One item that perhaps should be added to the list is Carl Seashore's "Elementary Experiments in Psychology" -- Henry Holt and Company, 1911. It's a manual for doing individual experiments that are very basic, appropriate for a first year course. It contains sections on after images, visual contrast, visual space, auditory space, Weber's law, association, memory, etc. It even includes an envelope "Milton Bradley Colors" for the visual experiments.
Julie Osland Mike Palij wrote: > I wanted to thank Chris for identifying some of the texts > that would have been used in the early 20th century for the > experimental psychology lab course. I still have a copy of > Woodworth & Schlossberg (2nd ed) text but have somehow > lost the Kling & Riggs (3rd ed) update. I also remember the > Underwood text though by the time I took exp psych lab, > we were using D'Amato's book. > > I also have two questions of secondary concern: > > (1) Historically, what was the division in terms of time and > coverage of "human" topics (e.g., psychophysics, verbal > learning, etc.) and "animal" topics (i.e., baseline behavior > frequency measure, shaping, continuous reinforcements, > different schedules of reinforcement, etc.) for the general > experimental psych lab (I realize that there may have been > specialized labs but I assume that these were fewer in number > than the general experimental lab course0 . It's my impression > that in the 1960-1980s it was a 50-50 split but in the 1990s > the animal component dwindled in general experiment psych > course and/or were relegated to specialized animal labs. > Does this sound accurate? Does anyone know what the split > was like before the 1960s? Has anyone examined whether > the animal component is disappearing in recent years? > > (2) The development of PC and web-based experiments > seem to be signaling a new phase of teaching the experimental > psych lab. Has anyone examined/researched/written on this? > > -Mike Palij > New York University > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > On Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:55:07 -0400, Christopher D. Green wrote: > >> Mike Palij wrote: >> >>> I was wondering if anyone knew of any articles or writings on the >>> history of teaching of experimental psychology, particularly as a >>> laboratory course, over the course of the past century. I'm >>> interested in what was covered is such courses, the target enrollment >>> size, and the "mission" of such courses. Any help would be >>> appreciated. TIA. >>> >> Mike, >> >> There have been a number of "classic" textbooks on experimental >> psychology over the decades. They will give you some idea of how the >> course was taught historically. Of course student numbers, exact >> assignments, orientations, etc. would have varied widely from school to >> school over the decades. You'd have to dig into the archives at several >> places to get a good handle on that. >> >> First (in English) was E. C. Sanford's textbook (first issued in a >> series of articles in /Am J Psych/, 1891-1893). >> >> Titchener's "Manuals" were the "gold standard" in the early 20th century >> (even among many who rejected Titchener's specific theoretical >> perspective). >> >> Henry Garrett (the avowed segregationist, eugenicist, white supremacist, >> and -- oh yes! -- APA President) wrote a "Great Experiments" book in the >> 1930s that was well known. >> >> The experimental psychology text first written in 1938 by R. S. >> Woodworth (& H. Schlosberg, in later editions) came to be so widely used >> that it was known informally as "The Columbia Bible." >> >> B. J. Underwood's had a popular textbook in the 1950s (orig ed. 1949) >> that came to be preferred (as I understand it) by those who thought >> Woodworth to be not rigorously behavioristic enough to suit their taste. >> >> And allow me to put in a good word for fellow-TIPSter Stuart McKelvie's >> course on human experimental psychology as, perhaps, the single >> best-designed and information-rich course I took in my more-than-a >> decade as a course-taking psychology student. (Fortunately for me, it >> came near the start of my psych student career.) >> >> > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > -- Dr. Julie A. Osland, M.A., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Psychology Wheeling Jesuit University 316 Washington Avenue Wheeling, WV 26003 Office: (304) 243-2329 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
