Structuralism: The Experimental Study of Human Consciousness

1 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter Outline

Historical Background

Aristotle: Empiricism and the Laws of Association

Descartes: Mind-Body Dualism and the Reflex

The British Empiricists

Structuralism: The Experimental Study of Human Consciousness

Functionalism: The Study of the Adaptive Mind

The Theory of Evolution: Humans as Animals

Behaviorism: The Study of Observable Behavior

Five Schools of Behaviorism

Watson’s Methodological Behaviorism Hull’s Neobehaviorism Tolman’s Cognitive Behaviorism Bandura’s Social Learning Theory Skinner’s Radical Behaviorism

Explanation of Opening Scenario

The first quote in the opening scenario to this chapter illustrates how Skinner did not ignore the fact that people have feelings. The second quote describes how Skinner’s views have often been misrepresented. These two quotes will hopefully encourage students to ignore past biases about Skinner (and about behaviorism in general) as they begin reading the text.

Dr. Dee Assignment

See the preface for complete information about this assignment. It is only the first chapter that includes a sample set of instructions that instructors may adopt for the subsequent chapters’ Dr.Dee assignments. In subsequent chapters, only the sample letters plus the explanation for each (Introduction to Learning and Behavior, 5e Russell Powell, Lynne Honey, Diane Symbaluk) (Instructor Manual all Chapters) 1 / 4

2 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.are provided.

Sample Instructions for Dr. Dee Assignment

The relationship concerns expressed in each of the following “lovelorn” letters can be related to either one or more of the principles or concepts described in this chapter. Students should pretend that they are Dr. Dee and compose a behavioral-type reply to one of the letters in a manner that is similar to the Advice for the Lovelorn columns in the text. Students should be sure to identify clearly the relevant behavioral principle or concept on which they have based their reply.

As an alternative to basing their assignment on one of these letters, students can instead compose an entire Dr. Dee column on their own (both the letter and the reply). For this option, they need not restrict themselves to romantic relationships, and may instead address issues involving friends, family members, or even pets. Again, students should be sure to identify clearly the behavioral principle or concept on which they have based their column. If students are basing the column on an incident involving someone they know, they should be sure to disguise the person’s identity by altering some of the facts and use a pseudonym for the person involved.

Dr. Dee Assignment

• Dear Dr. Dee,

Is there anything that I can do to rekindle my feelings of affection for my girlfriend? I’m starting to wonder if I’m “falling out of love” with her, which is a shame since she’s such a great person.

Help

• Dear Dr. Dee,

I have a terrible time meeting women because I’m such a poor conversationalist. My friend says that I’m just a natural-born introvert, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Is he right?

Shy Guy

Relevant Concepts

• Answers could make reference to the fact that feelings can be as much a function of

behavior as behavior can be a function of feelings (p. 30–32). Hence, behaving in a romantic 2 / 4

3 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.way, such as by sending flowers or arranging for romantic evenings together, may rekindle the writer’s feelings of affection for his girlfriend (p. 33).

• This letter illustrates the danger of genetic explanations for behavior, which can easily lead

to the assumption that nothing can be done to alter a particular behavior pattern (p. 36–37).Even if the writer does have an inherited tendency toward shyness, the chances are that he can still significantly improve his conversational skills through practice. The evidence concerning deliberate practice in the attainment of skills is therefore of relevance (p. 20–21).

Study Tips

Some better approaches to studying a textbook involve the “testing effect,” in which testing one’s ability to recall the information one just read can greatly enhance one’s memory for it (e.g., Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan, & Willingham, 2013). A recent version of this approach is the 3R method of studying (McDaniel, Howard, & Einstein, 2009). An alternate approach, which the text calls “selective underlining,” is to first read the paragraph without underlining; one instead simply searches for the important points one will want to underline later. After finishing the paragraph, one then goes back and underlines just the important points. Another possibility that one may wish to experiment with would be to combine selective underlining with the 3R approach. The important thing for students is to find the combination of study tactics that works best for them, which may be rather different from what works best for someone else.

Internet Resources

“Theoretical Roots of Early Behaviorism: Functionalism, the Critique of Introspection, and the Nature and Evolution of Consciousness” by Robert H. Wozniak (1997)

http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Psych/rwozniak/theory.html

This is an article describing the early roots of behaviorism in functionalism and the growing criticisms of the method of introspection.

“Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It” by John B. Watson (1913)

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/views.htm

This is the article that many consider to be the manifesto that launched the behaviorist revolution. (From York University, Classics in the History of Psychology.) See also the introduction (Introduction to: “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it”) and the commentary (Commentary on “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It”) to this article.

• / 4

4 © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Introduction to: “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It”

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/intro.htm

An introduction to Watson’s classic work, written by Christopher D. Green. (From York University, Classics in the History of Psychology.)

Commentary on “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It”

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/commentary.htm

A commentary on Watson’s classic work, written by Robert H. Wozniak. (From York University, Classics in the History of Psychology.)

On “Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It.” by E. B. Titchener (1914)

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Titchener/watson.htm

The response by Titchener, the famous structuralist, to Watson’s (1913) call to behaviorism.(From York University, Classics in the History of Psychology.)

Hull’s Theory of Behavior

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Hull/Conflict/

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Hull/Hierarchy/part1.htm

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Hull/Hierarchy/part2.htm

These are some articles outlining the various aspects of Hull’s theory. (From York University, Classics in the History of Psychology.)

“Cognitive Maps in Rats and Men” by Edward C. Tolman (1948)

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Tolman/Maps/maps.htm

This is Tolman’s most famous article. It includes a description of the latent learning experiment discussed on pages 24–26 of the text. (From York University, Classics in the History of Psychology.)

Classic Articles in the History of Behaviorism

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/topic.htm#behaviorism

The complete list of classic articles in behavioral psychology at the York University website (some of which are listed above).

Betty the Tool-Making Crow (with videos)

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~kgroup/tools/introduction.shtml

Betty is one bright bird (see especially the video of Betty bending a wire to form a hook). This is a prime example of recent research in cognitive behaviorism or, more precisely, “comparative cognition.”

Tool Use in Animals

• / 4