Psychological Perspectives

“There is no new information, only discovered information” (Modern Day Psychology, para. 1). Psychology has developed from the theories and ideas of many great men and women. These men and women unabashedly declared their ideas to be factual. In some cases, they were correct, but in others they were not. Sometimes one idea contradicted another and the truth was never known. Psychology continues to advance, however, because researchers continue to seek the truth.

Opinions have been changed and updated since the days of Descartes, but one thing has remained the same: the quest for absolute knowledge. Scientists want to understand why people do the things they do. Although views have changed over time, some theories are still very much in use today. The theories of John Watson, Edward Tolman, and B.F. Skinner are still valid theories and are in use in modern psychology.

Born in 1878, John Watson began attending University classes at 16 years old and was awarded a Masters degree at 21. After a year of working, Watson decided to return to school and attended the University of Chicago to study philosophy. Using the skills he gained at the University of Chicago, Watson created a new school of psychological thought that is now known as behaviorism. Watson believed that everything that organisms do, including acting, thinking and feeling, should be viewed as behaviors (McIntyre, 2003). Watson initiated the classical conditioning theory (also referred to as classical behaviorism). Watson believed that thoughts and feelings were not pure emotion, but rather a reaction to some other stimuli; there was a reason for every reaction. His theory was that people do not just react, they respond.

Little Albert is the subject of Watson’s most recognized experiment. Albert was the child of an employee in Watson’s laboratory. Little Albert was brought to work with his parent every day and was kept occupied by playing with lab rats. This behavior supported Watson’s behaviorism theory. Little Albert was given the rat as a stimuli and he both reacted and responded by playing with the rat. After the initial observation, Watson added the sound of a hammer. When Albert began to play with the rat, the sound of a hammer began to clang in the background. This sound scared Albert and was only initiated when Albert was playing with the rat. After a few instances of the hammer clanging while Albert was playing with the rat, Albert began to cry when he was given the rat, regardless of whether the sound of the hammer was present. Albert had begun to associate the frightening sound of the hammer with the rat (Watson & Rayner, 1920). Watson’s theory of classical conditioning continues to be used today, mostly in child psychology and in the training of animals.

Watson believed that behavior was learned. Behavior did not just exist; somehow the behavior was derived from past experiences and environments.  These theories are still practiced today. Many times, if a person is experiencing difficulties with one particular aspect of life, and that aspect of life can be attributed to an event, psychologists will attempt to reverse that behavior with behavior modification techniques. These techniques were adapted from Watson’s theory.

Edward C. Tolman (1886) earned his PhD from Harvard University in 1915. Contradictory to Watson’s theory, Tolman believed that learning could occur without a reward or threat. Tolman believed that behavior was not an automatic response, but rather an experience that could transfer between environments (both positively and negatively).

Similar to Watson’s experiments, Tolman’s experiments involved lab rats. Tolman used the rats as the primary subject, while Watson used the rats as a stimuli. Tolman observed the rats running through mazes without the promise of a reward when they arrived at the end of the maze. This study produced the theory of latent learning. Tolman believed that learning can occur without the promise of a reward, and his latent learning theory proposed this idea. This theory did not limit itself to rats and other animals; it carried over to humans as well. Like Watson, Tolman believed that behavior is driven by motive, but Tolman believed that behavior is constant and only changes when motive changes.

Tolman believed that humans are always learning, whether they realize it or not. He believed that every interaction that a human witnesses causes some sort of learning. This belief led him to study cognition. Tolman began to use “cognitive maps” in his studies. Cognitive maps are “mental maps, mind maps, cognitive models, or mental models that are a type of mental processing, or cognition, composed of a series of psychological transformations by which an individual can acquire, code, store, recall, and decode information about the relative locations and attributes of phenomena in their everyday or metaphorical spatial environment” (Cognitive Maps, para. 1). Tolman is credited with coining the phrase “cognitive map.”

Tolman’s theory of behavior declared that learning can occur without reward and often happens without knowledge; that is, the person who is learning often does not realize that he or she is learning until the information learned is needed and used at a later date. Tolman is known as the father of cognitive theory, and is credited with the creation and implementation of cognitive maps. Tolman believed that cognitive maps were a way that humans use to structure and store knowledge, particularly spatial knowledge, “allowing the ‘mind’s eye’ to visualize images in order to reduce cognitive load, and enhance recall and learning of information” (Cognitive Maps, para. 2). The use of cognitive maps helped to support Tolman’s behavioral theories.

B.F. Skinner was born in 1904 and attended Hamilton College. In 1926, Skinner was awarded a degree in English Literature. Skinner intended to become a writer, but was unsuccessful, and after a year became fascinated with psychology. Skinner enrolled at Harvard University to study psychology.

It was evident while Skinner studied at Harvard that he was different from the average student. Skinner thought about things with much more depth than many students. Eventually, Skinner graduated from Harvard with his PhD and continued on to create the Radical Behaviorism theory.

This theory, similar to Watson’s theory, suggested that behavior is a result of one’s environment. The environment acts as a cause for the behavior, meaning that the environment acts as an incentive or a deterrent for certain behavior. Skinner’s theory was also similar to Watson’s theory in that the theory attempted to predict future behavior with environmental stimuli. Skinner’s theory was similar to Watson’s theory in several other ways, including its dependence on scheduled reinforcement. This scheduled reinforcement proposed that the recidivism of the behavior is dependent on the reward. Absence of a reward for poor performance deterred any chance of recidivism. This positive reinforcement is known as operant conditioning.

Skinner’s theory differed from Watsons because Skinner believed that behavior was a consequence of the environment that one is in. Skinner “rejected the idea of inner cause for behavior, and placed emphasis on observable behavior as opposed to the theorizing, based on unverifiable evidence, often done by others” (McIntyre, 2003). Skinner thought that the recidivism of a behavior was based on the reward or punishment received at the time the behavior was presented or possible at multiple times when the behavior was presented. A schedule of reinforcement could produce results for this behavior, but the subject would need to be continuously motivated to produce such results, which meant that at times the reward would need to become greater and greater.

Although Watson’s and Skinner’s positions seem very similar, their outlooks do differ in one substantial way. While Watson believed that psychology should be the direct study of behavior as a science, disregarding emotion and outside incidences that may influence or impair scientific study, Skinner believed that emotions are part of the psychological makeup. Skinner believed that even inner feelings and emotions were behavior, whether acted upon or not. He believed that these emotions support the outward behavior, even if it is on a deeply subconscious level. Because of this belief, Skinner included emotions in his research and theories.

Watson, Tolman, and Skinner were surprisingly similar, yet significantly different at the same time. Each of these theorists believed that behavior was the foundation of human functionality. Each theory believed that behavior was caused by some force, but that causing force was different with each theorist. While one believed that emotions caused behaviors, another believed that fear of punishment or anticipation of reward caused them. Even with their differences, each of these theorists proposed substantial contributions to behavioral psychology. Many theories were proposed before these theories and many have been proposed since, but these three theories seem to maintain their place as the most respected theories in behavioral psychology, and will continue to hold that place for the foreseeable future.

References:

PsychWeb Psychology Art. (n.d.). PsychWeb. Retrieved from http://www.psychweb.com/2010/02/17/modern-day-psychology/

New World Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Tolman, Edward C.. Retrieved from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Edward_C._Tolman

Behavior Advisor. (n.d.). The Hystory of Behaviorism. Retrieved from http://www.behavioradvisor.com/

 Journal of Experimental Psychology. (n.d.). Conditioned Emotional Reactions. Retrieved from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/emotion.htm

Influentian Woman in Psychology: Mary Whiton Calkins

Mary Whiton Calkins is the most influential woman in psychology’s history.  She not only took enormous steps forward in women’s issues, she also developed new ways of thinking. Calkins is an inspiration. Against all odds, she was able to advance in the world of psychology. Remarkably, she did all of this without a Ph.D.

Most known for being the first women president of the American Psychological Association (APA), Calkins had many other accomplishments that have gone unnoticed by many. Calkins dedicated her life to psychology and philosophy, even though her degree was in neither of these.  Calkins was a feminist and used any setbacks she encountered as a tool to advocate women’s rights.

Calkins was the oldest of 5 children. She was born in March of 1863 in Hartford, Connecticut. Calkins mother was a puritan, while her father was Welsh. Her father, Wolcott Calkins, was a minister and was not encouraged by traditional American schools. He preferred that his children learn culture from French families. However, knowing that women received little education, Calkins’ father decided to push her education.  In 1882, her father encouraged her to apply to Smith College. Unfortunately, Calkins’ sister Maude fell drastically ill. Calkins decided to take time away from school to care for her sister, who soon died. In 1884, Calkins began her senior year at Smith College and graduated with a degree in Classics and Philosophy.

After her graduation, Calkins went to Europe for over a year with her family. “Within a week of her return, Wellesley College asked Calkins to fill a temporary vacancy in their Greek department” (4000 Years of Women in Science, 1997-2008). Calkins began teaching in 1887 and continued in this position until 1890. In 1890, Wellesley College began to contemplate the expansion of their philosophy department to include psychology, a new study at the time. Because of her interest in philosophy and her advanced abilities as an instructor, Calkins was awarded the position of teaching in this new department. Calkins had no training in Psychology or Philosophy.

Because Calkins had no training in the subject she would be teaching, it was required that she study Psychology for one year. Unfortunately, many schools at that time did not offer a psychology department, and the ones that did would not admit women.  Calkins considered studying abroad, but was encouraged to stay within the United States for her education. The University of Michigan would accept women, but would limit her to philosophical psychology, not physiological psychology. This was not appealing to Calkins and she quickly ruled out Michigan.

Instead, Calkins decided to take classes at a Harvard Annex. These classes were taught by Josiah Royce and were not officially part of Harvard University. “Royce, however, pushed her to try to attend regular Harvard classes because not all of his classes were available through the Annex and none of the courses taught by William James were. However, Charles Eliot, the president of Harvard, believed strongly that the two sexes should be educated separately” (4000 Years of Women in Science, 1997-2008). After pressure from Royce and William James, Eliot finally allowed Calkins to begin taking regular classes at the university. He did notate, however, that she would not be considered a student.

Calkins began attending classes that fall and was fortunate to be the only remaining student in the class. Calkins was given a private session with James. “In addition to taking classes with James and Royce, Calkins began studying experimental psychology under Dr. Edmund Sanford of Clark University” (4000 Years of Women in Science, 1997-2008).

One year later, in 1891, Calkins was appointed to the teaching position in the new psychology department at Wellesley College. The psychology department was a sub-department of the philosophy department. Almost immediately, Calkins established a psychological laboratory at the Wellesley.

Even though Calkins was a successful instructor, she felt she needed to further her education. She decided to pursue higher education in the field of Psychology and requested guidance on where to attend from former instructors Sanford, James, and Royce.  The best plan, they decided, would be to study under Hugo Munsterberg, who had had a female student in the past. Munsterberg would be instructing at a familiar university the following year: Harvard. Again, Calkins needed to submit a petition in order to attend classes; and again, she was told that she could attend classes but not as a student.

While studying at Harvard, Calkins conducted many experiments and documented her findings. It was while she studied at Harvard that she invented the paired-associate technique. Calkins invented a new way to study memory and called it the method of paired associates. “G.E. Muller refined the technique and later (Edward B.)Titchener included it in his Student’s Manual, taking full credit for it” (Bumb, n.d.). Unfortunately, women in the late 19^th century often did not get credit for their hard work.

Calkins continued to study under Munsterberg for the next two years, until Munsterberg  was  convinced that Calkins deserved a doctoral degree in psychology. At this time, Munsterberg wrote to President Eliot of Harvard University in order to request that Calkins be considered for a Ph.D. Sadly, Harvard refused the request. Several instructors agreed that Calkins had met the requirements for the degree, which was noted by the University, but not considered.

The next year, Calkins began teaching at Wellesley College again. In 1898, she was promoted to Professor. Calkins wrote several papers and books that are regarded as being some of the most influential and fundamental sources in psychology. In addition to her many psychology writings, Calkins also write many papers on philosophy.

“After 1900, Calkins’ major contribution to psychology was the development of a system of self-psychology” (Bumb, n.d.). Like her mentor (Royce), Calkins believed in idealism and that consciousness is the basis of psychology. Calkins did most of her research on topics such as emotion, space and time consciousness, color theory, dreams, and association. Soon after, Calkins accomplished yet another feat that no woman before her had been able to accomplish.

In 1905, Calkins became the first woman president of the American Psychological Association. Thirteen years later, she became the first woman president of the American Philosophical association. In 1908, Calkins was listed as the twelfth most leading psychologist in the United States. On that list, both men and women were considered. Calkins received two honorary doctorate degrees: one in Letters from Columbia and one in Laws from Smith.

In 1929, Calkins retired from Wellesley College. At this point, she had the title of Research Professor. She was offered positions at two other universities, but declined their offers. Calkins’ retirement proved to be a short one; she died in 1930 as a result of inoperable cancer.

Although she received two honorary doctoral degrees, Calkins never received the degree she worked so hard to receive from Harvard. To this day, Harvard University refuses to grant Calkins her degree. There have been several efforts, even after her death, to persuade Harvard to issue a doctoral degree in psychology to Calkins, but so far these efforts have not yielded any results.

Calkins is the most influential woman in psychology. Calkins paved the way for many important women who would follow in her footsteps. The world of psychology was changed, but more importantly, the world of education was changed. Women are taken more seriously in degree programs and as professors because of Calkins. Through all of the hardships forced upon her, Calkins pressed on; and what she accomplished is immeasurable.

References:

4000 Years of Women in Science. (1997-2008). Mary Whiton Calkins. Retrieved from                                     http://www.astr.ua.edu/4000WS/CALKINS.html

Bumb, J. (n.d.). Mary Whiton Calkins. Webster. Retrieved from                                                                                               http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/marycalkins.html