PSYC 213 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Cognitive Revolution, Operant Conditioning, Wilhelm Wundt
19 Apr 2016
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The study of the mind and mental function: from early philosophy to experimental psychology to the birth of cognition psychology in 1950/60s. How to study the mind: 4 major stops. Structuralism and functionalism: try to directly tap into mental processes. Aristotle (384 bce: combined philosophical and scientific approaches to thinking, expressed empiricism: all knowledge comes from experience and observation, suggested the basic process of thought is by forming associations based on observations. Key debates of these philosophers are still around: rationalism vs. empiricism, innate vs. acquired abilities, nature vs. nurture. Influence in still seen in cognitive psychology: rationalism: influence on theory development. Edward titchener: translated wundt"s book from german to english, wen to work with wundt in leipzig, used wundts methods of introspection more thoroughly, believed all things can be broken down into elements, emphasized associations. How mental elements can be combined to formed complex thouhgts. The contribution to cognitive psychology: the emphasis on systematic, controlled observation.
