The foundation of the institute for experimental psychology at Leipzig University

Summary During the 1979–80 academic year psychologists from all over the world will celebrate the centennial of the Institute for Experimental Psychology at Leipzig University, established by Wilhelm Wundt during the winter of 1879–80. First, this paper will present the historical context in which the laboratory method of research instruction developed in nineteenth-century Germany. Next, Wundt's extensive experience with laboratory research before coming to Leipzig will be described. Finally, the origin, development, and organization of Wundt's laboratory will be chronicled, beginning with his call to Leipzig. The implications of Wundt's achievement for modern psychology will be discussed. Emphasis is placed on the use of archival materials, documents, and eyewitness accounts.A slightly modified version of this paper was presented as an Invited Centennial Lecture at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association in New York on September 4, 1979The preparation of this article was supported by a research award from the Dr. W.W. Kaempfer, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, USA     

Leipzig and Louvain University in Belgium

Summary Experimental psychology was introduced at the University of Louvain in 1891 under the influence of Désiré J. Mercier, a philosopher, who wanted to bridge the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas with experimental psychology. As the head of the philosophy program at the Louvain University, Mercier sent Armand Thiéry, his collaborator, to Leipzig in order to acquaint him with Wundt's physiological psychology and laboratory. Upon his return from Germany Thiéry organized a psychological laboratory at the Louvain University and offered a course in psychophysiology. Thiéry headed the experimental program at Louvain for over ten years but he was more interested in philosophical and theoretical problems than in laboratory investigations. His successor, Albert Michotte, was wholeheartedly committed to laboratory experimentation and research. He also studied in Leipzig but was more influenced by Külpe than by Wundt. Under Michotte's leadership, which lasted over 50 years, Louvain laboratory became one of the most active and original research centers in Europe.     

Wundt's prominence and popularity in his later years

Summary Most of Wundt's students from America came along at the peak of his career when he was Rector at Leipzig and renowned as psychology's founder. For many of them Külpe was an intermediary. Acquaintance with Wundt's work in the United States is delimited by the positions, attitudes, and selective attention to the complex details of his system on the part of the disciple who was the source of the adaptation of his work. Wundt's production in the last decades of numerous editions of the Grundriss and the Völkerpsychologie, along with the Grundzüge, received less attention and emphasis. His work in its total systematic essence tended to get overlooked or misinterpreted, especially by some of the people who had been major spokesmen for Wundt in America.     

French descriptions of Wundt's laboratory in Leipzig in 1886

Translations are provided of extracts from reports by the French-speaking scholars Alfred Grafé and Emile Durkheim concerning the instructional procedures in place at Wundt's Institute for Experimental Psychology in Leipzig in the summer of 1886. It is stressed that reports such as theirs were of importance, not only to researchers, but also to teachers and administrators concerned with how the new experimental psychology should be taught, especially with respect to practical classes.     

Physics, ballistics, and psychology: a history of the chronoscope in/as context, 1845-1890

In Wilhelm Wundt's (1832-1920) Leipzig laboratory and at numerous other research sites, the chronoscope was used to conduct reaction time experiments. The author argues that the history of the chronoscope is the history not of an instrument but of an experimental setup. This setup was initially devised by the English physicist and instrument maker Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) in the early 1840s. Shortly thereafter, it was improved by the German clockmaker and mechanic Matth?us Hipp (1813-1893). In the 1850s, the chronoscope was introduced to ballistic research. In the early 1860s, Neuchatel astronomer Adolphe Hirsch (1830-1901) applied it to the problem of physiological time. The extensions and variations of chronoscope use within the contexts of ballistics, physiology, and psychology presented special challenges. These challenges were met with specific attempts to reduce the errors in chronoscopic experiments on shooting stands and in the psychological laboratory.     

A monistic interpretation of Wundt's psychology

Summary It is argued that the pivot of Wundt's psychological system can be found in the concept of the mind (Seele) as the dynamic connection (Zusammenhang) of the mental processes.This concept is shown to provide the conceptual basis of the entire Wundtian system. It can be found under various labels depending on the angle from which it is approached. From this point of view the distinctions between apperception and association, psychic and physical causality, and immediate and mediate experience are examined. Against their traditional dualistic interpretation it is maintained that these distinctions should receive a monistic interpretation.This paper is an abbreviated and slightly reworked version of the fourth chapter, Wundt's voluntarism, of my Psychology as self-knowledge, Assen: Van Gorcum & Co. 1979     

The linguistic repudiation of Wundt

Wilhelm Wundt's influence on the development of linguistics and psychology was pervasive. The foundations for this web of influence on the sciences of mind and language were laid down in Wundt's own research program, which was quite different from other attempts at founding a new psychology, as it was deeply rooted in German philosophy. This resulted in certain gaps in Wundt's conception of mind and language. These gaps provoked a double repudiation of Wundt's theories, by linguists and psychologists. The psychological repudiation has been studied by historians of psychology, and the linguistic repudiation has been studied by historians of linguistics. The intent of this article is to bring the linguistic repudiation to the attention of historians of psychology, especially the one outlined by two important figures in the history of psychology: Karl Buhler and George Mead.     

An edited translation of the first dissertation in experimental psychology by Max Friedrich at Leipzig University in Germany

Summary The present paper presents an edited translation of the first doctoral thesis in experimental psychology, completed by Max Friedrich at Leipzig University during the Winter Semester of 1879–80. The official degree was awarded in 1880 and the full text was published in the first issue of Wundt's journal Philosophische Studien (Philosophical Studies). In addition to a translation of the original text, the author provides a critical analysis of the methodology and results of Friedrich within the context of modern psychophysics.Support for this project came from grants from the Scholarship Support Fund of The Pennsylvania State University. Appreciation is extended to Doris Grab who ably assisted in the translation process and to Wolfgang Bringmann who was instrumental in this project becoming a reality from its conception in 1975     

Wundt as chemist? A fresh look at his practice and theory of experimentation

Mid-19th-century chemistry constituted a practically and theoretically important resource for experimental psychology as conceived by Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920). In the early 1850s, Wundt began working in Gustav Herth's private chemical laboratory in Heidelberg. The experimental work Wundt conducted under Herth's direction provided the practical model for the psychological methods advocated in Wundt's pioneering publication on visual perception in 1862. With respect to theory, Wundt relied on John Stuart Mill's System of Logic, a book often referring to the chemical writings by Justus Liebig. Wundt not only read and quoted Mill's logic but also was personally acquainted with its German translator, the former Liebig student Jacob Schiel. Thus, in various ways, chemistry influenced Wundt's early theory and practice of experiment.     

Methodological concerns in the psychology of religion: Continuities, losses and transforming perspectives

This article seeks solutions to what has recently been called the ‘crisis’ in the psychology of religion by returning to the programs of its founding fathers. It explores some of the methodological debates that followed the translation of William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience into German. More was at stake than the commonly drawn distinction between empirical and hermeneutical approaches to religion, or between quantitative and qualitative methods. What was at stake was the need for another kind of psychology in general. This article pays special attention to Wilhelm Wundt's fundamental criticism of James and of others in the psychology of religion. Despite the problems inherent in both James' and Wundt's aborted general psychology programs, each nonetheless contains approaches that may yet serve as an impetus to contemporary research on religion. Contemporary developments in cultural psychology in particular complement current research in the psychology of religion.     

Human cognition and a pile of sand: a discussion on serial correlations and self-organized criticality

Recently, G. C. Van Orden, J. G. Holden, and M. T. Turvey (2003) proposed to abandon the conventional framework of cognitive psychology in favor of the framework of nonlinear dynamical systems theory. Van Orden et al. presented evidence that "purposive behavior originates in self-organized criticality" (p. 333). Here, the authors show that Van Orden et al.'s analyses do not test their hypotheses. Further, the authors argue that a confirmation of Van Orden et al.'s hypotheses would not have constituted firm evidence in support of their framework. Finally, the absence of a specific model for how self-organized criticality produces the observed behavior makes it very difficult to derive testable predictions. The authors conclude that the proposed paradigm shift is presently unwarranted.     

Correction to: Complexity of the Universal Theory of Modal Algebras

Studia Logica - In the original publication of the article, the authors name were abbreviated as “D. Shkatov” and “C. J. Van Alten”. However it should be “Dmitry...     

Wundt,Völkerpsychologie,and experimental social psychology

Wilhelm Wundt distinguished between "experimental psychology" and Volkerpsychologie. It is often claimed that Wundt maintained that social psychological phenomena, the subject matter of V?lkerpsychologie, could not be investigated experimentally but must be explored via comparative-historical methods. In this article it is argued that it is doubtful if many of the passages usually cited as evidence that Wundt held such a view actually such such a view. It is also argued that if Wundt did hold such a view, it was inconsistent with his own general theoretical position and methodological practice. It is suggested that it is anachronistic to attribute such a view to Wundt, because he appears to have had little interest in the experimental analysis of the synchronic social dynamics of psychological processes. Most of Wundt's arguments about the inappropriateness of experimentation were directed against the introspective analysis of diachronic historical processes.     

Critique of an epistemic account of fallacies

An epistemic account of fallacies is one which takes it as a necessary condition for a fallacy that it has a tendency to produce false or unwarranted beliefs. The most sophisticated form of this account occurs in an article by Robert J. Fogelin and Timothy J. Duggan (Fallacies,Argumentation 1, 1987, pp. 255–262). I criticize the Fogelin and Duggan proposal, in particular, and epistemic accounts, more generally. Though an epistemic approach is attractive, it enlarges the class of fallacies, beyond what would be permitted by traditional accounts. I also question thenecessity of fallacies leading to unwarranted beliefs. Some fallacies are fallacious due to their expected harm to argument practices. This position touches on a theme in the work of Van Eemeren and Grootendorst, though I criticize their notion of rules of argument as too broad.     

The echoes of Wundt's work in the United States, 1887–1977: A quantitative citation analysis

Summary The frequency of references to Wundt's book-length publications in experimental papers appearing in the American Journal of Psychology was determined. The most widely cited work, by far, is the Grundzüge der physiologischen Psychologie. The distinct decline of Wundt's impact on American psychology is clearly reflected in the frequencies of the citations.     

冯特心理学遗产的历史重估

以从近代哲学向现代哲学转换的哲学史背景为基础,揭示冯特心理学体系的理论性质并探明其历史命运,以澄清关于冯特的各种历史的及现代的误解。指出冯特心理学体系作为哲学是一个在现代哲学氛围中建立起来的、以近代哲学精神为基础的理论体系,因而难逃被哲学自身的历史所否定的命运;这是理解冯特心理学体系并澄清关于冯特的种种误解的根本之所在。     

Psychology in the Czech lands: Bohemia,Czechoslovakia, and the Czech Republic

The article provides a comprehensive review of Czech psychology—its history and its current state. It enumerates significant psychologists who were Czech, born in Bohemia or who were instrumental for the development of psychology in the region. The article also enumerates Czech psychological associations along with their main representatives, journals, and academic facilities involved in education and research in psychology. It is pointed out that the origins of psychology as a science are in the Central Europe—the first laboratory of W. Wundt was in Leipzig, Germany; S. Freud was born in Bohemia, in the Moravian city of Příbor and he practiced in Vienna, Austria. The Czech capital Prague will also become the capital of the psychological science in 2020 when it will be hosting the 32nd International Congress of Psychology (ICP 2020).     

Mere repeated exposure and experimental stress as determiners of stimulus evaluations

From Berlyne's theorizing concerning the determinants of hedonic value of a stimulus it was hypothesized that importance of evaluative judgments and frequency of exposure would interact in determining the favorability of affective ratings. This prediction was confirmed by the data. Increasing the importance of the rating task decreased the favorability of the ratings of low-frequency stimuli but enhanced the ratings of high-frequency stimuli.The experiments reported here were conducted at the Laboratorium voor Experimentele Sociale Psychologie at Leuven. This article is based on the author's doctoral dissertation, which was supervised by J. M. Nuttin, Jr. I would also like to thank J. M. Nuttin, Jr., E. Van Avermaet, and J. Hatcher for their helpful comments on a previous draft.     

Helmholtz and Zoellner: nineteenth-century empiricism, spiritism, and the theory of space perception

J. K. F. Zoellner began writing on "experimental proofs" of a fourth spatial dimension, and of the existence of spirits, in 1878. His arguments caused strong controversy, with rebuttal essays by Wilhelm Wundt and others. The author argues that Zoellner's case that these matters are experimental questions rested on arguments which Hermann von Helmholtz, inveighing against rationalist views of space and space perception, had recently published. Zoellner's use of Helmholtz's arguments to advance and defend his spiritist views occasioned strong criticism of Helmholtz, affected careers and reputations of scholars in Berlin and Leipzig, and caused enduring controversy over the credibility of Helmholtz's empiricist theory of space perception.     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Science and Human Values in the 21st Century. Edited by Ralph Wendell Burhoe Bioethics: Bridge to the Future. By Van Rensselaer Potter Biology and Ethics. Edited by F. J. Ebling