1902 - The First Psychology Lab in Florida
This lab was very well equipped for an institution of this size, and it joined the other laboratories located on the second floor of the College Hall building. The 1902 Catalogue asserts that the lab established here by H. Elmer Bierly was also the first psychological laboratory established in the State of Florida. Undoubtedly, this initiative was supported by President Murphree.
Where did we stand in the establishment of psychology laboratories in the national perspective? The 1st psychology lab in the U.S.A. was established in 1883 at Johns Hopkins University by G. Stanley Hall. By 1893, it is said that there were 20 psychology laboratories in American colleges and Universities (twice as many as in Europe), and by 1904 that number had increased to 49. Although we have not found our institution listed in rosters of early psychology labs in the U.S.A., it is clear that ours was established about 20 years after the first American lab.
From the 1902-03 Catalogue of the 46th Annual Session of the
Florida State College
The Psychological Laboratory
There has been established a psychological laboratory, the first one in Florida, which, with its apparatus and accessories, affords almost every opportunity for studying the different senses, memory, illusions, time relations, and the nervous system. The following is a partial list of the apparatus: On hearing: model of the ear, microscopic slides of the ear, sonometer, resonance boxes, set of tuning forks, Quincke tubes, Galton whistle, tone tester, siren, metronome, sound pendulum, Appunn's reed. For sight: model of the eye, histological slides of the eye, opthalmoscope, test cards for astigmatism, test for acuity of vision, binocular and monocular apparatus, photometer, pseudoptics, color disks, spectrum chart, perimeter, instruments for testing color blindness, stereoscope, blind-spot cards, prisms, projection lantern, zoetrope. On haptics and organic sensations: pressure balance, algesimeter, pressure pencils, temperature tubes, thermometers, aesthesiometers, tilt-board. On taste and smell: histological slides of the tongue and nose, oliactometer, solutions for tasting fruit flavors, oils, etc. On affective processes: weight, ergograph, sphymograph, dynamograph, hand dynamometer, automatograph, photographs illustrating expression of emotion, chronometer, kymograph, tambours, timemarkers. On action: chromoscopes, lip-key, rheocords. On general supplies: galvanometer, induction coils, multiple key, reaction key, voltmeter, ammeter, batteries, switches, bells, glassware, carpenter's tools, gas, water, acids, stop-watch, models of the brain, five hundred microscopic slides of the brain, colored wall diagrams of brain and sense organs, psychological portraits, psychological books, journals, etc.
The photos and captions below are from the 1903-04 Florida State College Catalogue
Testing Lung Capacity
Physiological and Psychological Laboratory
Top:
Testing Hearing
Bottom: Study of fatigue
Top: Test of Sight
Bottom: Child Study Apparatus
- Cognitive Psychology
- Wundt
Wilhelm Wundt
By Dr. Saul McLeod, published 2008
Wilhelm Wundt opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879. This was the first laboratory dedicated to psychology, and its opening is usually thought of as the beginning of modern psychology. Indeed, Wundt is often regarded as the father of psychology.
Wundt was important because he separated psychology from philosophy by analyzing the workings of the mind in a more structured
way, with the emphasis being on objective measurement and control.
This laboratory became a focus for those with a serious interest in psychology, first for German philosophers and psychology students, then for American and British students as well. All subsequent psychological laboratories were closely modeled in their early years on the Wundt model.
Wundt's background was in physiology, and this was
reflected in the topics with which the Institute was concerned, such as the study of reaction times and sensory processes and attention. For example, participants would be exposed to a standard stimulus (e.g. a light or the sound of a metronome) and asked to report their sensations.
Wundt's aim was to record thoughts and sensations, and to analyze them into their constituent elements, in much the same way as a chemist analyses chemical compounds, in order to get at the underlying structure. The school of psychology founded by Wundt is known as voluntarism, the process of organizing the mind.
During his academic career Wundt trained 186 graduate students (116 in psychology). This is significant as it helped disseminate his work. Indeed, parts of Wundt's theory were developed and promoted by his one-time student, Edward Titchener, who described his system as Structuralism, or the analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind.
Wundt wanted to study the structure of the human mind (using introspection). Wundt believed in reductionism. That is, he believed consciousness could be broken down (or reduced) to its basic elements without sacrificing any of the properties of the whole.
Wundt argued that conscious mental states could be scientifically studied using introspection. Wundt’s introspection was not a casual affair, but a highly practiced form of self-examination. He trained psychology students to make observations that were biased by personal interpretation or previous experience, and used the results to develop a theory of conscious thought.
Highly trained assistants would be given a stimulus such as a ticking metronome and would reflect on the experience. They would report what the stimulus made them think and feel. The same stimulus, physical surroundings and instructions were given to each person.
Wundt's method of introspection did not remain a fundamental tool of psychological experimentation past the early 1920's. His greatest contribution was to show that psychology could be a valid experimental science.
Therefore, one way Wundt contributed to the development of psychology was to do his research in carefully controlled conditions, i.e. experimental methods. This encouraged other researchers such as the behaviorists to follow the same experimental approach and be more scientific. However, today psychologists (e.g. Skinner) argue that introspection was not really scientific even if the methods used to introspect were. Skinner claims the results of introspection are subjective and cannot be verified because only observable behavior can be objectively measured.
Wundt concentrated on three areas of mental functioning; thoughts, images and feelings. some of these areas are still studied in cognitive psychology today. This means that the study of perceptual processes can be traced back to Wundt. Wundt’s work stimulated interest in cognitive psychology.
On the basis of his work, and the
influence it had on psychologists who were to follow him, Wundt can be regarded as the founder of experimental psychology, so securing his place in the history of psychology. At the same time, Wundt himself believed that the experimental approach was limited in scope, and that other methods would be necessary if all aspects of human psychology were to be investigated.
How to reference this article:
How to reference this article:McLeod, S. A. (2008). Wilhelm Wundt. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/wundt.html
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