Exam 16: Experimental Psychology: A Historical Sketch

Discuss the lasting impact of behaviorism on the field of experimental psychology. Include in your answer at least two ways in which this influence can still be seen.

The U.S. Congress declared the 1990s the decade of the brain.

The American Psychological Association (APA) consists of only a few divisions which cover the basic general areas of study.

Compare the approach to experimental psychology advocated by the structuralists to that of the behaviorists. In what ways were they similar? In what ways were they different?

Which of the following schools rivaled the structuralist school?

In psychological study, mental constructs are tied closely to observable responses.

Describe introspection. What are its strengths and weaknesses? Describe how introspection compares with today's methods for studying cognitive processes.

Early experiments on the speed of neural transmission demonstrated that

Briefly describe the contributions of two important persons to early scientific psychology.

The structuralist school of psychology attempted to understand

Which of the following psychologists was a behaviorist?

Helmholtz found that the reaction-times of a participant varied very little on different trials.

Ebbinghaus was the founder of phrenology.

In his reaction?time experiments, Helmholtz found __________ in reaction-time in __________.

List the four main schools of psychology from 1890 to 1940. For each school, state the subject matter, research methods, and two prominent names associated with the school.

The writings of Descartes

Of the early psychologists, who do you think made the biggest contributions? Why?

Which of the following schools relied predominantly on the method of introspection?

Weber found that the ratio of the amount of difference necessary to produce a jnd to the standard was a constant.

Helmholtz measured the speed of neural impulses by using overt reaction time.