Experimental Psychology
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY KEW VOR^ • BOSTON • CHICAGO SAN FRAN<^ISC<i MACMILLAN & CO,, LIMITED LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY A Manual of Laboratory Practice BY EDWARD BRADFORD TITCHENER VOLUME I QUALITATIVE EXPERIMENTS: PART I. STUDENT'S MANUAL As an experimentalist, I feel bound to let experiment guide me into any train of thought which it may justify. — FARADAY. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO.. LTD. 1922 All rights reserved COPYRIGHT, IQOI. BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. NorfuaoH }^xew J. S. GuBhin°: &. Co. — Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION DIRECTIONS TO STUDENTS PAGE § I. Conduct of an Experiment xiii § 2. General Rules of Laboratory Work xiv § 3. Laboratory Partnerships xv § 4. Note-Book xvi § 5. Definitions xvii PART I SENSATION, AFFECTION, ATTENTION AND ACTION CHAPTER L VISUAL SENSATION § 6, Sensation i § 7. Visual Sensation 3 EXPERIMENT I § 8. The Laws of Colour Mixture ....... 5 EXPERIMENT II § 9, The Distribution of Colour Sensitivity over the Retina: Cam- pimetry 9 EXPERIMENT III §10. The Phenomena of Visual Contrast 15 EXPERIMENT IV §11. Visual After-images 22 CHAPTER II. AUDITORY SENSATION §12. Auditory Sensation 31 EXPERIMENT V § 13. The Phenomena of Interference : Beats 35 V vi Table of Contents EXPERIMENT VI PAGE § 14. The Pitch Difference of the Two Ears 38 EXPERIMENT VII § 15. Combination-toties • • • • 39 EXPERIMENT VIII § 16. Pitch and Clang-tint • • • • 46 EXPERIMENT IX §17. Analysis of Simple Clang: Overtones 49 CHAPTER III. CUTANEOUS SENSATION §18. Cutaneous Sensation . 52 EXPERIMENT X § 19. Temperature Spots 54 EXPERIMENT XI § 20. Temperature Sensitivity: Areal Stimulation • . • 57 EXPERIMENT XII r ^21. Pressure Spots 58 EXPERIMENT XIII § 22. Pain Spots 60 CHAPTER IV. GUSTATORY SENSATION § 23. Gustatory Sensation . 63 EXPERIMENT XIV § 24. Distribution of Taste Sensitivity Qver the Tongue: Taste Reac tions of Single Papillae 64 EXPERIMENT XV § 25. The Number of Discriminable Taste Qualities .... 67 EXPERIMENT XVI §26. Taste Contrasts 58 Table of Contents viii/ CHAPTER V. OLFACTORY BEl^SATION PAGE §27^ Olfactory Sensation 70 EXPERIMENT XVII S 28. The Field of Smell 73 EXPERIMENT XVIII § 29. The Olfactory Qualities: Method of Exhaustion ... 76 EXPERIMENT XIX § 30. The Olfactory Qualities: Compensations, Mixtures, Contrasts . 79 CHAPTER VI. ORGANIC SENSATION §31- Organic Sensation 87 EXPERIMENT XX § 32. The Sensation of Muscular Contraction 88 CHAPTER VII. THE AFFECTIVE QUALITIES §33- Affection 91 EXPERIMENT XXI § 34. The Affective Qualities : Method of Impression .... 92 EXPERIMENT XXII §35. The Affective Qualities: Method of Expression, (i) Involun tary Arm Movement 95 EXPERIMENT XXIII § 36. The Affective Qualities: Method of Expression. (2) Muscular Strength. 100 EXPERIMENT XXIV § 37. The Affective Qualities: Method of Expression. (3) Bodily Volume . o . • • . • p V9y viii Table of Contents CHAPTER VIII. ATTENTION AND ACTION EXPERIMENT XXV PAGE § 38. Attention 108 EXPERIMENT XXVI § 39. The Simple Reaction 117 PART II PERCEPTION, IDEA AND THE ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS CHAPTER IX. VISUAL SPACE PERCEPTION §40. Perception 127 § 41. Visual Space Perception: Preliminary Exercises . .130 EXPERIMENT XXVII § 42. Visual Space Perception : Stereoscopy 137 EXPERIMENT XXVIII § 43. Visual Space Perception: Pseudoscopy 144 EXPERIMENT XXIX § 44, Visual Space Perception: the Geometrical Optical Illusions . 151 CHAPTER X. AUDITORY PERCEPTION EXPERIMENT XXX §45. The Degrees of Tonal Fusion 171 EXPERIMENT XXXI § 46. Rhythm 174 EXPERIMENT XXXII § 47. The Localisation of Sound 178 CHAPTER XI. TACTUAL SPACE PERCEPTION- EXPERIMENT XXXIII § 48. Localisation of a Single Point upon the Skin . .184 Table of Contents ix EXPERIMENT XXXIV PAGE § 49. Localisation upon the Skin : Discrimination of Two Points . .186 EXPERIMENT XXXV § 50. Localisation upon the Skin: Stimulation of Parts whose Relative Position may be Changed 190 CHAPTER XIL IDEATIONAL TYPE AND THE ASSO CIATION OF IDEAS EXPERIMENT XXXVI § SJ. Ideational Types 195 EXPERIMENT XXXVII § 52. The Association of Ideas 200 LIST OF MATERIALS 207 INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS • • • • . , .211 INDEX OF FIGURES . FIG, PAGE 1. The Colour Pyramid ........ ,3 2. The Solar Spectrum - 4 3. Colour Mixers . , 6 4. Campimeter . 10 5. Apparatus for tliie Observation of Negative After-images .' . 27 6. The Series of Auditory Qualities ' . 33 7. Cheap Tuning Forks - • 35 8. Set of Quincke^s Tubes .' . ... 40 9. Quincke's Tube, stopped and labelled . I -44 • Figure showing the Fi'rStTen Partid,ls of the Note (7 . 50 ib. Differential Sonometer * 5^ il. Temperature Cylinder . 54 i^. Pressure'Point • • 59 13. Pain Point . - . 61 14. Double Olfactometer 80 ^15. Upright Inductorium 88 16. Motor Points of the Fore-arm 90 Tables for Paired Comparison 93, 94 17. Automatograph . .96 18. Finger Dynamometer ......... ibo '19, Franck's Plethysmograph . 103 26. Kymograph 104 Chord to demonstrate Intensification by Attention . .111 21. Vernier Chronoscope . 1 .118 22. Space Vernier 20 23. Ophthalmotrope 135 24. Hand Stereoscope 139 25. Table of Spatial Conversion 145 26. Total-reflexion Pseudoscope 146 27. Pseudoscopic Figure 149 xi Xll ^ndex of Figures FIG. PAGE 28. Arrangement of Objects for Pseudoscope 49 29. Optical Illusions: Hering's Crosses 53 30. Optical Illusions : Machos Book and Tetrahedron 54 31 - Optical Illusions: Schroder's Stair Figure 55 32. Optical Illusions: the Necker-Wheatstone Cube 55 33. Optical Illusions : the Emsmann-Thiery Prisms 56 34. Optical Illusions: OppePs Lines and Helmholtz' Squares 57 35. Optical Illusions: Ldska's Figure and Variants 58 36. The Miiller-Lyer Illusion 59 37- The Illusions of Oppel, Delboeuf and Kundt 60 38. Optical Illusions: OppePs Angles . 60 39. Optical Illusions: the Figures of Hering and Wundt 61 40. Optical Illusions : ZoUner's Figure . 62 41. Poggendorff's Illusion .... 62 42. Optical Illusions : Helmholtz' Chess-board 63 43. Illusions of Association: Wundt - 63 44. Illusions of Association: Wundt, Miiller-Lyer 64 45. Mixed Illusions .... 65 46. Poggendorff's Illusion . 65 47. Mixed Illusions: Miiller-Lyer 65 48. Mixed Illusions : Miiller-Lyer^ Wundt 66 49. Optical Illusions 67 50. Optical Illusions 67 51. Optical Illusions 68 52. Optical Illusions 69 53. Optical Illusions 70 54. Metronome . 75 55. Sound Cage . 79 56. Simple ^sthesiometer 87 Aesthesiometric Table 89 57. Association Apparatus 202 INTRODUCTION: DIRECTIONS TO STUDENTS § I. Conduct of an Experiment. — A psychological experiment consists of an introspection or a series of introspections made under standard conditions. Some experiments are best performed by oneself on one self. Most, however, require two persons for their performance: the observer Oj who makes the introspection, and the experi menter Ey who handles the instruments and makes the records. All experiments of this kind must be made twice over, O and E changing places. Each student keeps the record of his partner's introspective results, not that of his own ; so that it is his part ner, and not he himself, who figures as O in his note-book. There should be no mutual discussion of results until the experi ment is completed. Never, under any circumstances, must the idea of competition with one's partner be allowed to enter into the work. For the psychological experiment is not a test of power or faculty or capacity, but a dissection of consciousness, an analysis of a piece of the mental mechanism. The idea of rivalry is fatal to introspection. The student who acts as E during the first part of a labora tory period has a certain advantage over his partner. When he comes to act as (7, his introspection will, evidently, be guided to some extent by his knowledge of the instrument used, and of the outcome of his partner's introspection. Hence it is advisa ble to alternate the functions of O and E\ the student who begins as O to-day, should begin as E on the next day of class work, and so on. There are certain experiments in which it is necessary to let O write his own introspective record, while E attends wholly to the instruments and method. This happens, e.g.y when E and 0 xiii xiv §§ 1,2. Conduct of an Experiment; General Rules are placed in different rooms which are electrically connected for the performance of some special piece of work. Wherever possible, however, O should dictate his introspections to E. In this way, O gains practice in the translation of mental processes into words; E can put questions where he does not fully under stand a statement. If O be left to write out his own report, he will probably use^ general tei'ms arid stock phrases, which are intelligible to him (because they are eked out by his memories), but which convey little psychological information to another Teacler., Whenever O is obscure or vague, ^must question him, and hold him strictly to the definite and concrete. Do not begin an experiment until you thoroughly understand its oDject^ t.e., "the'poiHt tipon which your introspection is to be directed, and can see the reasons for the method which you are to follow in performing it. It is better to waste half an hour at the start than to waste the whole time spent upon tihe experiment- You will find, on the average, that three-quarters of an hour of introspec tive work is all that you can satisfactorily accomplish at a sitting. Hence the total experiment should be performed, if possible, in an hour and a half^' If this is not feasible, somie portion of it should be left over for the next laibora- tory period. You must use your judgment in deciding what part can be post poned with least derangement of the method. § 2. General Rules of Laboratory Work. — It is a cardinal rule of laboratory work that you should never vary your method during a series of experiments. Such variation is unfair to (7, and bad for the final results. It is very tempting, when, }^ou have chosen a method that does not run quite smoothly, tp repeat an experiment that should not be repeated, or mo4ify one that should not be modified.