Understanding Psychology as a Science

Featured

Paul Broca

”Broca’s accomplishments in his near fifty-six years of life are almost immeasurable”
— Erwin H. Ackerknecht

Pierre Paul Broca was born in 28^th June 1824 in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, France. Broca was born to Annette Broca and Doctor Jean Pierre Benjamin Broca. Paul was their 3rd child. Paul’s father was a local doctor and was reported to treat the poor and pay for their medicine. Whilst charging the rich a song. ‘’Coir re’’ – (it’s nothing) was reportedly his favourite phrase (Schiller, 1980). Pauls mother Annette was a daughter of a Calvinist pastor. Broca was described as ‘’a scholar at the age of eleven’’ (Schiller, 1980, p. 13). Broca studied a bachelor’s degree of letters (history and literature) in 1840 and he travelled from his hometown to Toulouse to complete a mathematic degree.

Paul had planned on leaving home and studying engineering, however when his sister Leotine passed away he did not want to travel too far away from his parents and decided instead to study medicine. Broca travelled to Paris and to pay his way whilst studying he became a teacher in the college of Sainte-Barbe which was a prestigious college. After many years as a teacher Broca went on to train to become a surgeon in Paris. Broca emerged from his study and went on to become one of France’s ‘Most outstanding, medical scientist and practitioner’ (Clarke ,1980, p. 1452) Broca’s doctoral thesis in 1849 was the first to demonstrate the spread of cancer through the veins. By the age of 35 Broca had contributed to over 100 papers to his field. In his lifetime Broca contributed over 500 publications in the fields of cerebral localization and anthropology (Schiller, 1980).

Of all Broca’s achievements he is most well-known for his work around the language and speech areas of the brain. His name is used to identify a specific region of the brain, Broca’s area. His name is given to the partial loss of ability to produce language ‘Broca’s aphasia’.

In Paris 1861 Monsieur Leborgne (Tan) died in the care of then neurologist Broca. Tan had been the only word that Leborgne could pronounce and so he demonstrated damage in the language area of the brain. During this time there was an ongoing debate around the location of the language function of the brain and whether language was affected by lesions of the anterior lobes. When Broca performed an autopsy on Tan he found a malformation on the left frontal lobe (Jarret, 2013). This was consequently named Broca’s area and believed to be the site for speech production. Whilst Broca was not the first to suggest that the frontal lobes may be closely related to speech production, the evidence from Tan strengthened the theory. Broca’s work strengthened the field of biopsychology and provided evidence towards the brain have specific areas for language and speech production.

Broca wrote an article championing improvement to the education that women received. Broca believed that the home was shaped by the woman and as such they too should be educated to a better standard. (Schiller, 1980 cited in Marsden, 1981).

In recognition of his work in 1880 Broca was elected for a lifetime to the French Senate. There is also a hospital in Paris named in his honour.

Word Count – 540

References

Clarke, E. (1980). Life of an Anatomist. Science, 208(4451), 1452-1453

Jarret, C. (2013, January, 24). Glimpsed at last – the life of neuropsychology’s most important patient. Retrieved from: https://digest.bps.org.uk/2013/01/24/glimpsed-at-last-the-life-of-neuropsychologys-most-important-patient/

Marsden C. (1981). Paul Broca. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 44(11), 1058.

Schiller, F. (1980). Paul Broca Explorer of the brain. Berkeley,C.A: Oxford University Press.

Maslow The Visionary

History of Psychology blog entry 3

Image of Maslow sourced from http://www.verywellmind.com

Abraham Maslow was born on April 1, 1908, in Brooklyn, New York. The eldest of seven children, born to Jewish parents who emigrated from Russia.

Maslow is a founder of Humanistic Psychology, which criticised Psychoanalysis and behaviourism as being too focused on the abnormal side of human nature. Maslow conceptualized Humanistic psychology as a study of the whole person. Maslow’s focus was on the healthy, fully functioning, creative human (Schneider, Pierson & Bugental, 2015), he embraced the positive aspects of mental health.

Maslow and Anthony Sutich founded the journal of Humanistic Psychology in 1961. Maslow aimed to create an institutional presence for the humanistic psychology field (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010). The journal continues today and has an online presence. Describing itself as addressing personal growth and social problems (https://journals.sagepub.com/home/jhp).

Maslow’s thoughts on psychology were original, Maslow had an interest in human potential and the steps that humans take to reach this potential. Maslow stressed that there was a need for a ‘third force’ within psychological theory to acknowledge the impact human striving’s have on personal growth (Freedheim & Weiner, p. 485).

Maslow studied at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University. Whilst living in New York, Maslow was a junior member of an intellectual group that focused on culture and personality (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010). Other great minds were also a part of this group including, Kurt Goldstein and Karen Horney. Amongst his peers, Maslow’s critical thinking was influenced and developed. Goldstein had a strong influence over Maslow’s work around self-actualisation. Alfred Adler was Maslow’s mentor while he studied at Columbia University, his work encouraged Maslow to seek a broader perspective in Psychology, encompassing a holistic view and goal-focused thinking. Maslow’s interest lay in investigating psychology across all fields with a focus on culture and personality (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010).

In 1943, Maslow published a paper entitled ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’. It contained Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, this theory suggested that humans have basic needs which must be met. Once the basic need is met, we move onto the next level and set about satisfying the next need in the hierarchy. His theory outlined the ‘innate needs for survival, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-realization, in that order’ (Abulof, 2017). The hierarchy of needs placed emphasis on self-actualisation (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010) – the realisation and fulfilment of a talent – Maslow agreed with his peer Carl Roger’s stance on the importance of self-growth and seeking fulfilment (Schneider, Pierson & Bugental, 2015) however, Maslow took a different route to this realisation.

Maslow was significantly influenced by other great minds in different fields he identified William James and Albert Einstein amongst the people who had characteristics of reaching their respective self- actualisation.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is over 70 years old and it is still relevant, referenced and applicable. The hierarchy of needs stills raises questions around whether self-actualization is achievable. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is referenced profusely both in psychology and across different disciplines outside of psychology. This is a testament to the influence the theory had on psychology and modern life. Most people can see elements and aspects of their lives and needs in the hierarchy.

Word count 537

References

Abulof, U. (2017) Introduction: Why We Need Maslow in the Twenty-First Century. Society, 54(6) 508-509. doi.org/10.1007/s12115-017-0198-6

Freedheim, D, K., & Weiner, I, B. (2003) Handbook of Psychology, History of Psychology: History of Psychology. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.

Pickren, W. & Rutherford, A. (2010) A History of Modern Psychology in Context. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Schneider, K, J., Pierson, F., & Bugental, J, F, T. (2015) The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Theory, Research, and Practice (2nd ed.), London, UK: Sage Publications.

The Rise of Behaviourism

History of Psychology Blog entry 2

Picture sourced from http://www.scienceklinic.com/

Behaviourism enjoyed a considerable rise in American Psychology in the 1920s. Prior to the rise of behaviourism, psychologist of the time were mostly using introspection to gain understanding around the human mind. Introspection is very subjective, researchers were finding it difficult to replicate studies, which affected the scientific strength of the findings. The behaviourist movement took around 15 years to grow.

Edward Lee Thorndike, was one of the first to adopt and document this mode of study. Thorndike’s work focused on the way animals learnt. Whilst studying at Columbia University, Thorndike observed cat’s, dogs and chicks in a puzzle box experiment. Thorndike concluded that animals learn ‘by trial and error and by reward and punishment’ (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010, p. 59). This led to the belief that animals learning was closely linked to learning by association, which was prompted by a stimulus.

Thorndike’s work was heavily criticized, his observational studies lacked ecological validity as the animals were enclosed in an unnatural environment. Despite these criticisms to Thorndike’s work, the laboratory approach became more popular. Moving the focus away from the mind and towards an analysis of behaviour.

Ivan Pavlov, a Russian Psychologist was pivotal in the move towards behaviourism. Pavlov was influenced by Ivan Sechenov, who believed strongly that the scientific route for psychology included using objective methods and ignoring consciousness (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010). Pavlov believed that thought evolved from a mental association which created a chain of events. If these events could be observed Pavlov believed they could be linked back to an external condition.

John Watson focused on animals and went on to work in the field of comparative psychology. Watson found it difficult to conduct studies using introspection and believed that they lacked scientific rigour. He went on to write a paper ‘Psychology as a behaviourist view it’. Watson tied together trends of the time to outline the behaviourist stance. He acknowledged the need to study behaviour in a social and cultural context (Woody & Viney 2017, p. 337).

Many psychologists agreed with Watson’s findings however, there was opposition to the elimination of introspection (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010). Many believed that introspection still played a large role in understanding conscious processes such as reasoning. Watson used his position as Professor of Psychology at John Hopkins to voice his stance on behaviourism and pushed that Psychology should have real-life applications.

Other schools of thought also moved towards behaviourism such as, Animal and Comparative psychology which was concerned with the functioning of the animal mind through observing behaviour (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010). In Philosophy, Ralph Barton Perry argued, that the mind may not necessarily be private. Perry believed that if consciousness is produced through experience then observing the experience should also give us insight into the mind. Perry’s thoughts challenged introspection and much like Pavlov took the stance that the human mind is on view through behaviours.

Behaviourism shaped research, by moving away from studying subjectively and moving towards observations and trying to understand habits and behaviours. Various psychologists and research contributed to the rise of behaviourism. Each one was influenced by the work of others. We can see this influence in modern-day techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral therapy. Behaviourism in its essence allowed psychologists to investigate observable behaviour in a scientific way.

Word Count 545

References;

Woody, W. D., & Viney, W. (2017) A History of Psychology; The Emergence of science and Applications (6^th ed.). New York, N.Y: Taylor and Francis Group.

Pickren, W. & Rutherford, A. (2010) A History of Modern Psychology in Context. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

The Revolutionary Margaret Washburn

History of Psychology Blog entry 1

Margaret Floy Washburn, was born July 25th, 1871 in Harlem, New York City. She was the only child of Francis Washburn and Elizabeth Davis, both parents encouraged Washburn in her education. Her mother came from a wealthy family and her father was a businessman who later turned to Episcopal ministry. Washburn did not enter school until 7 years old. She graduated at 15 and the following year went on to study at Vassar College.

Washburn was determined to study at Columbia University under Cattell, a prominent Professor of Psychology at the time. Washburn was registered for Cattell’s class as an ‘observer’, and completed 1 year of study at Columbia. However, in her second year of study there were no scholarships available for women. Washburn continued her studies at Cornell University, she was the first graduate student of E.B. Titchener (Vaughn-Blount, 2011) Washburn went on to become the first female psychologist to obtain a university recognised Ph.D. in Psychology. Washburn’s doctoral dissertation was the first international paper to appear in Wundt’s Philosophische Studien, a European Journal, which was a rare honor (Dallenbach, 1940).

Many years later Washburn returned to Vassar College where she became an Associate Professor of Psychology and head of the Department, she stayed in Vassar for the next 36 years.

Washburn saw Psychology as a study of behavior and consciousness. Washburn believed psychology’s goals were, to ‘obtain and interpret facts’ (O’Connell & Russo, 1990, p. 345). Washburn’s work covered many areas. Washburn wrote her first textbook in 1907, called The Animal Mind. This was the first book based on experimental work in animal cognition. Her research examined over 100 different animal species, providing information on animal sensory systems, memory and intelligence. The book presented the results of previous studies in a ‘logical and coherent manner’ (Vaughn-Blount K, 2011). Washburn became a leader of comparative psychology.

Washburn’s second book Movement and Mental Imagery explored the importance of motor process on conscious processes. Her work is closely reflected in the modern dynamic systems approach put forward by Thelan and Smith 1994 (Vaughn-Blount, 2011), which seeks to explain the development of cognition in humans. This book delved deeper into mental process links with motor skills.

After decades of successful service at Vassar, Washburn was awarded a lump sum of money. She distributed the money as scholarships, amongst her students who were interested in psychological research (Dallenbach, 1940).

In 1932 Washburn was elected to the National Academy of Sciences becoming the first woman psychologist and 2nd female scientist to be honored. Washburn was also an editor for The American Journal of Psychology from 1903 to 1925 (Vaughn-Blount, 2011).

As one of the earliest women in the field Washburn showed that not only could women partake in psychological studies. Women could also make significant contributions to the field. The Department of Psychology flourished under her, Washburn’s students went on to study at prestigious institutions such as Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Ohio, Yale, and Michigan (Dallenbach,1940 as cited in Vaughn-Blount, 2011) The women of her department published 66 articles under her guidance.

Washburn died aged 63 an accomplished, respected and influential psychologist of the 20^th century (Goodman, 1980).

Word Count 538

References

Dallenbach, K. (1940). Margaret Floy Washburn 1871-1939. The American Journal of Psychology, 53(1), 1-5. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/1415955.

Goodman, E. S. (1980). Margaret F. Washburn (1871–1939): First Woman Ph.D. in Psychology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 5(1), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1981.tb01034.x

O’Connell, A., N. and Russo, N., (1990). Women in Psychology – A Bio Bibliographic sourcebook. Westport, CT. Greenwood Press.

Vaughn-Blount K. (2011) Washburn, Margaret Floy. In Goldstein S., Naglieri J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Boston, MA. Springer.