PSYC 308 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Johann Friedrich Herbart, The Nineteenth Century (Periodical), Educational Psychology
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Fechner"s psychophysics mathematically precise relation between stimulus valus and sensation. Study of brain injuries by broca particular functions could be localized n specific areas of the brain. Interested in what went on above and below(unconscious) the threshold of consciousness. All mental life is the result of the action and interaction of elementary ideas (entirely simple concepts of sensation) The greater the difference between a & b, the more a will inhibit b. i is the amount by which an idea is weakened the more intense a is in relation b, the greater i will be. He also suggested that consciousness would tend to consist of those ideas that facilitate each other while inconsistent ideas would tend to be below threshold. Apperceptive mass: set of ideas that assimilates ideas consistent with it and rejects ideas inconsistent with it. An unpleasant feeling will result if an idea is pressing to enter consciousness but is resisted.