WEEK 4 BIZ CH 10 PSYCHOPHYSICS & QUIZ CH 12: FUNCTIONALISM

TODAY IS MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2009

Next Week marks the FINAL WEEK OF CLASS. I am as surprises as you are how quick the passage of time. But, that's the way Summer Goes--FAST! CH 10 BIZ & CH 12 QUIZ will highlight this most current BLOG post.

Throughout the last few weeks, I have told most of you the quality of you essays are superior. So keep up the good work as we head into the next to last week of class.

CH 10 BIZ: PSYCHOPHYSICS

As we discussed in class today, monday, June 29, 2009 "psychophysics" describes the progression of "philosophical psychology" into a more quantative (measurable) frame of reference in the first and last decades of the 19th century, say 1800s to 1879 with the formal founding of the first psychology lab at the University of Leipzig by Professor Wilhelm Wundt.

In the early days of experimental psychology, measurement of subjective impressions from physical stimuli by thresholds marked "psychophysics". Measurement across the continuum of lower and upper ranges of perception anticipated behaviorism in North America in the 1920s.

BIZ ESSAYS FOR CH 10 DUE: Friday, July 3rd at noon.

(As this is the July 4th weekend, it is probably a good idea to get a quick start on both BIZ & QUIZ for this week and target perhaps wednesday or thursday as days to finish this week's assignments.)

1. Choose ONE of the following theorists--Weber, Fechner, or von Helmholtz and summarize the main theoretical views.

2. Discuss in some detail what made Wundt such an icon in the early days of psychology? What else did he do bysides founding the first scientific laboratory? Why was his lab such a big accomplishment?

3. Compare Wundt to our earlier discussion of Freud. Who's star shines brighter today and why?

4. If experimental labs and brain scans were somehow suddenly removed from modern neuropsychology, what would be worth keeping from the days of "psychophysics"? Anything?


CH 12 QUIZ: FUNCTIONALISM: ADAPTIVE & INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY

Due Sunday, July 5th by noon or soooner

1. According to class discussion on Monday, June 29, 2009 is Jamesian Psychology more psychology or more philosophy? What is functionalism really?

2. Name three of the most vital tenents of Jamesian ideology from the following: individualism, multiple levels of analysis, pluralism, free will, pragmatism, or radical empiricism?

3. Summarize Jamesian legacy (from page 278).

4. Discuss the defining theoretical points of your ONE choice between Hugo Munsterberg, G. Stanley Hall, or Mary Calkin's and their contributions to 19th century psychology.

5. Evaluate in a short paragraph the contributions of functionalism in the early days of psychology. Where would psychology be without attention to individual expereinces and perception?