ORIGINS OF MODERN PSYCHOLOGY | STRUCTURALISM BY WILHELM WUNDT

We humans try to find out “Scientific Proofs” of every other thing we see. We just want to know why and how something works? We wanted to know how the brain functions? What is its structure? And many other things. So did ‘The Father of Psychology’ that is Wilhelm Wundt.

Wilhelm Wundt

Who was Wilhelm Wundt?

Wilhelm Wundt was a Physiologist and a professor from Germany. Wilhelm Wundt was the first to considered Psychology as a Science just like Physics, Biology and others. To study this science Wilhelm founded the first laboratory to study Psychology in the University of Leipzig in the year 1879. But what did Wilhelm do in this laboratory?

What is Structuralism?

He wanted to understand how the brain works? He also wanted to understand different elements of our brains which could be responsible for different thoughts. He tried discovering different elements of our brain and how they are inter-related. Basically the structure of the brain. Hence, Wilhelm’s theory is known as ‘Structuralism’

But how was this possible? Was is possible to study the structure of Brian inside this laboratory? Well, Wilhelm had a method for this, known as Introspection.

Introspection

Method of Introspection

In this experiment which he called as Introspection, Wilhelm had trained participant who would tell him different feeling when they were subjected to some external stimulus. Like what they felt after watching an Image, or touching a cloth, or maybe listening to a particular kind of music.

Why was Structuralism rejected?

Many rejected this experiment as it was very subjective. Different individuals come from different background. They have different experiences in the past which effects their responses. Like if the only white colored liquid I drank in my life was milk. I would expect the same taste, texture, temperature from every other white colored liquid.

Wilhelm’s student – Edward Titchener

Wilhelm’s student Edward Titchener helped to further spread the theory of structuralism to America. But as I earlier said that the theory was too subjective to be scientifically accepted.

Nature and Nurture

Developmental Psychologist study how we change or develop from our cradle to the grave. During, initial days in the study of Psychology some scholars believed that our genetics completely determined who we are. While other scholars believed we are born completely blank and whoever we become is completely a result of the environment we grow in.

The argument that only genes are responsible for all the behaviours we show is put forward as 'How could anyone in a prosperous nation get engaged in an unethical activity? It has to do something with our genetical writing' this is an easy way to ignore all social, economic and political factors.

But today we will see, what we become is a combination of Genetics as well as our environment. That is both Nature and Nurture.

Research shows that 40% children in India are physically stunted as they don't have enough to eat. They do not grow to the size they have to be at a certain age. This shows the nurture effect on the development of the children.

The following cases demonstrate how Genetics and environment both contribute to what we become.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) - 

P.K.U. is a genetic disorder. In P.K.U., an amino acid called phenylalanine develops in the blood because of which intellectual disabilities or brain damage can be caused. But how does this happen?

In an ideal situation, the phenylalanine must be converted to Tyrosine (which helps in healthy brain development), but due to the mutation in gene 12 this change does not happen and phenylalanine gets developed in the blood. 
Phenylalanine Hydroxyzine (PAH) is an enzyme (used to break Phenylalanine) which is naturally present in our body. But in people with P.K.U. it is very less or absent.

So, in the case of P.K.U. we can see that some defect in our genes has an effect on our life.

Link - Everything about PKU (phenylketonuria)

Faithful Voles - 

Let's start with a cute love story

A Male and a female Prarie Voles meet each other, they fall in love with time. Both hug each other, kiss, cuddle as a result of this Oxytocin hormone increases and they stay in a monogamy.

That's cute! but how does it all happen? Let's find out...

So we are looking at two different species of voles

1. Prairie Voles - Show the pattern of social monogamy (the practice or state of having a sexual relationship with only one partner).
2. Montane Voles - They believe in polygamy (Have sex with anyone).

We have two love chemicals here Oxytocin and Vasopressin, these are neurotransmitters.

If you suppress these chemicals in Prarie Voles then they start behaving like Montane Voles, polygamy.

And If you give these chemicals to Montane Voles they start to show monogamous behaviour.

*Prairie Voles have genetically determined Receptors for Oxytocin.

Go to - Prairie Voles experiment on monogamy

This is also true for Human Beings

So, the point here is we have two species on of them is Monogamous another one is Promiscuous. Nature has given these animals a genetic susceptibility to produce a certain type of chemicals which push these animals to behave in a certain way and behaving in that way produces more of the chemicals. This is the cycle that goes on.

The case of 'Smart Mouse Mother': Cross-Fostering experiment

An experiment was conducted to see how effective is nurturing on a mouse.

The scientists took two pups of mice which were genetically identical. Got each of them into a water maze. The smarter mice found his way out but the dumb mice just drowned. We can easily say from this experiment that the dumb mice showed these characteristics due to its genes. But it turns out, that it is not that simple.

What was done later is that they took a mouse from the dumb mother and literally embedded it into the womb of the smart mother (Cross Fostering) and on the other hand the smart mouse was embedded into the womb of the dumb mother.

The smart mother nurtured her babies by nose poking, it is like kissing for mouses. The smart mother 'nose poked' more than the dumb strain mother, that is more love and affection. When the babies grew up, the smart mother had a smart kid and dumb mother had a dumb one, so the conclusion was that it is the nurturing effect that made the dumb mice . Now, even the next generation mice mother gives the same nurturing effect.

In our society, it is considered that people are competitive, individualistic and selfish. But the reality is quite the opposite. We as humans want to fulfill some basic needs. We need to be accepted, to be loved, to be attached to, etc. If these needs are meet we will develop into people who are compassionate, want to love, faithful etc. What we see in the society is just the opposite because very few needs are meet.