subdivisions:One branch would be an inductive experimental scienceThe second would study reflections of higher mental processes, such as language, myths, aesthetics, religion & social customs via literature & naturalistic observationThe third would integrate the social & physical sciences into a scientific metaphysics – coherent theory of the universe.Other Early ActivitiesPublished the two-volume “Lectures on the Human and Animal Mind” about cultural psychology.Resigned from the Institute of Physiology.Helmholtz did not fire him for lack of math knowledge.Was elected president of the socialistic Heidelberg Workingmen’s Educational Association.Served two 2-year terms in the Baden Parliament.Taught at Heidelberg (3 yrs), Zurich chair of inductive philosophy (1 yr) then went to Univ. of Leipzig.The First Psychology Lab (1876)Wundt was appointed to the chair of philosophy at the University of Leipzig which assigned him a room to store his equipment, which became his lab.He used a variety of equipment in his teaching demonstrations and research:Tachistoscopes, chronoscopes, electrical stimulators, pendulums, timers and sensory mapping devices.In 1879 he began experiments that were not part of his teaching – he marks this as the beginning of his lab.Colleagues questioned the legitimacy of his studies.Haus zum Riesen The “House of the Giant” building in Heidelberg where Wundt established his first laboratory in 1865 (as it appears today).However, 1879 is accepted as the year psychology first became an experimental science – in the Konvikt Building.Wundt’s later lab building in Leipzig was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1943 (during WW II).Famous Students of WundtWundt studied with Helmholtz and Bunsen, both famous.Many of Wundt’s students became prominent too:G. Stanley HallCattellKraepelinMunsterbergKulpeTitchener“Principles of Physiological Psychology”Wundt wrote this two-volume textbook to use with his courses. See: http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Wundt/Physio/Physiological psychology did not refer to the study of the physiological basis of psychology (as today) but to a psychology using experimental techniques.Wundt was self-consciously staking out a new field, so he is clearly the first person we can call a psychologist.The book was very successful, going through multiple printings and expansion to three volumes.ContentsFirst, the “bodily substrate of mental life” – brain anatomy and function, the nervous system.Obsolete now so not useful to modern students.Second, characteristics of sensations: quality, intensity, extent & duration, plus a theory of perception.Part IV – Wundt defined psychology as: “investigation of conscious processes in the modes of connection peculiar to them.”Immediate vs Mediate ExperiencePsychology’s goal is to study the psychological processes by which we experience the