Contribution of E.B. Titchener in Structuralism

This presentation gives you an insight about the contribution of E.B. Titchener in the field of psychology

1. STRUCTURALISM -E. B. Titchener Made By SIMRAT

2. E. B. Titchener Introduction Life His Work Contributions State of Conscious Experience Stimulus Error Introspection Elements of Consciousness Organizing the elements of Conscious Experience Criticism References Index

3. Introduction Did refinement of the system given by the mentor Wundt Also worked on the topic of ATTENTION Gave the term STRUCTURALISM in the US in a proper called “ The Postulates of a Structural Psychology ” Changes done by Titchener when brought Structuralism from Germany to America Titchener’s aim was to analyse consciousness into its component parts and thus determine its structure. Experimental Psychology has the following aim:- To analyze the structure of the mind To ravel out the elemental processes from the tangle of consciousness To isolate the constituents in the given conscious formation

4. Tichener focused on mental elements or contents and their mechanical linking through the process of ASSOCIATION (discarded Wundt’s doctrine of Appreception ) Titchener’s fundamental task was to discover the nature of the elementary conscious experience Titchener also listed three problems for psychology that were very similar to Wundt The Aim of the Psychchologist is three-fold:-- To analyze concrete (actual) mental experience into its simplest components. To discover how these elements combine, what are the laws which govern their combination. To bring them into connection with their physiological (bodily) conditions.

5. Born in England 2. Attended at Oxford U. a. philosophy and the classics b. research assistant in physiology c. interested in Wundt’s psychology 3 . 1892, studied with Wundt and earned PhD at Leipzig 4 . Back to Oxford U. and wished to become the English pioneer of Wundt’s psychology. Life

6. 5 . However, his colleagues were skeptical of scientific approach to philosophical issues. Thus, he left England to Cornell U. 6 . Cornell University (1893-1927) a. 1893-1900 established lab, did research, and wrote articles. b. supervised more than 50 doctoral candidates c. directed students’ research topics d. built his system of structuralism e. translated Wundt’s books such as Principles of Physiological Psychology

7. 1. His books a. 1896: An Outline of Psychology b. 1898: Primer of Psychology c. 1901-1905: Experimental Psychology: A Manual of Lab Practice 1) stimulated growth of lab work in US 2) influenced a generation of experimental psychology 3) popular text, translated in to 5 languages 2. 1904: Titchener Experimentalists organized; men only. His Work

8. 3. Accepted women in psychology graduate programs a. one-third of his doctoral students were women b. Margaret F. Washburn 1) first woman Ph.D in psychology 2) wrote important book on comparative psychology ( The Animal Mind , 1908) 3) first woman psychologist elected to National Academy of Sciences 4) president of the APA

9. Contributions CONTENT OF CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCE The subject matter of psychology is conscious experience as that experience is dependent on the person who is actually experiencing it. For example:-- Light and sound can be studies by physicists and by psychologists. Physicists examine the phenomena from the standpoint of the physical process involved Psychologists consider the light and sound in terms of how humans observe and experience these phenomena. Conscious Experience was the only proper focus for psychological reason( Think of a room with temperature of 45 degree celsius )

10. Consciousness was defined as the sum total of a person’s experiences as they are at any given time. Mind was regarded as the sum total of a person’s experiences considered as dependent on the person, summed from birth to death.(Ideas, Feelings, Impulses ,etc ) Structural psychology to Titchener was a pure science. Psychology should not be concerned with applying psychological knowledge. Psychology was not in the business of curing sick minds or reforming society. Psychology’s only legitimate purpose was to discover the facts of structure of mind.

11. STIMULUS ERROR It is related to the distinction between physics and psychology. Definition--It means the error of paying attention to and reporting the known properties of the stimulus rather than sensory experience itself. The most obvious error made by untrained introspectors . This kind of information is beneficial and necessary for everyday life but of no use to the field of psychology. For example:-- Observers who see an apple and describe that object as an apple, instead of reporting the elements of color , brightness and shape they are experiencing– are guilty of committing the stimulus error. The object of our observation is not to be described in everyday language but rather in terms of the elementary conscious content of experience.

12. A trained Introspector is one who learns to ignore the objects and events as such and to concentrate instead on the pure conscious experience. Use of Reduction Screen ( a way to reduce stimulus error) Permits the subject to see only a small part of the stimulus object through a kind of peephole. Such a device prevents the subject from seeing either the nature of the object or the amount of illumination and now his judgment follows the “true” character of the isolated sensory experience. Example– white paper dimly illuminated---dark grey black coal brightly illuminated--- light grey Judgments more in accord with the physical energies of the stimuli, although they are less accurate descriptions of the reflectivities of the coal and the paper.

13. Psychology ought to study experience as it seems to exist when we try to detach it from learning (no use of meaning words).

14. INTROSPECTION It is form of self-observation. Introspection relied on observers who were rigorously trained to describe the elements of their conscious state rather than reporting the observed or experienced stimulus by a familiar name. In everyday life, individuals have habit of describing experience in terms of the stimulus– such as calling a red, shiny and round object as an apple– and that in everyday life is useful. Titchener used detailed, qualitative, subjective reports of his subjects’ mental activities during the act of introspecting.

15. Titchener called subjects as Reagents (used by Chemists) Reagents usually passive, an agent used to elicit or prompt responses from other substance. Subjects considered to be like Mechanical Recording Instruments , objectively reacting and responding by noting the characteristics of the stimulus they are observing. Subjects were nothing but impartial , detached machine (Galilean-Newtonian mechanical view of Universe– Humans are machine ) Titchener maintained an experimental approach to Introspective Observation in psychology. (Repeating it over and over again to get similar results)

16. Some experiments done by Titchener :-- A chord would be struck on piano; the chord consisted of 3 individual notes sounded together The subject would report on how many separate tones they could distinguish, the mental characteristics of sounds and whatever other basic atoms or elements of consciousness they could detect 2. Given words were said aloud. Subjects asked to observe the effect which the stimulus produces upon consciousness; how the word affects you, what ideas it calls up and so forth During Introspection the observer completely forgets to give subjective attention to the state of observing.

17. No use of certain classes of words in the verbal reports of introspection- called MEANING WORDS For example– “I see a table” A meaning word– based on pre-knowledge about the aggregation of visual and tactual sensations by when an individual identifies “table” Using meaning word will lead to committing Stimulus Error The external conditions must be carefully controlled so that the contents of consciousness can be precisely determined and so that more than one observer may experience the same thing and therefore cross-check the results of the experiment. Therefore, it is difficult to form a language apt for the structuralists . (easier to correlate words with objects than with experiences, since we have more useful object languages within science than we have experience languages.)

18. ELEMENTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS Titchener posed 3 essential problems for psychology :-- Reduce Conscious Processes to their simplest components Determine laws by which these elements of Consciousness were associated Connect the elements with their Physiological conditions 3 elementary states of conscious(elements were thought to be the basic and incapable for further reductions):-- Sensations The Basic elements of perception and occur in the sounds , sights, smells and other experiences evoked by physical objects in our environment. Images The elements of ideas, and they are found in the process that reflects experiences that are not actually present at the moment , such as a memory of past experiences. Affective States The elements of emotion and are found in experience such as love , hate and sadness.

19. In Titchener’s book, “An Outline to Psychology”- list of 44500 individual sensation qualities. 32820 11600 Visual Sensations Auditory Sensations Each believed to be conscious and distinct from all others--- can be combined with others to form perceptions and ideas. Mental elements could be categorized into classes like chemical elements based on their attributes. Wundt’s attributes– Quality and Intensity Titchener added– Duration/Propensity and Clearness/ Attensity .

20. Quality is the characteristics– such as ”cold” or “red” – that clearly distinguishes each element from every other elements. Intensity refers to a sensation’s strength, weakness, loudness or brightness. Duration is the course of a sensation over time. Clearness refers to the role of attention in conscious experience toward which our attention is not directed. Sensation and Images have all 4 Attributes Affective States have only 3 attributes(lack clearness) (Imagine paying attention on an emotion or feeling you are having. What do you think will happen at the end of it?)

21. CRITICISM The era of structuralism died with Titchener’s death Structuralism made many positive contributions to the science of psychology Introspection Positivist Philosopher— Auguste Comte– If mind was capable of observing its own activities, it would divide itself into 2 parts– one doing the observing and other being observed– Impossible English Physician – Henry Maudsley – said Introspective reports cannot be trusted– Pathology of mind is such that it alters things in the way it wants it or does what he prefers and only perceives that part, tend to ignore the rest. There is no exact definition of introspection given by Titchener No proper language to explain introspective reports Different results not just in different labs but in same lab too( same stimulus material-made different observations). That is no uniformity in reports . Critics charged that introspection was really a form of retrospection, because some time elapsed between the experience and the reporting of it For example– try introspecting the conscious state of anger…..?

22. 2. Structuralist movement accused of artificiality and sterility for attempting to analyze conscious processes into elements. Critics charged that the whole of an experience cannot be re-captured by any later association or combination of the elementary part. They are argued that experience does not come to us in individual sensations , images and affective states but in unified wholes. Something of the conscious experience is inevitably lost in the artificial effort to analyze it. 3. Definition of psychology also attacked -Limited scope -No good to society - Discarded animal and child psychology -No application of psychology to everyday life

23. References A History of Modern Psychology in Context by Wade Pickren and Alexandra Rutherford A brief History of Psychology by Michael Wertheimer A history of Modern Psychology by Duane P. Schultz and Sydney Ellen Schultz System and Theories in Psychology by Melvin H. Marx and William A. Hillix