Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Edward B. Titchener" - New World
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| − | '''Edward Bradford Titchener, D.Sc., Ph.D., LL.D., Litt.D.''' ([[1867]]-[[1927]]) was an [[England|Englishman]] and a British Scholar | + | '''Edward Bradford Titchener, D.Sc., Ph.D., LL.D., Litt.D.''' ([[1867]]-[[1927]]) was an [[England|Englishman]] and a British Scholar. He was a student of [[Wilhelm Wundt]] in [[Leipzig]], [[Germany]], before becoming a professor of psychology and founding the first psychology laboratory in the United States at [[Cornell University]]. It was Edward Titchener that coined the terms [[structural psychology]] and [[functional psychology]], in 1898, the early trends in scientific [[Psychology]]. Structural psychologists used to analyze human experiences through [[introspection]], breaking mental activity into ''basic elements'' or ''building blocks''. |
=Life= | =Life= | ||
| − | Edward Titchener was born in southern England to a family of old lineage but little money. He entered Oxford University in 1885 on a scholarship to study philosophy, and he became interested in Wundt's writings, translating the third edition of the '''Principles of Physiological Psychology'''. However, the | + | Edward Titchener was born in southern England to a family of old lineage but little money. He entered Oxford University in 1885 on a scholarship to study philosophy, and he became interested in Wundt's writings, translating the third edition of the '''Principles of Physiological Psychology'''. However, the psychology of Wundt was not enthusiastically received at Oxford, so Titchener resolved to go to Leipzig and work directly under Wundt. There he took his doctorate completing a dissertation on binocular effects of monocular stimulation. |
| − | After unsuccessfully searching for a position in England, Titchener accepted a professorship at Cornell, which had opened up when Frank Angell, another American student of Wundt, went to the newly founded Stanford University. For thirty-five years, Titchener presided over psychology at Cornell, where he was an institution unto himself, arrogantly lecturing in his academic robes and tolerating no dissent. Titchener often quarreled with his American colleagues and founded his own organization to rival the fledging [[American Psychological Association]] because of the dispute with members of the latter group. Edward B. Titchener became the [[United States|American]] editor of ''Mind'' in [[1894]], and associate editor of the ''American Journal of Psychology'' in [[1895]]. Later, Professor Titchener received honorary degrees from [[Harvard University|Harvard]], [[Clark University|Clark]], and [[University of Wisconsin|Wisconsin]]. Although Titchener supervised a large number of students in early twentieth-century American psychology, his system died with him in 1927. | + | After unsuccessfully searching for a position in England, Titchener accepted a professorship at [[Cornell]], which had opened up when [[Frank Angell]], another American student of Wundt, went to the newly founded [[Stanford University]]. For thirty-five years, Titchener presided over psychology at Cornell, where he was an institution unto himself, arrogantly lecturing in his academic robes and tolerating no dissent. Titchener often quarreled with his American colleagues and founded his own organization to rival the fledging [[American Psychological Association]] because of the dispute with members of the latter group. Edward B. Titchener became the [[United States|American]] editor of ''Mind'' in [[1894]], and associate editor of the ''American Journal of Psychology'' in [[1895]]. Later, Professor Titchener received honorary degrees from [[Harvard University|Harvard]], [[Clark University|Clark]], and [[University of Wisconsin|Wisconsin]]. Although Titchener supervised a large number of students in early twentieth-century American psychology, his system died with him in 1927. |
=Work= | =Work= | ||
| − | + | In the end of the 19th century, Edward B. Titchener carried basic ideas of [[Wilhelm Wundt]] to the United States.Titchener called Wundt's ideas [[structuralism]] and tried to study the structure of mental life. | |
| + | The structural psychology of has a threefold aim: to describe the components of consciousness in terms of basic elements, to describe the combinations of basic elements, and to explain the connections of the elements of connections of the elements of consciousness to the nervous system. Consciousness is defined as immediate experience, i.e., experience as it is being experienced. Mediate experience was flavored by contents already in the mind, such as previous associations and emotional and motivation levels of a person. Structural psychology, in general, attempted to defend the integrity of psychology by contrasting it with physics. Edward Titchener would put his own spin on Wilhelm Wundt's psychology of consciousness. Titchener attempted to classify the structures of the [[mind]], not unlike the way a chemist breaks down chemicals into their component parts — water into hydrogen and oxygen for example. Thus, for Titchener, just as hydrogen and oxygen were structures, so were [[sensation]]s and [[thought]]s. He conceived of hydrogen and oxygen as structures of a chemical compound, and sensations and thoughts as structures of the mind. This approach is known as [[structuralism]]. The experimental method employed by structuralists was [[introspection]]. This technique of self-report is the ageless approach to describing self-experience. Introspection depended on the nature of consciousness observed, the purpose of the experiment, and the instructions given by the experimenters. Introspection was considered valid only if done by exceptionally well-trained sacientists, not naive observers. The most common error made by untrained introspectionists was labeled the "stimulus error" — describing the object observed rather than the conscious content. Stimulus error, according to Titchener, resulted not in psychological data but in physical descriptions. Under this natural science approach, psychology was defined as the experimental study of the data of immediate experience through the method of introspection. The goal of psychology was to reduce the contents of consciousness to constituent elements of sensory origin. | ||
| + | In the 1890s, [[Wilhelm Wundt]] developed a thre-dimentional theory of feeling.Essentially, Wundt thought that feelings vary along three dimentions: ''Pleasant — unpleasant'', ''strain — relaxation'', ''excitement — calm''. Titchener agreed with and accepted only the ''pleasant — unpleasant'' dimention. This approach led him to relegate emotions to [[organic visceral reactions]]. Further, Edward Titchener proposed a theory of meaning suggesting that the context in which a sensation occurs in consciousness determines meaning. Accordingly, s simple [[sensation]] has no meaning by itself, but it acquires meaning by association with other sensations or images. | ||
==Critics== | ==Critics== | ||
| − | Most of the major findings of [[Structuralism]] were seriously challenged. In terms of [[higher mental processes]], Titchener called [[thought]] a mental element that is probably an unanalyzed complex of kinesthetic [[sensations]] and [[image]]s. Moreover, he perceived what we call [[will]] as an element composed of complex of images that form ideas in advance of action. As a result, thought and will are linked through mental images. According to this analysis, thought must be accompanied by images. This imperative gave rise to the ''imageless thought controversy'', in which other psychologist, | + | Most of the major findings of [[Structuralism]] were seriously challenged. In terms of [[higher mental processes]], Titchener called [[thought]] a mental element that is probably an unanalyzed complex of kinesthetic [[sensations]] and [[image]]s. Moreover, he perceived what we call [[will]] as an element composed of complex of images that form ideas in advance of action. As a result, thought and will are linked through mental images. According to this analysis, thought must be accompanied by images. This imperative gave rise to the ''imageless thought controversy'', in which other psychologist, ([[Külpe]], [[Binet]], and [[Woodworth]]) argued the possibilty of thought processes without discrete mental images. Such an interpretation was unacceptable for Titchener because it contradicted his analytic view of thought, described by elements of images. Instead, it substituted a more [[holistic]] or phenomenal view of thought processes, unanalyzed into constituent elements. |
Edward Titchener proposed a model of psychology that had a similarity to materialistic empiricism. Although Titchener recognized the necessity of a mental construct, he argued that the contents of the mind could be reduced to the elements of sensation. This analytic model of psychology ultimately led to reduction of the sensations to their corresponding stimuli. The integrity of psychology was lost, and psychology was logically reduced to physics. | Edward Titchener proposed a model of psychology that had a similarity to materialistic empiricism. Although Titchener recognized the necessity of a mental construct, he argued that the contents of the mind could be reduced to the elements of sensation. This analytic model of psychology ultimately led to reduction of the sensations to their corresponding stimuli. The integrity of psychology was lost, and psychology was logically reduced to physics. | ||
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However, Titchener would not admit applied aspects of psychology , and so he removed himself from the major theme of American psychology that was eagerly studying such topics as child psychology, abnormal psychology, , animal psychology. Titchener was solely concerned with the experimental analysis of the normal adult human mind, not with the individual differences. | However, Titchener would not admit applied aspects of psychology , and so he removed himself from the major theme of American psychology that was eagerly studying such topics as child psychology, abnormal psychology, , animal psychology. Titchener was solely concerned with the experimental analysis of the normal adult human mind, not with the individual differences. | ||
| − | Titchener | + | ON VALUE |
| + | |||
| + | Titchener translated a few works of his colleagues, including [[Oswald Külpe]]'s ''Outlines of Psychology''. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
* Boring, E.G.(1950). '''A history of experimental psychology''', 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. | * Boring, E.G.(1950). '''A history of experimental psychology''', 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. | ||
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* Titchener, E.B.(1925). Experimental psychology: A retrospect. In ''American Journal of Psychology''. No.36. P.313-323. | * Titchener, E.B.(1925). Experimental psychology: A retrospect. In ''American Journal of Psychology''. No.36. P.313-323. | ||
* Titchener, E.B.(1929). '''Systematic psychology: Prolegomena'''. New York: Macmillan. | * Titchener, E.B.(1929). '''Systematic psychology: Prolegomena'''. New York: Macmillan. | ||
| + | * Woodworth, R.S. (1906). Imageless thought. ''The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods''. No.3. - 701-708. | ||
==External link== | ==External link== | ||
Revision as of 23:54, 18 August 2006
Edward Bradford Titchener, D.Sc., Ph.D., LL.D., Litt.D. (1867-1927) was an Englishman and a British Scholar. He was a student of Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig, Germany, before becoming a professor of psychology and founding the first psychology laboratory in the United States at Cornell University. It was Edward Titchener that coined the terms structural psychology and functional psychology, in 1898, the early trends in scientific Psychology. Structural psychologists used to analyze human experiences through introspection, breaking mental activity into basic elements or building blocks.
Life
Edward Titchener was born in southern England to a family of old lineage but little money. He entered Oxford University in 1885 on a scholarship to study philosophy, and he became interested in Wundt's writings, translating the third edition of the Principles of Physiological Psychology. However, the psychology of Wundt was not enthusiastically received at Oxford, so Titchener resolved to go to Leipzig and work directly under Wundt. There he took his doctorate completing a dissertation on binocular effects of monocular stimulation.
After unsuccessfully searching for a position in England, Titchener accepted a professorship at Cornell, which had opened up when Frank Angell, another American student of Wundt, went to the newly founded Stanford University. For thirty-five years, Titchener presided over psychology at Cornell, where he was an institution unto himself, arrogantly lecturing in his academic robes and tolerating no dissent. Titchener often quarreled with his American colleagues and founded his own organization to rival the fledging American Psychological Association because of the dispute with members of the latter group. Edward B. Titchener became the American editor of Mind in 1894, and associate editor of the American Journal of Psychology in 1895. Later, Professor Titchener received honorary degrees from Harvard, Clark, and Wisconsin. Although Titchener supervised a large number of students in early twentieth-century American psychology, his system died with him in 1927.
Work
In the end of the 19th century, Edward B. Titchener carried basic ideas of Wilhelm Wundt to the United States.Titchener called Wundt's ideas structuralism and tried to study the structure of mental life. The structural psychology of has a threefold aim: to describe the components of consciousness in terms of basic elements, to describe the combinations of basic elements, and to explain the connections of the elements of connections of the elements of consciousness to the nervous system. Consciousness is defined as immediate experience, i.e., experience as it is being experienced. Mediate experience was flavored by contents already in the mind, such as previous associations and emotional and motivation levels of a person. Structural psychology, in general, attempted to defend the integrity of psychology by contrasting it with physics. Edward Titchener would put his own spin on Wilhelm Wundt's psychology of consciousness. Titchener attempted to classify the structures of the mind, not unlike the way a chemist breaks down chemicals into their component parts — water into hydrogen and oxygen for example. Thus, for Titchener, just as hydrogen and oxygen were structures, so were sensations and thoughts. He conceived of hydrogen and oxygen as structures of a chemical compound, and sensations and thoughts as structures of the mind. This approach is known as structuralism. The experimental method employed by structuralists was introspection. This technique of self-report is the ageless approach to describing self-experience. Introspection depended on the nature of consciousness observed, the purpose of the experiment, and the instructions given by the experimenters. Introspection was considered valid only if done by exceptionally well-trained sacientists, not naive observers. The most common error made by untrained introspectionists was labeled the "stimulus error" — describing the object observed rather than the conscious content. Stimulus error, according to Titchener, resulted not in psychological data but in physical descriptions. Under this natural science approach, psychology was defined as the experimental study of the data of immediate experience through the method of introspection. The goal of psychology was to reduce the contents of consciousness to constituent elements of sensory origin. In the 1890s, Wilhelm Wundt developed a thre-dimentional theory of feeling.Essentially, Wundt thought that feelings vary along three dimentions: Pleasant — unpleasant, strain — relaxation, excitement — calm. Titchener agreed with and accepted only the pleasant — unpleasant dimention. This approach led him to relegate emotions to organic visceral reactions. Further, Edward Titchener proposed a theory of meaning suggesting that the context in which a sensation occurs in consciousness determines meaning. Accordingly, s simple sensation has no meaning by itself, but it acquires meaning by association with other sensations or images.
Critics
Most of the major findings of Structuralism were seriously challenged. In terms of higher mental processes, Titchener called thought a mental element that is probably an unanalyzed complex of kinesthetic sensations and images. Moreover, he perceived what we call will as an element composed of complex of images that form ideas in advance of action. As a result, thought and will are linked through mental images. According to this analysis, thought must be accompanied by images. This imperative gave rise to the imageless thought controversy, in which other psychologist, (Külpe, Binet, and Woodworth) argued the possibilty of thought processes without discrete mental images. Such an interpretation was unacceptable for Titchener because it contradicted his analytic view of thought, described by elements of images. Instead, it substituted a more holistic or phenomenal view of thought processes, unanalyzed into constituent elements.
Edward Titchener proposed a model of psychology that had a similarity to materialistic empiricism. Although Titchener recognized the necessity of a mental construct, he argued that the contents of the mind could be reduced to the elements of sensation. This analytic model of psychology ultimately led to reduction of the sensations to their corresponding stimuli. The integrity of psychology was lost, and psychology was logically reduced to physics.
Publications and Legacy
Titchener's major works are:
- An Outline of Psychology (1896; new edition, 1902)
- A Primer of Psychology (1898; revised edition, 1903)
- Experimental Psychology (four volumes, 1901-05)[1.1][1.2][2.1][2.2]
- Elementary Psychology of Feeling and Attention (1908)
- Experimental Psychology of the Thought Processes (1909)
- A Textbook of Psychology (two volumes, 1909-10)
- A Beginner's Psychology (1915).
These works are characterized as scholarly and systematic, almost encyclopedic in their scope. However, Titchener would not admit applied aspects of psychology , and so he removed himself from the major theme of American psychology that was eagerly studying such topics as child psychology, abnormal psychology, , animal psychology. Titchener was solely concerned with the experimental analysis of the normal adult human mind, not with the individual differences.
ON VALUE
Titchener translated a few works of his colleagues, including Oswald Külpe's Outlines of Psychology.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Boring, E.G.(1950). A history of experimental psychology, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
- Boring, E.G.(1927). Edward Bradfors Titchener. In American Journal of Psychology, No.38. - P.489-506.
- Brennan, J.F.(1982). History and systems of psychology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
- Evans, R.B. (1972). E.B. Titchener and his lost system. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, No.8. - P.168-180.
- Evans, R.B. (1975). The origins of Titchener's doctrine of meaning. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, No.7. - P.23-28.
- Henle, M. (1971). Did Titchener commit the stimuli error? The problem of meaning in structural psychology. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, No.7. - P.279-282.
- Henle, M. (1974). E. B. Titchener and the case of the missing element. The problem of meaning in structural psychology. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, No.10. - P.227-237.
- Hindeland, M.J. (1971). Edward Bradford Titchener: A pioneer in perception. In Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, No.8. - P.168-180.
- Pillsbury, W.B. (1928). The psychology of Edward Bradford Titchener. In Philosophical Review, No.37. - P.104-131.
- Titchener, E.B. (1898). The postulate of structural psychology. In Philosophical Review, No.7. - P.449-465.
- Titchener, E.B.(1899). Structural and functional psychology. In Philosophical Review, No.8. - P.290-299.
- Titchener, E.B.(1910). A Textbook of Psychology. New York: Macmillan.
- Titchener, E.B.(1925). Experimental psychology: A retrospect. In American Journal of Psychology. No.36. P.313-323.
- Titchener, E.B.(1929). Systematic psychology: Prolegomena. New York: Macmillan.
- Woodworth, R.S. (1906). Imageless thought. The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods. No.3. - 701-708.
External link
- Picture, biography and bibliography in the Virtual Laboratory of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
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