Interesting post, Gary. I think most of those are studies it would do our students a lot of good to read today. But what caught my eye was the author- Henry E. Garrett. I picked up a pamphlet at some point that was published some time in the 60's about racial differences in intelligence that were supposedly suppressed. The author- Henry E. Garrett. I recall that in the author blurb they identified him as a former president of the APA. The pamphlet disappeared in one of my many moves, I wish I still had it.
Marty Bourgeois Florida Gulf Coast University -----Original Message----- From: Gerald Peterson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sun 3/25/2007 11:52 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Reflections on Top Ten Lists Tipsters: Discussing the top ten psych studies got me thinking about historical changes in such views. I wondered how such views of influential studies may reflect the Zeitgeist. I also wondered why students should care about anyone*s *top ten* list fraught, as all are, with the narrow and colored lenses of today*s biases. I happened to look over on my bookshelf and spy an older book titled *Great Experiments in Psychology* by Henry E. Garrett published first in 1930 and revised in 1941 as part of the Appleton-Century company*s Century Psychology Series. It was aimed to be a supplementary text in the General and Experimental classes...*stressing experimental methods, giving the student some idea how psychological facts have been discovered, who the men (sic) are who have contributed to the upbuilding of psychology, and what problems await immediate solution* (vii). I found it exciting to leaf thru and share the author*s interest in problems and ideas that were thought to be advances or at least important for the future. The chapter headings are revealing. The first two chapters deal with Binet*s work and the Army alpha tests of intelligence. The third focuses on Galton*s study of individual differences with his use of correlation and studies of twins, gender, and racial differences. The fourth examines the experimental approach to personality; contrasting less scientific, impressionistic approaches with more objective measurement efforts, and ending with discussion of traits and mention of Hartshorne and May, Allport and Vernon, the Rorschach, Terman*s work, and Murray*s approach. No mention is made of Freud here (or anywhere in this text). Chapter five is devoted to the work of Pavlov, but also references Skinner's work. Six to Franz and Lashley*s studies of the brain in learning, Chapter seven to Thorndike*s study of problem-solving and his laws of learning, Eight to Kohler*s studies of perception, learning, and their relation to Gestalt Psychology. Chapter nine is centered around Thorndike*s and Woodworth*s studies of transfer of training. Chapter ten to Ebbinghaus*s studies of memory and forgetting. Chapter eleven is devoted to Watson*s work exploring the motor and sensory development of children, with headings on handedness, acquiring fears and *emotional attitudes,* and the breaking of undesirable habits. This latter involved discussion of repression*but it was suppression due to social disapproval that was actually described. One can clearly see the limited vision, and inadequate study of developmental issues. Chapter twelve dealt with the work of Canon and others on emotion, and ways of studying emotion and deception. Here is another chapter where we can appreciate the advances we take for granted today. Chapter thirteen focused on visual and auditory perception with the work of Helmholtz stressed. Chapter 14 explored Cattell*s studies of reaction time and associative reactions. The final chapter examines the work of Weber and Fechner and psychophysics. I found skimming these chapters interesting for a number of reasons. There are some important contributions that others have built on, but that should be re-visited now and then. There are, of course, issues and topics that have been resolved or re-directed. Also, one can see topics reflecting past interests, along with the personal and professional biases of the day. It might be interesting to have our students review a number of articles or books like this to see what was considered to constitute progress or advancement. Measurement issues and methodological innovation were often more central than students today might suppose. The brain imaging fancies of today may parallel the earlier excitement over instruments and scaling techniques. Most importantly, such explorations may expose students to the methods and ideas that stimulated particular research programs. We could have students in a History and Systems class compile their own list of top ten psychology studies and promote further discussion of such issues raised on TIPS such as what constitutes a research study, what about writings that just stimulated thought and controversy? Is it popularity, textbook citations, or the ideological and historical Zeitgeist that shape how psychologists view such things? What constitutes advancement in science? A justification for exploring such historical topics and ideas was best stated by the editor (Richard Elliot) writing the intro to the first edition: *In its pages psychology appears to the student as a live, growing enterprise with a personal history and with a future to which it is not at all impossible to contribute.* This seems a worthy aim for our classes today. Gary Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI 48710 989-964-4491 [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
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