Syllabus of psychology for use in normal schools and colleges

Preface

While this Syllabus is printed for use in the author's own classes, where in the conduct of the class exercises its philosophical presuppositions may be ignored or only incidentally stated as the exigencies of the discussions appear to demand, respect for the critical general reader, into whose hands it may by chance come, necessitates a brief fore-word of explanation.

The author regards Psychology as a '^natural science", concerned with the description and explanation of a characteristic body of phenomena. He accepts the spirit and method of the ''New Psychology", without disparaging the results of observation and constructive thinking in the past. While in his philosophical attitude he would probably find his place with the monistic idealists, as a teacher of elementary General Psychology his standpoint is that of a naive dualism, accepting unquestioned for the purposes of scientific study the existence of an external world that may be sensed through the body mechanism and known in the conscious individual life. It is thought that each modern science may rightfullj^ transform reality for its own purposes, leaving to the metaphysician the justification of all of its ontological and epistemological assumptions and postulates. Consequently, no question is raised as to the substantial nature of the human soul, either to insist that it is "nothing but a stream of mental processes" or a static entity with capacities, or "faculties", for various forms of functioning. Introspective analysis, as the immediate critical study of personal experiences during their continuance, is accepted as the ultimate source of all scientific knowledge of psychic life. Consciousness is so defined that the "subject-object problem", the Banquo's ghost of psychological study, is not permitted to vitiate the examination of mental facts as such. Psychological experiments are viewed as introspective observations under artificially controlled conditions; and an effort is made to distinguish between biological and psychological stud}^ of the living human organism.

The details of matter and method in this synoptic outline have been determined largely by two important considerations; first, the intellectual status and needs of the students for whose use it has been specifically prepared; and second, a well-defined theory as to the purpose of all instruction in elementary General Psychology, especially for students in State Normal Schools. In the State Normal School at Kirksville this course is open to students of the grade of the Freshman and Sophomore years of college study, and presupposes a fair knowledge of the elements of the physical and biological sciences with some acquaintance with modern laboratory work. Starting with the student's general knowledge of the facts of his own mind, his body, and his relation to his physical and

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spiritual environment, it seeks to lead him in a critical study of the facts of his own conscious life, without any radical reconstruction of his point of view. The order of study is the conventional one — '' knowing", ''feeling", ''willing"; and only the principal subjects are considered, thus laying in outline a foundation for subsequent studies in the same field. As to the second consideration, the principal purpose of this course is to give to the student such a knowledge of himself and of the rational control of his own experiences as will secure for him integrity of character and efficiency in the affairs of his daily life. His acquaintance with the technical terms of his science and its logically outlined system is held to be secondary to this character-forming result in his own personal being. It is to this end that Part III has been differentiated from the analysis of experience in Part II and has been made a constructive study in "the making of a life". Even for Normal School students, for whom Psychology is too often treated as a sort of propaedeutic to Pedagogy, the essential fact sought to be realized by the instruction is a well-knit manhood and womanhood through a clear knowledge of self.

The "directions for recording results in experimental introspective observation", given on page 6, provide for more comprehensive "laboratory work" than the author has himself found feasible, or desirable, in an introductory course. They are printed here in this full form to indicate to his students the spirit and attitude of thoroughness in such work which he holds to be essential in more advanced study, if Psychology would justify its claim to a place among modern positive sciences. In the very limited experimentation employed in his own classes much simpler forms of expressing results are found adequate. Experimenting in the beginning study in the sciences in general is for illustration and personal corroboration, not for discovery or research; what the beginner in Psychology does with "Weber's Law" is analogous to what the beginner in Physics does, with his Atwood's Machine, with the "Laws of Falling Bodies", and in neither case should he take the scientific validity of his work too seriously. It would be a mistake, however, to conclude that the author undervalues direct critical study of mental facts under controlled conditions even by beginners; the fact simply is that long experience as a teacher of beginners in this science has made his method more pedagogical, if less logical.

The lists of questions and exercises at the close of the sections are designed to quicken the student's interest in the concrete problems of his science. They are so worded as to provoke independent thought. The student is encouraged to attack such of these as appeal to him; he is not expected to answer them all. While some are easily within his proper field, others are far out on the border line of metaphysical speculation. The value of some of them for students of this grade is to be found in their suggestions of other worlds of human interests, not in their contribution to mapping out the one in which they already somewhat comfortably dwell. In the regular class work, as in the teaching of all sciences, many simple problems and questions arise, which are referred immediately to the class for investigation or are assigned to individual pupils for special reports. It is impossible, as well as undesirable, to cumber the pages of the syllabus with such details of teaching, since their character depends upon the constantly varying interests and activities of the class.

The '^ references ' for library study at the close of the various sections will doubtless appear to be needlessly full and to be lacking in equal authoritativeness, but they have their justification in local conditions. The economic use of a reference library by large classes necessitates many references, even to the point of duplication; the books named here are those readily accessible in our own school library, for obvious reasons limited to the English language. In the choice of references no attempt has been made to corroborate narrowly the dogmatic statements of the Syllabus, rather it has been the aim to throw a sidelight on the matter from diverse points of view.

It is regretted that the increased size of this Syllabus has made it necessary to abandon the blank righthand pages found so valuable for important classroom memoranda; it is urged, however, that the student keep a concise record of his own growing thought during the daily work of the class. Such immediate expression of thought in the moment of its birth gives it cogency and definiteness that it will not otherwise have. He thinks with his pencil.

The Index is added to facilitate the use of the little book in subsequent study. In many cases it is in effect a guide to the literature of particular topics, through the references at the close of the sections indicated.

W. A. Clark.

Missouri State Normal School at Kirksville, July 1, 1915.

Directions for Recording Results in Experimental Introspective Observation

The record should include four points: (1) the object of the experiment, (2) the apparatus employed, (3) the method of controlling the phenomena, and (4) introspective memoranda of facts of consciousness. To these in many cases a fifth point, always under a separate heading, should be added, a general remark upon the success of the experiment.

In stating the object of the experiment, while it is well to define it as clearly as possible, the student should avoid a bias in favor of a prejudiced conclusion. It is better to propose 'Ho examine", "to explore", 'Ho test", "to discover", etc., than "to prove", "to show", "to fix", etc.

The apparatus should be described with reference to its special function in the prefeent experiment; a drawing is often desirable. Let the description include all of the material conditions of controlling the mental processes that are not noted as purely a matter of "method" under the third heading.

The method should be described as the control of the life process from without. It is limited to the physiological side of the experiment; and when an assistant is employed in the experimenting, the account is largely of what he does, learned from him subsequent to the experiment. No introspective facts or theorizings should be given under this head, the aim being merely to show how the conditions of the experience were controlled.

The introspective memoranda are designed to be a transcript of the processes of the experience as revealed in consciousness and reviewed in memory as soon after as possible. This is the heart of the record, and no pains should be spared to make it an honest exhibit of the facts. Bear in mind that it is to be an unbiased account of what actually happens, without theory or self-stultification. Self -observation under artificially controlled conditions is the essential method of modern Psychology, and it requires earnest effort and much practice to use it successfully. Do not be too solicitous for fullness of your account; one or two facts clearly and indubitably perceived are far better than a lengthy list of what you think ought to be perceived.

Under the fifth heading may be given explanations, theoretical conclusions, and other matters that properly find no place in the succinct record of the experiment under the first four headings. This can be written up at any time after the experiment, while it is very desirable that the "introspective memoranda" should be made immediately after the experiment.

ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Definition of Psychology 9

Forms of definition Psychology a true science The subject matter

Method of Psychology 14

Nature of psychological analysis

Nature and validity of introspection

Some valuable auxiliary methods

Function and form of psychological experiments

Field of Psychology 24

General delimitation Relations to allied sciences Subdivisions of the science Characteristics of the ''New Psychology'

ANALYSIS OF EXPERIENCE

General character of an experience 30

An experience defined

The procession of experiences

Relation of mind to body

Three phases of an experience distinguished

Cognition: the knowing aspect of experience 38

Nature of cognitive growth

A conscious object-seeking activity What " knowledge " is Process of knowing an external object Three aspects of cognition distinguished

Presentative cognition 42

Nature of presentative knowing

Sensation: subjective aspect of presentative cognition

What sensations are

Kinds of sensations

Threshold of sensation

Quantity of sensations : " Weber-Fechner Law "

Localizing sensations in the body structure

Centrally aroused sensations

Perception: objective aspective or presentative cognition Nature of perception Distinguished from sensation

The " outer world " of perception Perception a constructive process Illusory perceptions

Representative cognition 58

Distinguished from presentative cognition What a memory experience is Four elements of a memory

Retention, or 'liability to recall"

Recalling, or reviving a past experience

Recognition, or accepting a revived experience as such

Localizing, or placing the experience in 'Hhe past'' Elaborative cognition 67

Relation of elaboration to acquisition

Apperception

Conception

Imagination

Judgment

Reasoning

Knowledge as achievement and as self

Affection : the feeling aspect of experience 85

Affection in general

Nature of affection

Relation of ''pleasantness" and ''unpleasantness" to metabolic body processes

Distinction of "ideational" and "sensuous" feelings

" James-Lange theory^' of emotions Emotions . 92

Nature and kinds

Alleged antagonism between feeling and knowing Sentiments 97

The place of sentiments in human life

Classification of sentiments

"Moods", "temperaments", "dispositions", "passions"

Conation: the doing aspect of experience.. 103

Willing in the wide and in the narrow sense Impulse as the simple will element Attention "voluntary" and "involuntary"

Interest

Choice ; motives , deliberation Execution ; sustained activity, ' ' resolution ' ' " Freedom of the will "

SYNTHESIS OF SELFHOOD. (Omitted from this edition).

A Syllabus of Psychology A SYLLABUS OF PSYCHOLOGY

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Chapter I — Definition of Psychology

1. Psychology defined. Psychology is the science of personal experiences as they exist in consciousness.

(a) Importance of a strict definition. It is important that the student of Psychology should at the very outset of his study determine with precision the field and method of his science, since vagueness in the fundamental conceptions of what Psychology is about and the methods by which its data are handled and evaluated will obscure all his investigations and discourage him from his highest efforts in study. No other science has suffered more from lack of accurate definition of subject matter and strict delimitation of its field than Psychology. The definition given above is in general narrower than that of the common textbook or scientific treatise; it purposely restricts the matter to be studied to the events of conscious personal life, leaving to the biologists and sociologists large areas and groups of phenomena which many later writers on Psychology have sought to conquest for their own science.

(b) Other definitions. The student will find a critical study of the common definitions of Psychology profitable. The following will serve as types: —

■''Psychology is the science of consciousness." This is analogous to defining Geometry as ''the science of space," or Algebra as "the science of time;" and just as there can be no science of space or of time so there can be no science of "consciousness" in any proper use of that term. Nor is the definition improved by the statement that it is "the science of the phenomena of consciousness, " since every explanatory science deals with phenomena, not with any substantial reality of which they are viewed as manifestations. The question is. Is consciousness, continuous or discrete, the concrete entity whose phenomena are to be described and explained by the psychologist? Is not consciousness related to the real objects of psychological study very much as "space" is to the figures of Geometry, or "nature" to the objects of study in Physics?

"Psychology is the science of mental processes, " is Titchener's definition, to which Stout adds the word "positive" ("the positive science of mental processes") to distinguish Psychology as a fact science from the normative sciences. In a similar definition Baldwin introduces the word "actual" ("the science of actual psychical processes") to emphasize the fact that Psychology deals with real processes in the life of an individual person, not with the abstractions of science. These are good working definitions; but does not Psychology deal immediately with. the concrete events in personal life, with bits of life that have a kind of real completeness in themselves which scientific analysis transforms and resolves into "processes"?

Those who define Psychology as "the science of the soul," or "the science of mind," or "the science of the facts or phenomena of self,"

recognize a unity and integrity of personal life that is not regarded in the definitions just considered. Some psychologists, especially those who have "si Psychology without a soul," object to the metaphysical presuppositions and implications of these definitions; but they are analogous to defining Physics as ''the science of matter," or "the science of inorganic nature," and are no more objectionable from the standpoint of philosophy than the commonly accepted definitions of other sciences. In Ladd's widely approved definition of Psychology as "the science of the states of consciousness as such," the words "as such" are added to restrict the subject matter of the study to the facts of mental life as facts, without metaphysical assumptions or speculations. The student should, however, bear in mind that no scientific study of "facts" is possible apart from a "working hypothesis," and that all true science deals constructively with its data in formulating laws and outlining theories. What does Ladd mean by "states of consciousness"? In a similar way Bowne seeks to limit the field in his definition "the science of mental facts and processes." There is certainly much more room for metaphysical theory in James's definition as "the science of mental life, both of its phenomena and its conditions." What does he mean by " mental life "; and are its "conditions" merely the bodily aspects of such life?

Become intensely conscious of your personal existence. Do you note any tendency to localize your conscious being in a limited part of your body mass? Do you feel yourself centered in your head? In your chest? Can you localize yourself in head or chest at will? Can you localize your conscious self in the thumb of your left hand?

Distinguish Psychology from Physiology, in subject matter and method.

Define Psychology as a special chapter of the science of Biology.

Complete the following definition of Psychology with proper differentia: "Psychology is the genetic study of human life as "

Bowne, Introduction to Psychological Theory, p. 1.

James, Principles of Psychology, Vol. I, p. 1.

Stout, Analytical Psychology, Vol. I, pages 1 and 9.

Ladd, Outline of Descriptive Psychology, p. 1; Psychology Descriptive and Explanatory, p. 1; Elements of Physiological Psychology, pp. 1-2.

Baldwin, Handbook of Psychology, Vol. I, pp. 1-8; Elements of Psychology, p. 1.

Royce, Outlines of Psychology, p. 1.

Spiller, Mind of Man. p. 37.

Hoffding, Outlines of Psychology, p. 1.

Judd, Psychology, pp. 1 and 13.

Angell, Psychology, p. 1.

Calkins, First Book in Psychology, p, 1-6.

Encyclopedia Britannica, Ward's article, Vol. XX, pp. 43-44; also in Werner's American Supplement, Vol. XXVIII, p. 513.

Baldwin's Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology, Vol. II, p. 382.

2. Psychology a science. The major genus in the definition of Psychology in the preceding section is ^'science"; the assertion is that Psychology is a science. Now, the justification of the claim to rank our study as a science depends upon both its method and its subject matter; its method is ''scientific,^' and its materials are worthy the critical explanatory investigations of its students.

(a) Method in science. Whether any body of knowledge or field of study is a science is primarily a question of method. Karl Pearson (Grammar of Science) says, ''The unity of all science consists alone in its method, not in its material. The man who classifies facts of any kind whatever, who sees their mutual relation and describes their sequence, is applying the scientific method and is a man of science. It is not the facts themselves which form science, but the method in which they are dealt with." What is "the scientific method"; and is it true that any related body of knowledge, however unworthy of serious inquiry its subject may be, may truly become a science?

(b) Materials of Psychology scientific. A little reflection will convince the student that the events of personal life as given in individual consciousnesses are worthy materials of scientific investigation; and as he progresses in his study and learns to see these facts more clearly, the field of his science will become definitely fixed. He will find in the workings of his own mind an unsurpassed field of critical study, a well defined group of facts to whose description and explanation he may profitably devote his highest efforts. The subject matter of Psychology, when accurately defined, is as attractive to the scientist as the field of Meteorology or Geometry.

(c) Psychology an actual science. The right of Psychology to be called a science does not depend upon the amount of knowledge that has been acquired regarding mental processes; if the method of the psychologist is scientific and his materials worthy of critical study, the fact that his branch of knowledge as defined today is comparatively new cannot debar it from the family of sciences. However, Psychology is more than "a science in posse ^ ] it is a science in esse,^ and its "Weber's Law" is surely as scientific as the "laws of sliding friction" in Physics, though its "coefficients" may not be quite so arbitrarily established.

What is a science? Distinguish the science of agriculture from the art of farming.

Show that the distinction between two sciences is not found in the matters with which they deal, but in the point of view; distinguish Geology and Geography.

Is there a science of shoemaking, either already existing or a possible development?

Pinch the back of your hand, in the metacarpal region, for several seconds with uniform pressure of your nails; note introspectively the mental facts of touch and pain. Do you think it possible to make as critical study of such facts as of the facts of the formation of clouds for a summer shower?

Pearson, Grammar of Science, p. 14 et. seq.

Calkins, Introduction to Psychology, pp. 3-7.

Fairbanks, Introduction to Sociology, pp. 18-33. Mackenzie, Manual of Ethics, pp. 5-6 and 20-22.

Ladd, Outlines of Descriptive Psychology, p. 6; Psychology Descriptive and Explanatory, pp. 2-4.

Titchener, Outlines of Psychology, pp. 1-11; Textbook of Psychology, pp. 1-6.

Munsterberg, Psychology, General and Special, pp. 1-6.

Fullerton, Introduction to Philosophy, pp. 230-235.

Hoffding, Problems of Philosophy, pp. 12-13.

Report of Congress of Arts and Sciences, St, Louis, Vol. V, pp. 593-604.

3. Subject matter of Psychology. The differentia of our definition, '^ personal experiences as they exist in consciousness,/' designates a perfectly definite subject matter for the science. Psychology deals with conscious facts, facts as they are found in individual consciousness; or as Kulpe states it, 'Hhe facts of experience in their dependency upon experiencing individuals. |'

(a) Two views of mind. There are two pretty sharply distinguished views of mind in modern Psychology; the "structural view" and ''the functional view." In the first the events of conscious life are thought to constitute the mind, that is, the mind is nothing but a ''stream of processes. " In the second the mind is thought to be a substantial entity, a ding-ansich, of which the conscious events are the phenomena. Tfiis is a metaphysical question, the metaphysical question of all ages, with which the student of Psychology is not immediately concerned. Just as the student of Physics need not concern himself with the "substantial nature" of matter, but only with its "phenomena, " so in Psychology the matter to be studied, the events of conscious life, may be viewed indifferently by the psychologist as a form of "becoming" or the manifestation of a "being."

(b) Psychical facts and physical facts. The facts of Psychology are the conscious facts of an individual organism, while the facts of Physics are common facts, belonging alike to many organisms. Compare the physical "sound" of the vibrating violin string with the feeling of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the hearer. A physical process takes place in space and time, and it is conceived to be independent of the perceiving mind, thus the snowflakes fall upon the mountain top where man has never climbed. A psychical process is not in space and time, and it owes its existence to a psycho-physical organism. In our experiences we share physical facts with others; but our thoughts and feelings (psychical facts) we cannot share with others. "Psychical facts are individual facts; physical facts are over-individual facts. " — Munsterberg.

Be "aware" of your breathing for one minute, noting the sense of effort in keeping up the process. Why are we not aware of the process as it ordinarily goes on?

Experiment with the nictating process of cleansing and moistening the eyeball, which ordinarily goes on unconsciously as needed, to discover whether you can become aware of it without volitionally controlling it.

Explain Munsterberg's statement about the "individual" character of psychical facts as distinguished from "over-individual" physical facts.

Try to project the pleasantness of the taste of an apple into the apple as a physical "thing". Can psychical facts be objectified?

What is gained by restricting the field of Psychology in introductory study to conscious facts? *

Hoffding, Outlines of Psychology, p. 1 et seq.

Ladd, Outlines of Descriptive Psychology, pp. 1-6; Psychology Descriptive and Explanatory, p. 1 et seq.

Munsterberg, Psychology and the Teacher, pp. 31-32; Eternal Values, p. 134; Psychology, General and Applied, pp. 10-18.

Titchener, Primer of Psychology, pp. 4-12.

Calkins, First Book in Psychology, p. 273, et seq.

Chapter II — Method of Psychology

4. Psychological analysis. The method of Psychology is strictly the method of all modern science, i. e., analysis for the purpose of description and explanation. The concrete experience is resolved into constituent factors, which are in turn split up into still simpler components and so on until the simplest elements are reached; the description and explanation of the experience depends upon a constructive synthesis of these elemental factors, noting the effect and value of each in the life event.

(a) Psychology became a science only a generation ago, when, breaking away from a priori assumptions as to the nature of the soul and how it should manifest itself, earnest students devoted themselves to direct observation of the facts of mental life as they actually are. The problem of the new science was the explanation of the phenomena of conscious life. As a positive science it found its field in the description of the facts of personal life as revealed in consciousness ; and its explanations were made to depend upon careful observation of the facts themselves, instead of upon preconceived philosophical theory.

(b) The modern psychologist bases his description and explanation of the events of personal life upon an analysis of their structure. However, the analysis of an experience does not consist in splitting it up into ''smaller experiences," each with a kind of completeness in itself, nor even into separate "part processes" of knowing, feehng and wiUing, to be viewed as independent facts of life. While the botanist tears his flower apart that he may examine separately its stamens and pistil and the chemist resolves the compound in his crucible into simpler substances, there is no such partitioning of the events of life in their critical study by the psychologist. The analysis of an experience consists in distinguishing within the unity of the conscious event phases or aspects which ' may be abstracted for critical observation. The study of ''feeling" by the psychologist is analogous to the study of color by the physicist, each is possible only by an abstraction which transforms the reality for its special purpose.

What is meant by the ''method" of science? Show how the descriptions and explanations of science depend upon analysis; and contrast the analysis of Psychology with the analysis of the physical sciences.

Try to hold your conscious life static for thirty seconds, noting introspectively the conative, cognitive and affective phases of the content.

Try to annul consciousness so far as to "think of nothing". Does a mind become wholly contentless in the inactive state called "mental staring"?

What is meant by "feeling good", when one says "I feel good this morning"? Try introspectively observing such a state when it occurs naturally in your life, noting its pulsating fluctuations.

Ladd, Psychology Descriptive and Explanatory, p. 14 et seq.

Robertson, Elements of Psychology, p. 19.

Titchener, Outlines of Psychology, pp. 15-18; Textbook of Psychology, pp. 37-41.

Stout, Groundwork of Psychology, pp. 10-12.

Calkins, Introduction to Psychology, pp. 7-10, 17. Major, Elements of Psychology, p. 8.

Yerkes, Introduction to Psychology, pp. 26-28, 73-83. Pillsbury, Essentials of Psychology, p. 106.

5. Introspection. The immediate source of psychological data is the critical observation of the events of personal life as they are given in consciousness. Introspection differs essentially in its field from the extro-spective observation of the physical sciences. Just as the meteorologist finds the data of his science in space, so the ps^^chologist finds his in his own consciousness; the one looks outward to an objective world of physical phenomena, the other attends to an inner subjective world of mental phenomena. The place of introspection in the work of psychologists is emphasized by James in his usual cogent expression as follows: "Introspective observations is what we have to rely on first and foremost and always. "

(a) To deny, as some leading psychologists do on theoretical grounds, the possibility of the immediate examination of mental processes is to reject patent facts. That a person is immediately aware of the events of his own life is a fact so universally accepted that no amount of philosophical speculation can discredit it. The existence in conscious life of ideas and feelings is undoubted both in the naive experience of the uncritical person and in the reflective attention of th^ scientific student; the one great fact that has remained unquestioned throughout the epistemological speculations of all ages is that we are aware of our own existence in the activities of a personal life. Similarly the fact that attention may be directed to this consciousness of events of personal life and that they may be critically observed is commonly admitted, even by those who assert for a priori reasons that such observation is "entirely worthless. " Whatever theory there may be to the contrary, we do know that there are mental facts revealed in individual consciousness and we do know that we may critically investigate such facts.

(b) The subject-object problem in psychological theory is one which the beginner in the study does not need to solve. It is easy to ask unanswerable questions regarding how the mind can be both the knowing subject and the known object, how "consciousness is both the instrument and the object of inquiry;" but it can be shown that in all such questions there is an unwarranted assumption of similarity in the observation of physical facts to the observation of psychical facts. There is an attempt to force the extrospective attitude of the physicist with its space-conditioned facts upon the psychologist whose facts are essentially unspatial and unobjective in character. In the introspective examination of events in consciousness there is no such "objectifying" as is employed in the examination of the objects of Physics; the critical analysis of personal events for description and explanation is essentially different from the botanist's analysis of a plant structure.