Narrative Summary of Experimental Psychology at Wellesley College

Overview:

As a psychology instructor at Wellesley College, I sought to incorporate experimental methods into a general psychology course, aiming to supplement, not supersede, introspection and to familiarize students with modern research methods. This article documents my experience over a year, outlining the curriculum, experiments performed, student responses, and valuable observations gleaned from the process.

Main Parts:

Introduction: The article begins by addressing the debate surrounding the merits of experimental versus introspective psychology and the challenges of integrating experimental methods into a general college curriculum.
The Course: The author details the course structure, the students, and the primary goals: to introduce experimental psychology as a supplement to introspection, familiarize students with modern research, and expose them to key works in psychological literature.
Cerebral Physiology: The first month focused on studying the brain using lectures, textbooks, models, and dissections of lamb brains.
Sensation Experiments: The next six weeks involved various experiments on different senses, including contact, pressure, temperature, taste, hearing, and sight. The experiments were chosen from Sanford’s “Laboratory Course in Psychology” and were adapted for the course’s lectures and discussions.
Association: This section delves into the study of association, introducing the distinction between “desistent” and “persistent” associations and discussing James’s quantitative distinctions. The experimental work focused on comparing reading times for connected and unconnected words, as well as a more extended experiment involving students creating word lists.
Attention: This section covers the concept of attention, with experimental work involving divided attention and the timing of two intellectual processes separately and combined.
Space-Perception: This part of the course covered theories of space perception, including empiricism, nativism, and the Nativist-Sensational theory. Experiments illustrated methods for gaining or developing space-consciousness, including single vision and depth perception experiments.
Memory and Imagination: The course included brief experiments on “The Mental Span,” along with discussions of memory, imagination, and paramnesia.
Abnormal Psychology: The author addressed abnormal psychology, discussing dreams and hypnotism as exaggerated manifestations of normal consciousness.
Emotions and Will: The section on emotions and will did not involve experimental work, focusing instead on readings and discussions of different theories.
Reaction-Time Experiments: The course ended with reaction-time experiments, illustrating method and verifying key results in reactions to sound and more complex reactions involving association, discrimination, and choice.
Determinism and Indeterminism: Discussions about determinism and indeterminism were included to address metaphysical questions raised by the study of psychological phenomena.
Final Essays: Students completed final essays on topics such as association, attention, memory, imagination, and various aspects of the psychology of language, childhood, blindness, aphasia, and animal psychology.
Colored Hearing and Number-Forms: The author concludes with a discussion of collected statistics on colored hearing and number-forms, providing details on the types of associations observed and their possible explanations.

View on Life: The text doesn’t explicitly present a view on life, but it implicitly encourages observation, critical thinking, and the integration of theory with practical experience. It highlights the value of scientific inquiry, both through introspection and objective experimentation, for understanding the human mind and behavior.

Scenarios:

Students performing various sensory experiments, with varying levels of interest and enthusiasm.
Students creating and analyzing word lists to study association patterns.
Students engaging in divided attention experiments, attempting to perform two intellectual processes simultaneously.
Students studying the perception of depth and single vision through various experiments.
Students discussing the philosophical questions of determinism and indeterminism.

Challenges:

Integrating experimental psychology into a general college curriculum for students with diverse backgrounds and interests.
Balancing the need to cover essential psychological principles with the demands of experimental work.
Engaging students who may not be naturally inclined towards laboratory work.

Conflict:

The debate between experimental and introspective psychology, and the potential conflict between traditional methods and newer experimental approaches.
The potential for students to perceive experimental work as overwhelming or unnecessary.

Plot:

The article follows the narrative arc of a year-long course in experimental psychology, highlighting the challenges, successes, and observations that emerged from the experience.

Point of View: The text is written from the perspective of the instructor, Mary Whiton Calkins. This point of view allows for a personal and insightful account of the course and the students’ experiences, as well as a reflection on the challenges and opportunities of teaching experimental psychology in a general college setting.

How It’s Written:

The article is written in a straightforward, descriptive style, using a combination of narrative and analytical language. It employs objective language to describe the course, experiments, and student responses, while also incorporating personal observations and reflections.
Example: “The results of this work were very satisfactory. The students, even those who had dreaded the dissection, were practically unanimous in regard to its value, as clearing up the difficult points in cerebral anatomy.”

Tone: The tone of the text is thoughtful, reflective, and mildly persuasive. The author presents her experiences and observations in a way that is informative, engaging, and ultimately seeks to highlight the value of experimental psychology in a general college curriculum.

Life Choices:

The text doesn’t explicitly address life choices, but it implicitly emphasizes the importance of critical thinking, curiosity, and the pursuit of knowledge.

Lessons:

The value of combining introspection with objective experimentation in understanding the human mind and behavior.
The importance of engaging students in hands-on learning and research.
The potential for experimental psychology to be accessible and beneficial for a wide range of students.

Characters:

Mary Whiton Calkins: The author and instructor of the course. She is described as a dedicated educator who sought to integrate experimental methods into a general psychology curriculum.
The students: The students are described as having diverse backgrounds and interests, some with enthusiasm for the experimental work and others less so.

Themes:

The integration of theory and practice: The article emphasizes the importance of combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience in understanding psychology.
The power of observation: It highlights the role of observation, both introspective and experimental, in gaining insight into human behavior.
The value of scientific inquiry: The text implicitly celebrates the pursuit of knowledge through systematic experimentation and critical analysis.

Principles:

The importance of empirical evidence: The article demonstrates the value of scientific methods and data collection in understanding psychological phenomena.
The interconnectedness of different aspects of psychology: It highlights the relationships between different areas of study, such as sensation, association, attention, and memory.
The value of education in promoting critical thinking and personal growth: The article suggests that engaging in rigorous study can foster intellectual curiosity and personal development.

Intentions:

Calkins’s intention: To present her experience integrating experimental psychology into a general college curriculum, demonstrating its benefits and offering insights for other educators.
The reader’s intention: To gain an understanding of early experimental psychology, the challenges of incorporating it into a broader curriculum, and the potential value of such an approach.

Unique Vocabulary:

Tympanum spatial-sensations: Refers to the experience of spatial awareness based on sound perception.
Cyclopean eye: A concept used to describe how the brain integrates information from both eyes to create a single perception.
Paramnesia: A memory disorder characterized by false recollections or distorted memories.

Anecdotes:

The author describes a student who found that she could reproduce certain dream figures in drawings, demonstrating the potential for dream analysis.
She mentions a student who discovered that her dreams were forgotten immediately upon waking, but reappeared upon going back to sleep, highlighting the phenomenon of hypnotic memory.
The author recounts a student’s personal study of twenty-five blind children, focusing on their imagination, which was accompanied by visits to the Perkins Institute for the Blind.

Ideas:

The idea that experimental psychology can be made accessible and valuable for a wider audience beyond specialists.
The idea that studying the abnormal can be informed by a thorough understanding of normal consciousness.
The idea that philosophical questions can be productively discussed within a psychology course, providing a more complete understanding of the subject.

Facts and Findings:

The article provides statistics on colored hearing and number-forms collected from over 500 individuals, including information on the types of associations observed.
The author reports on the results of experiments on association, attention, and reaction times, highlighting key findings.

Statistics:

98 out of 543 individuals exhibited colored hearing or number-forms.
32 individuals had colored hearing, 78 had number-forms, and 14 had both.

Points of View:

The article is written from the point of view of the instructor, Mary Whiton Calkins, offering a personal and insightful account of the course and the students’ experiences.
This point of view allows for a reflection on the challenges and opportunities of teaching experimental psychology in a general college setting.

Perspective:

The article provides a historical perspective on the early integration of experimental psychology into a general college curriculum.
It highlights the challenges and opportunities of teaching this subject to a diverse student population.
It also offers insights into the evolving understanding of psychological phenomena and the development of research methods in the late 19th century.

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