Ch10 Nineteenth Century Psychology | Test Bank – 6e

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Chapter 10

Nineteenth-Century Bases of Psychology

Chapter Objectives:

• Review the major nineteenth-century advances in the life sciences, particularly the study of the brain and nervous system.
• Survey the development of psychophysics as a precursor of a formally defined, empirical psychology.
• The importance of evolution for the emergence of psychology as a formally defined science; evolution considered as the completion of the post-Renaissance triumph of science over faith started by the Copernican Revolution.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Three movements in the nineteenth century formed the intellectual background from which psychology emerged as a discipline separate from the natural sciences and philosophy. In physiology, great advances were made in the understanding of the nervous system. The specific functions of nerve fibers were described by Bell and Magendie. Müller's systematic analysis of neural conduction led researchers such as Du Bois-Reymond and Helmholtz to describe the nature of the nerve impulse. As a reaction against Gall's phrenology, the localization of brain functions was studied through neuroanatomy and histology, reaching a culmination in the works of Flourens and Sherrington. The strides in physiological investigations were combined with advances in knowledge of physics to examine sensations, and Young, Helmholtz, and Müller all contributed theories of sensory processing. The methodological integrity of subjective sensory experience was justified by Purkinje. The second nineteenth-century intellectual backdrop to modern psychology was psychophysics. This movement differed from sensory physiology by proposing that the integrity of sensory experience is not completely reducible to physics and physiology. Although Weber contributed both methodologically and substantively to psychophysics, its clearest expression is found in the work of Fechner. The quantitative analysis of sensory and perceptual experiences marked the need for a disciplinary approach not accommodated by the natural sciences. This view received strong support from the experiments of Helmholtz, especially in his doctrine of unconscious inference in perception -- clearly a mental construct. The final movement centered around Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin's writings completed the Copernican revolution in science and established the primacy of scientific empiricism in our quest for knowledge. Spencer applied Darwin's writings to evolutionary associationism, and Galton, also influenced by Darwin, made an intensive examination of individual differences through mental testing. All three movements aptly demonstrate the supreme position of empirical science in the nineteenth century. The scientific ideal represented the appropriate framework for the pursuit of psychological inquiry.

Suggested topics and issues for class discussion and/or short essay examination questions:

1. Describe the Bell-Magendie Law and why their discovery had a great impact on psychology.

2. What was Johannes Müller's conclusion about the relationship between sensory experience and the nervous system?

3. Describe the investigations of neural conduction by Galvani and Du Bois-Reymond.

4. Why was Helmholtz's measurement of the speed of a nerve impulse such a major step for the emergence of psychology as an empirical discipline?

5. What were the neuroanatomical contributions of Golgi and Cajal?

6. What were the substance and rationale of phrenology?

7. Describe the work of Rolando and Flourens on brain localization.

8. What was the contribution of Flourens in his method of extirpation?

9. Describe Sherrington's integrative neurophysiology. How did his work justify further developments in behavioral reflexology?

10. What was the Young-Helmholtz Theory of color vision?

11. Describe the methodological approach of Purkinje and its implications for psychology.

12. What was psychophysics and why was it a precursor for the emergence of scientific psychology?

13. Describe Weber's work in psychophysics and its relation to prevailing German philosophical assumptions about human experience.

14. What were Fechner's goals for psychophysics, in particular, and for science, in general?

15. What were the uses of the concept of threshold in Fechner's psychophysics?

16. What were the relationships between stimulus intensity and sensations, according to Fechner?

17. What was Helmholtz's doctrine of unconscious inference?

18. How did Fechner and Helmholtz differ in their implied approaches about the assumed nature of human activity?

19. What were the essential differences between the goals of the sensory physiologists and psychophysicists?

20. Was Charles Darwin's theory of evolution empirically based?

21. What were the differences between the versions of evolutionary theory of Lamarck and Darwin?

22. How did Mendel contribute to Darwin's version of evolution?

23. Why is Spencer called an "evolutionary associationist"?

24. Describe the implications of Darwin's views for Romanes and Morgan.

25. Describe the goals of Galton's work on mental testing.

Objective Questions:

1. The distinction between sensory and motor nerves was initially demonstrated by

A. Müller and Helmholtz. B. Weber and Fechner.

C. Helmholtz and Purkinje. D. Bell and Magendie.

E. Romanes and Morgan.

2. The Bell-Magendie Law states that posterior and anterior roots of the spinal cord contain respective

A. motor and sensory fibers.

B. sensory and motor fibers.

C. uni- and bi-directional fibers.

D. active and passive spirits.

E. sensory and Purkinje fibers.

3. The ten laws of neural transmission, contained in the Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies, were proposed by

A. Rolando. B. Helmholtz. C. Müller.

D. Sherrington. E. Purkinje.

4. Müller's view of the relation between neural activity and sensation states that

A. we are aware of our neural response, not environmental objects directly.

B. sensations are dependent upon environmental input.

C. we are directly aware of environmental objects.

D. the mind is an unnecessary construct.

E. they are synonymous.

5. The classic experiment on electrical reflex elicitation in a frog with a partially intact spinal cord was done by

A. Galvani. B. Golgi. C. Gralath.

D. Rolando. E. Müller.

6. The modern basis for the electrical nature of neural transmissions was proposed by

A. Müller. B. Rolando. C. DuBois-Reymond.

D. Helmholtz. E. Golgi.

7. The speed of a nerve impulse was first measured by

A. Müller. B. Rolando. C. DuBois-Reymond.

D. Helmholtz. E. Golgi.

8. In his experiments measuring the speed of a nerve impulse, Helmholtz

A. used frogs only. B. used humans only.

C. employed subjective reports.

D. measured reaction time. E. measured perceptions.

9. The scientists Golgi and Cajal developed techniques that allowed

A. measurement of the speed of a nerve impulse.

B. the mapping of brain localizations.

C. the method of extirpation.

D. the formation of neural synapses.

E. microscopic examination of stained neural structures.

10. Phrenology was the study of

A. skull contours.

B. the speed of nerve impulses.

C. reaction time.

D. sensations.

E. specific nerve energies.

11. The pioneers of phrenology were

A. Müller and Helmholtz. B. Weber and Fechner.

C. Gall and Spurzheim. D. Bell and Magendie.

E. Helmholtz and Purkinje.

12. Rolando studied brain localization by using

A. the method of extirpation.

B. reaction time.

C. pathological observations.

D. phrenology.

E. psychophysical scaling.

13. Flourens studied brain localization by using

A. the method of extirpation.

B. reaction time.

C. pathological observations.

D. phrenology.

E. psychophysical scaling.

14. Flourens's method of extirpation involved

A. electrical stimulation during post-mortem examination.

B. stimulating the muscles of decorticated frogs.

C. clinical observations of pathological cases.

D. loss and recovery of function following surgery.

E. measuring reaction time to stimuli.

15. Sherrington's integrative neurophysiology provided the physiological bases for

A. psychophysics.

B. faculty psychology.

C. behavioristic psychology and reflexology.

D. the doctrine of specific nerve energies.

E. the doctrine of unconscious inference.

16. Among his many discoveries, Sherrington found that critical inhibitory and excitatory actions occur at

A. the cerebellum. B. neurons. C. synapses.

D. the spinal cord. E. Purkinje fibers.

17. The tri-chromatic theory of color vision was proposed by

A. Bell and Magendie. B. Gall and Spurzheim.

C. Weber and Fechner. D. Müller and Helmholtz.

E. Young and Helmholtz.

18. The difference between scotopic and photopic vision in dark adaptation is called

A. Purkinje shift. B. two-point threshold.

C. tri-chromatic theory. D. neural fade-out effect.

E. interneuronal synapse.

19. The investigative approach of Purkinje allowed

A. reaction time measurement.

B. psychophysical scaling.

C. objective observations.

D. subjective observations.

E. the method of average error.

20. In his studies of touch, Weber found

A. the two-point threshold.

B. synapses.

C. the method of average error.

D. the method of constant stimuli.

E. the method of equal judgement.

21. Fechner was opposed to

A. science. B. Weber. C. materialism.

D. empiricism. E. reaction time.

22. The just noticeable difference (j.n.d.), according to Fechner, is the

A. absolute threshold.

B. minimal detectable change in stimulus intensity.

C. maximal detectable change in stimulus intensity.

D. psychophysical equivalent of faculty psychology.

E. amount of sensory experience when the stimulus remains constant.

23. Helmholtz differed from Fechner in his emphasis on

A. experience. B. innate knowledge.

C. mental faculties. D. neurophysiology.

E. psychophysics.

24. To explain certain perceptual phenomenon, Helmholtz suggested

A. psychophysical scaling.

B. innate mental faculties.

C. ongoing sensations.

D. conscious inference.

E. unconscious inference.

25. As a movement in the development of science, psychophysics was

A. synonymous with physics.

B. synonymous with physiology.

C. synonymous with modern psychology.

D. a precursor of modern psychology.

E. antecedent of modern psychology.

26. Darwin's expression of his theory of evolution was based on

A. empiricism. B. deduction. C. genetics.

D. speculation. E. neuroanatomy.

27. Darwin proposed that species variation occurred by

A. adaptive efforts of animals.

B. survival of the fittest.

C. chance.

D. genetics.

E. divine plan.

28. The genetic theory to support evolution by natural selection was proposed by

A. Darwin. B. Galton. C. Romanes.

D. Spencer. E. Mendel.

29. The parsimonious convention in comparative studies, stating that the simpler explanation should be accepted, was proposed by

A. Darwin. B. Galton. C. Mendel.

D. Romanes. E. Morgan.

30. Galton's extension of evolutionary study included his work on

A. evolutionary associationism.

B. mental inheritance.

C. genetics.

D. survival of the fittest.

E. animal behavior.