A history of modern experimental psychology : from James and Wundt to cognitive science

301 Pages·2007·1.063 MB·English

by  George Mandler

A History of Modern Experimental Psychology
Other books by George Mandler
The language of psychology (with William Kessen)
Thinking: From association to Gestalt (with Jean Matter Mandler)
Mind and emotion
Mind and body: Psychology of emotion and stress
Cognitive psychology: An essay in cognitive science
Human nature explored
Interesting times: An encounter with the 20th century
Consciousness recovered: Psychological functions and origins of conscious
thought
A History of Modern Experimental Psychology
From James and Wundt to Cognitive Science
George Mandler
A Bradford Book
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2007 George Mandler
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mandler, George.
A history of modem experimental psychology : from James and Wundt
to cognitive science / by George Mandler.
p. cm.
"A Bradford book."
Includes biliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-262-13475-0 (alk. paper)
1. Psychology, Experimental. 2. Cognitive psychology. I. Title.
BF181.M27 2007
150.9—dc22 2006046226
1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In memory of Alan Isaacs, William Kessen, Hans Matzka—
Friends
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv
1 TheModernMind:ItsHistoryandCurrentUse 1
2 AristotletoAlexanderBain:ProlegomenaofModern
Psychology 17
3 TheSocialContextfortheNewPsychologyinthe
NineteenthandTwentiethCenturies 39
4 TheBirthofModernPsychology:WilhelmWundtand
WilliamJames 51
5 The‘‘Discovery’’oftheUnconscious:Imageless
Thought 77
6 TheEarlyTwentiethCentury:ConsolidationinEuropeand
BehaviorisminAmerica 93
7 TheInterwarYears:PsychologyMaturesandTheories
Abound 109
8 TheDestructionofPsychologyinGermany,1933to
1945 125
viii Contents
9 TheSuccessofGestaltTheoryandItsTranslationtothe
UnitedStates 139
10 ANewAgeofPsychologyattheEndofWorldWarII 165
11 TwoCaseHistoriesfromtheNewPsychology 189
12 OldProblemsandNewDirectionsattheEndofthe
Century 205
13 TheCloudedCrystalBall:PsychologyTodayand
Tomorrow 225
References 247
NameIndex 275
SubjectIndex 285
Preface
Following my retirement in1994, I wrote the booksand papers
that I had left undone or postponed in previous years. With
those projects out of the way, I could plan a new task. My
increasing discomfort with the relative neglect of the history
of our field—in particular, the history of the new cognitive
psychology—proved to be an adequate motivation. So I started
this little book, which has kept me occupied and increasingly
involved.
This volume has many antecedents. One of them is my
European background, which seems to have fostered in me an
interest in historical roots that in part I have expressed in my
autobiography and in an examination of personal histories.1
Another source ismy research inthe historyofmy field,which
for some forty years has gone hand in hand with my empirical
and theoretical interests. A major source is the book that Jean
Mandler and I published over forty years ago that presented
original early works (including translations) on human think-
ing,andIammostgratefultoJeanforherworkonthatvolume,
1. Mandler(2001)deals almostexclusively with my lifeand loves,not
withpsychology.
x Preface
which made the present book possible. Then, in 1996, I pub-
lished a paper on the history of psychology that was intended
asanoutlineforabook,andportionsofthatpaperformpartof
thescaffoldingofthisvolume.Ihaveusededitedselectionsfrom
the thinking book and have rewritten, rearranged, and edited
mypublicationsfromthepastseveraldecades.Theacknowledg-
mentsshowthevariouspublicationsfromwhichmaterialshave
beenselected,usuallybybeingupdatedandrearranged.
The intent of this book is not to present the history of
psychology;thattaskrequiresalargerandmorecomprehensive
volume. Instead, here I outline the advent of the modern psy-
chology of thought and memory. I write history with a ‘‘point
ofview’’ratherthanattemptto‘‘justtellwhathappened.’’Ido
not believe the latter is possible and at best hides the writer’s
prejudices.2 My own viewpoints will be fairly obvious. Two
main orientations inform the book: a general attempt to place
recentpsychological historyinthecontext ofthegeneralsocial
and political culture in which it occurs and a preference for
organizationaloverassociationistaccountsofpsychologicalpro-
cesses. The initial chapters summarize the history of the psy-
chology of thought and memory from antiquity to the middle
of the twentieth century. The last four chapters deal with a
neglected part of the history of psychology—the emergence of
anewandrobustcognitivepsychology.
2. Inthecourseofacorrespondenceinthe1960s,EdwinG.(Garry)Bor-
ing,thenthedominantAmericanhistorianofpsychology,respondedto
areviewofmineinwhichIhadwonderedwhynobodywaswritinghis-
toriesofpsychologyfromaconsistentpointofview.BoringaskedwhatI
might have meant: what would a point of view be for a historian?
Accordingtohim,‘‘Eitheryoutellthefacts,oryougiveafunctionalac-
countofhowthingsgottobewhattheyare.’’