PSYCO104 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Wilhelm Wundt

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCO104
• Professor: Blaine Mullins

Document Summary

Hippocrates, gall (phrenology head bumps), flourens (animal brain surgeries), & broca (damage to specific part of brain impaired a specific mental function) H, g, f, b : brain, not heart, produces behaviour. Physiology to psychology (a new science born in germany) Physiology: study of biological processes, especially in human body. (methods developed in this field to measure speed of nerve impulses, etc. , this work could translate into methods for measuring mental abilities) Psychology was going to become a science: herman vonn helmholtz (1821-94) experiment: Dev. method for measuring speed of nerve impulses [in a frog s leg] Trained participants to respond when he applied a stimulus sensory input from the environment to dif. parts of leg. Recorded their reaction time amount of time taken to respond to specific stimulus. > found that mental processes did not occur instantaneously. > estimated length of time it takes a nerve impulse to travel to the brain: wilhelm wundt.