A little History Psychology 3717

History is almost the coolest discipline around Well besides psychology…. Well besides psychology…. 19 th century 19 th century Wilhelm Wundt Wilhelm Wundt Didn’t really study memory Didn’t really study memory But he started experimental psychology But he started experimental psychology Sensation / perception Sensation / perception Elemental processes Elemental processes

Ebbinghaus Well, these were all great ideas, but had not been tested. Well, these were all great ideas, but had not been tested. Cue Hermann Ebbinghaus Cue Hermann Ebbinghaus Strangely, both the behaviourists and the cognitive types claim him as their own Strangely, both the behaviourists and the cognitive types claim him as their own Nonsense syllables Nonsense syllables

Ebbinghaus Studied himself Studied himself Found savings Found savings Repetition was key Repetition was key Classic forgetting curve Classic forgetting curve Contiguity Contiguity Reversal was detrimental, so it was not just contiguity but also contingency Reversal was detrimental, so it was not just contiguity but also contingency

More on ebby Also found interference Also found interference Found the magic 7 Found the magic 7 Figured out that chunking would happen Figured out that chunking would happen Massed vs. distributed practice Massed vs. distributed practice Not bad for a career eh! Not bad for a career eh! But some dispute his importance But some dispute his importance They are idiots…. They are idiots….

William James Stream of consciousness Stream of consciousness Thought is personal Thought is personal Thought is changing Thought is changing Thought is continuous Thought is continuous Thought deals with objects independent of itself Thought deals with objects independent of itself It is interested in some things and not others It is interested in some things and not others

Bill was smart Talked about primary and secondary memory Talked about primary and secondary memory Talked about memory without awareness Talked about memory without awareness Got lots of stuff wrong but again, not bad eh Got lots of stuff wrong but again, not bad eh

Alfred Binet Developed the first real intelligence test Developed the first real intelligence test Was interested in application in a classroom context so he used more naturalistic stimuli Was interested in application in a classroom context so he used more naturalistic stimuli Free recall Free recall Found serial position effect Found serial position effect Looked at errors, early, acoustic, later, semantic Looked at errors, early, acoustic, later, semantic

Another smarty pants Found the importance effect with prose memory Found the importance effect with prose memory Found that phrases remembered better than single words Found that phrases remembered better than single words First to find the importance of gist First to find the importance of gist See again, not so bad eh See again, not so bad eh

Early 20 th century The eclipse of cognition (at least in North America) The eclipse of cognition (at least in North America) Introspection if fine done Wundt’s way Introspection if fine done Wundt’s way Trained observers Trained observers Very simple events Very simple events People working with Titchener too it too far People working with Titchener too it too far You can’t prove or disprove data from my introspections, you are not me You can’t prove or disprove data from my introspections, you are not me

Behaviourism Watson Watson Interested only in the observable Interested only in the observable Consciousness cannot be observed Consciousness cannot be observed Then, neither can memory Then, neither can memory S-R S-R Basically became all of what psychology was for a long time, well into the 1950s Basically became all of what psychology was for a long time, well into the 1950s

Some resisted The Gestalt psychologists The Gestalt psychologists Didn’t like the reductionism of the behaviourists Didn’t like the reductionism of the behaviourists Bartlett was a Brit that fought the good fight Bartlett was a Brit that fought the good fight Talked about construction Talked about construction

Cognitive Revolution Psychology started started to outgrow behaviourism Psychology started started to outgrow behaviourism Personality (style) Personality (style) Motivation (dissonance) Motivation (dissonance) Linguistics Linguistics Information theory Information theory

The revolutionaries become the establishment Atkinson Shiffrin model Atkinson Shiffrin model Brenda Milner and HM Brenda Milner and HM So there was a model and there was physiological evidence too, pretty much all sewn up So there was a model and there was physiological evidence too, pretty much all sewn up

Today By the 1970s memory was studied all over the world By the 1970s memory was studied all over the world Tulving Tulving Craik Craik Lockhart Lockhart Slamecka Slamecka MacLeod MacLeod Moscovitz Moscovitz Schacter Schacter Jacoby Jacoby Roediger Roediger Squire Squire Loftus Loftus