Chapter I

The Isolation a·n d Investigation .

of Psychological Events .

Every science achieves its identity and name from the fact that those
who e~gage in the work become interested in particular things and con,.
ditions collectively called events and proceed to study them by meth-
ods suitable for the purpose. . ·· · .
· It is a commonplace that psychology as one of the sciences is the
study of such activities as seeing, hearing, learning, remembering, ·
thinking, desiring, reasoning, and so on. It is also common knowledge
that whenever an organism perfo~s psychological activity, it is in-
teracting with something under specific conditions. Normally one does
not see or hear unless one sees some object or hears a sound. One does
not plan unless one plans some action, some work, some project or some·
. vacation.
. These things and conditions with which one interacts are conven-
tionally called stimuli. 1 Such stimuli are said to elicit or i~cite the or-
ganism's behavior. It is more accurate, however, to think of stimuli as
coordinate actions which occur in a single complex event. Because all
psychological events consist of just such interactions· of organisms and
stimulus objects we may therefore describe psychology as the study of
the interbehavior of organisms with things and events. Since the inter-
behavior of organisms and objects consists of specific reciprocal actions
called functions we may ~escribe psychology as· the investigation of the
interbehavior of response and stimulus functions.

THREE PHASES OF SCIEN1"IFIC INVESTIGATION

To· isolate and identify the subject matter ·of investigation is only
the; first preliminary step in science. In addition the ~~i~ntist must un-
derstand the nature of the thing or event with which he deals, and the
conditions under which it operates. This process of understanding the
material of study jnvolves therefore, the processe~...9~ definition, anal-
ysis~ and interpretation. . ·
· Scientific definition means pointing out the essential differences
between a certain kind of event and other ·similar and dissimilar phe-
1. This term requires careful description. Cf. pp. 32, 39f.

3
 1 Jli)'<~holopltml Evonu ,rnd l1ayoholofJlool Soltmao
nom(irrn. 'thus the slncfo~t of psychology must, for cxumplc~, know h'ow
psy ho]ogicnl ovonL~ d1ffor from tho dntlt of physics und biology, Fur-
the rm ore. }w tnunt know how to idontlfy c,uch of the pnrtfculnr psycho- ,
logical nclions. Ho must know how n fooling msp,Jnso difforHfron:1 a
per ·optunl rnspm11H;, nnd how (moh of these d.Hfors from other psycho-
Jogknl ovents .
. A~ .~o .n~nlysis. It is tho essentful prob1om of the psyd1ologJst to
dissect 11 psychologJonl uvont in order to discover the details of wliat
nchrnJly hnppens on tlrn purt of both tho mncting organism and the
thing with which it intencts. , ·
. The inteq)retntion of an event consi.sts primarily of organizing
sepRrnte fn.cts into a definite system. Take the study of learning as an
illustration. 'If we want to oxplnin or interpret this psychological fact
we must consider . two kJnds of fnchin] organization, First, we· must
organize the details such as ( l) the kinds of material to be learned,
( 2) tho number of prescntatfons, ( 3) the ratC' of a·cquisition, ( 4) how
long the organism can reperform the acquired action, and so on, Sec-
ondly, to explain lenrning, this whole series of details must be related
to the conditions under which they occur. For learning depends upon
( 1) whether the person can see and hear well, ( 2) whether he is fresh
or fatigued, ( 3) whether the present material is related to what the
person already knows, and ( 4) whether or not he is interested~ it.
These three phases of scientific investigation-namely, deflnitf on,
analysis, and interpretation-will guide our studies throughout this .
book.

HOW PSYCHOLOGICAL EVENTS DIFFER

FROM OTHER NATURAL EVENTS
Psychology, like physics, astronomy, or biology, is a natural sci-
ence. Each of these sciences studies the interaction of things. It is
necessary therefore to .find out the differenc~s between psychological
and other interactions. There are two reasons for this necessity, In the
first place, as we have seen, it is by this means that we achieve an
understanding of' our subject-matter, Another reason is that the psy-
chological organism is always at the same time both a biological or..
ganism and a physical thing. Accordingly, when the organism per-
' ceives or remembers we must know just how such psychological events
differ from the·physfcal act of dropping to earth from an airplane, and
from the organism's biological action of assimilating food. Each of
these types 'Of events displays vital differences in ,essential details.
Physical Interactions Are Commutative. Inanimate interactions
are comparatively so simple that the physicist describes .them in terms
 :
r "· • (l ,
• ·~
,?·
TI10 Isol lion &J1d Investigation of Psychological Events 5 •.,'>·
:.!
of n equiv alence of force s. In everyday language we can say that (

thes fore arc twins. A in Fig. 1 cannot push on B unless B at the .,,.}·
srune tim p ush es on A. Accordingly, when physical objects interact,
the result is m er ely nn interchange of energy. Thus the interaction be- J
1.....,·1..
,1
H
:,.,,:}...
ri
..I
Ftg. 1. Illustrating a physical lnter1c-tlon. What A does equals the action of B, ac-
..
cordlng lo Ncw1oo't third Law. From Webster, Farnell, and Drew, CeMrol Phyrla for A
CoUtge,, The _Century Co., publishcn. ~
·.~
.
hveen two billiard balls is expressed in
Newton's third law that action r~
~

and reaction are equal and opposite. When a person falls out of an air- ~

plane his action possesses just such physical characteristics as we have 1

been describing. \Ve may regard the individual as a physical object
.~
'.j
•,:
grnvitntionaUy interacting with the earth as the other object. Because t.
'
physical activity consists merely of this simple interchange of energy I
t~

each object, when not in the process of interacting, is described as w

inert. d •!
~
.,
.1
Biological InteracHoru Are Responsive. Biological interactions !j.
cannot be regarded as simple interchanges of energy. An organism can ;:
expend a great deal more energy than is at the moment expended upon '
f
it. Because of the complexity of its composition, the biological object I
can store up energy whkh is released in comparatively large quanti·
ties. Thus what the plant turning toward the light does ( Fig. 2) is en·

Fig. 2. lllwtnllng a biological interacllon. Radish plants phototroplc1lly respond-

Ing po1ltively toward Ilg.ht stimulus.
 ..
n
. 1 l• 11 11 1.111 \ l1 • h lo~ c 1 Srlr.n

tit 1. 1
Htt I pt p, t t n h wh t tho un' rnys do to it. The object with
'l h·l w , : 11 Ill I\ 11t t ·t l .. ~ not merely ex rt energy upon it,
h, t 'ithn\\l t 1· it w,~lt. Th ri• ~n l m, on the other band, is not merely
. \' tr 1 \ll t1tl, l ut rt . p 11 I . ~on 'qu ntly, biological intcrnction may be
\l ' t l,t d r l m ·iv . Th fomrnl n for a biological event is not
m 1tlwrn lti' 1 . ptiv I nc I• = F, us in the case of physical
.'ul · ·t H,, , hu t nn b indi ol ·cl in tcn11s of stimulus and response
th , ~ - - - T\ . In t 1d of b ing iucrt a biological organism is
.it ,1 1\. Th tirnulu _ 11 out n r sponsc on the pnrt of the organism.
\\ t 1l 1 · thrrd {. th t th nction of the orgnnism is predominant in
tlu in t • :ti n.
· Th ' biologic 1 organism acts can be accounted for by the
lin~l ' un t bl clrnrnct r of its complex organization. It is con-
t. ntl. n:. king down , nd building itself up. And so biological inter-
ti m r b ,,- 11 pr ervntiv . This is true both when the organism
in t. f cl nd n similntes it ns po.rt of its own structural organization,
nd wh n it i irrit t d by some foreign object and shrinks or moves
w • f m it.
ll u nirmu organisms, and especially the human being, are
pr domin ntly psychological in their behavior, we can only observe
th m p · rfonnin , these biological interactions when we study such
is 1 t d behavior ns the digestion of food. However, since even the hu-
m n nim 1 remains a biological organism until it develops a psycho-
gical behavior hi.story, we can sometimes describe its behavior en-
tir 1 in terms of biological stimulus and response. This is the case of
the infant before birth.1

Psychological Interactions Are Adjustive. Since biological actions

cons-ti tute primarily maintenance behavior, they are constant in their
op ration. No matter how frequently the organism is stimulated to re-
spond, the pa ttern of these activities is the same. This follows, of
course, from the fact that the behavior of biological organisms is the
mere operation of a set of fixed structures. Not so the psychological
interaction. The latter is more flexible. For example, in reacting to n
book I can eitl1er walk or run to get it, or even ask someone to get it
for me. This fact is still better observed in the constantly changing
poses of fencers. ( See Fig. 3 ). Through their increasing contacts with
the· same things, psychological organisms can build up many different
reactioru to them . Thus they can interact more int.imately and more
in depende ntly and can develop numerous different inter~ctions \vith

2. Dut see Chap. IV, pp. 50ff.

 The ltolation and lnvutigatfon of P1)'chological Events 7

Fig. J . 1Uu1tnUng I ps~logial Interaction. Each re.sporue of A and B ls mu•

tually ad:U,tfve en the b-u!J of farmer lnttnc::t!ons in anuogow situations.

objects than is the case with merely biological organisms. For this
reason we may regard psychological interactions as historical and
developmental. ·
Psychological adjustment.s are likewise cxplorative, manipulative,
and orientative. Each of these modes of interaction sugge1ts a form of
reactional spontaneity. The psychological organism does not merely
come into contact with the objects of its surroundings, but il seelc.s
contact with them, or in other words explores its surroundings. Again,
the psychologJcal interaction is not sbee1ly preservative but manipu·
laUve Ill well. When the child breaks open his rattles to see what is in·
side them he change! the things with which he interacts without ma\c.
ing them a pa.rt of himseU. These manjpuJative activities may of course
 B Ps- cholo le 1 Events and Psychologk1l Science
b constructive as well n destructive. And finally, psychological in-
ternctions are oricntntive. 1 The organism mny take account of like-
n ses or differences of things, or it mny become pleased or displeased
by hem, and in tliis way tnkc attitudes toward the objects in its
environment.

SPECIAL CUARAcrerumcs OF PSYCHOLOCICAL DEHA VJOR

So far we have been attempting to characterize psychological phe-
oomcnn as tney compare with the data of other sciences. We bnve
pointed out the essential differences bchvcen psychological behavior
· and the behavior of biological organisms and .physical objects. Now
we must describe psychological phenomena as they exjst and operate
by themselves. We may sum up the characteristics of psychological
interactions in the following six propositions:
l. Psychological interactions are differential
2. Psychological intcractioru arc integrative
3. Psychological internctlons are variable
4. Psychologie.11 interactions arc modifiable
5. Psychological interactions are delayablc
6. Psychological interactions arc inhibitive

Psychological Interactions Are Differential. The interaction of an

individual with a ripe apple is different from his interaction with an
unripe one. We may say he discriminates between the two objects. A
fundamental characteristic therefore of psychological interactions is
their specificity. Each reaction is definitely correlated with a stimu-
lating function of an object and, conv·ersely, each different stimulus
function of an object elicits a different response. Of necessity then, dif-
ferent objects, each with a different stimulus function, correspond to
different responses in the org~srn. In addition, different stimulus
functions of the same object produce varying behavior effects upon
the organism. The tree may stimulate me to admire it, climb it, or fell
it. All this because the organism has passed through different behavior
experiences with objects. It is precisely through these behavior con-
tacts that objects take on different stimulating functions for diHerent
individuals. The young child discovers that a ball is not only some-
thing to be dodged, but also an object that con be thrown. Frequently
the diHeient stimulus functions of an object may be connected with
different organizations of its qualities. For example,. the child reacts
to an orange as an edible thing because of its edible properties,
whereas it is a ball for him on account of its size, shape, and weight.
3. The term orientatJon la wed hue In a popular 1cn1e. Orientation In a strict ps)'cho.
logical ICJUC In knowing, lee Chap. xm.
 ,.
.
~

Th• h o au n nd lnvcsUeatlon of Prychologk.al EvenlJ 9

This di t r nti bili ty of psychologicnl intcrnctions indi·

c"' t h or r mi m is not only nsitiv to things ns wholes,
tl1 · lo , t t , odors, t xhu s, hnrdnesses, etc.
n t nd 1 o to th s ttiu s or nuspiccs of things.
· n whit" cl th ~lls out dHTcr · nt response from that
in L ted b · th ._ m bj ct on bl ck dotll.
I'sycholo i I Int r tfons Ar lntcgratiu . Observe how the child
nms to vrit . At fi l h m k only smnll ingle strokes;. then these
ctio int t d to pr <lu 1 ttcrs n.s units. Tho letters in tum
ni ed in to wor . And finally word-producing nctions become
ir to nt n -m king action units.
This int gr tionnl ff t n be npprcci ted perfectly by anyone
who h. 1 rn to typewrit . Th first nction-units consist of striking
th p t k s. Th s b m • orgnniz d into word and Inter into
phr sem. ·n b h nvior uni . In the snm wny all of the complex he-
h vi or of th m tur org nism hns been integrated from simpler re-
sp rues in th cour of the ind.ividunl's behavior history. ·
Th ell ct of integr tion, of course, is not limited merely to the
r sp onsc pbn.s of th inter ction. The same summation process takes
pl cc on th sid of the object. Corresponding to the organiz.atlon of .'
respons , the units of th copy material become fused into larger
units. This means that .whereas in the early stnge of learning to type-
writ ch separate letter ( t-b-o ) stimulates an individual response, in
th later periods the whole word ns a single unit (the) elicits a single
integrated reaction. The prncticed typist develops exceedingly com-
plicated integrations of this sort. On the whole, the integraUonal prin- )
I
I
ciple symbolizes the close interconnection between the organism nnd I
I
things with which it interacts.
Int gration is supplementary to diHerentlation. \1/hen we differ-
ntiate we an lyze objects and separate them off on the basis of their
qualities. On the other hand, when we in~egratc we organize the quali-
ti of things into units, and series of things into still larger units.

Psychological Interactions Are Varinble. Put a hungry cnt in a

c ge ne r which is placed a piece of fish and notice its attempts to
reach the food. As long _s the animal is in contact with the stimulating
object it will persistently vary its bel111\•ior until H succeeds in getting
t the fish . Me nwhilc it performs an indefinite variety of nets pull-
.I
ing, pu lung, biti11g, squeezing, and shaking the objects that prevent it
from reaching the food . These actions have all been observed in early j
..
experiments which Thorndike performed on v rious animals.'
.(, Thom~:Hke. An lm::l lnttlllg rnct . Macmillan, 1911.
10 P.1yc o : Events nd Psycholo ic_ Science
How variable can th interactions be between the organism . and
the stimul s obj ct? The answ r is tl,at the amount of such variability
depends upon the nwnb r of specific stimulus and response connections
which } ave alrcad b en bui t up during the animal's present and past
contacts with the object in question. \Vhen such stimulus and response
connections are , cry numerous the organism may continue to respond
until it succeeds in attaining its goal or becomes fatigued and
1

exhausted.

Psychological Interactions Are Modifiable. Tbe burnt child dreads

the flame. This maxim excelleotly points out a striking and important
principle of psychological interaction. The child who bums his finger
by sticking it into the Bame so modifies his ]ater behavior that he does
not undergo again the same painful result. In everyday language we
say that he profits by his past experience.
The modification of the interaction consists of the organism ac-
quiring a new and often a more effective way of reacting to the ob-
ject, while the object correspondingly takes on a .new kind of stimulus
function. The candle now has the function of eliciting a finger-
\\ritbdrawing response instead of the finger-projecting, pain-producing
reaction.
\1./e can sum up the principle of modifiability by saying that the
successive contacts of an organism with objects culminate in the de-
velopment of new modes of interaction based on the results o~ condi-
tions of prior contacts.

Psychological Interactions Are Delayablc. \\Then someone asks you

to meet him tomorrow at ten o'clock he stimulates you to start an action
which will not be completed until the stipulated time. The fundamental
principle here is that the individual is in contact with.an object which in-
cites him to an action which is not completed until a certain time
interval has elapsed. Such delays in consummating interactions account
for a great deal of the spontaneity of psychological behavior.

l'sychological Interactions Are lnhibitioe. You are asked to attend

a theatre party. If this is the thfog you-would most like to do one ,,..·ould
expect your anS\ver to be yes. As .it happens, however, an examination
has been announced for tomorrow; so your affinnaUve reaction is
checked. Instead of saying "yes/' you decline the engagement. This is
a good example of an inhibited interaction. Because the psychological
organis~ .is capable of performing numerous kinds of responses, he· ..
. .
 The bolation and lnve1tig1tfon of Psychological E'ventJ . 11

can, when circumstances dictate or warrant, substin1te one type of ac~

tion for nnothcr. ·
. Thcs six C:haracterisfi~ of psychological interactions are the f-un-.
dnmentn.1 marks whkh diff ercnUate psychological from other kinds of
phenomena. \Vbeo the interactions of organisms and thlngs around
them answer :o these descr1pLions they acre psychological; if not they
belong to a different branch of science. We mwt add, however, that
not alwnys do we necessarily observe all of these characteristics in
very_ single psychological interaction. Taken all in alJ, however, they
constitute a workable set of criteria.

DIVISIONS OP PSYCHOLOCICAL STUDY

It is o_nly natural that within the psychological domain some phe-

~omena differ markedly in detail from others. Psychology, therefore,
like the _0~1~r sciences, has to be divided into a number of departments
or specialities. In the following list we mention some of the more
prominent specinllzat:ions.
1. Animal psychology
2..Child psychology
3. Developmental psychology
4. Socia_) psychology
5. Physiological psychology
6. Clinical psychology
7. Gi!neral psychology

Animal Psychology. All animals, as custinguished ftom plants, be-

' long to a single biological series. This animal series, of course, includes
· man as well as subhuman or infrahumao organisms. Now it is to be
expected that animals below man on the evoluti_onary scale are only
able to perform actions which are far simpler than those performed by
man. This' fact gives rise to a distinct branch of psychological investi-
ga tioa. Accordingly, animal studies have been designed to solve such
problems as: whether cats, chickens, dogs, monkeys, apes and other
animals can discriminate colors, sounds, and shapes. But perhaps the
most important investigations have been•those conccmcd·with the ca-
pacities of animals to }earn and how this learning takes place.
Because there are few kinds of human behavior that are not also
performed by !n&ahumnn animals, animal psychology il to a great ex-
tent a comparative science. From the investigation of infra.human ani·
ma.ls we )earn a great deal conccrnjng the likenesses and differencc.s
between human and subhuman organisms. Superiority of behavior, of
course, does not always li.e on the side of l1umans. Subhuman animals
frequently· can perfonn actions beyond lbe a~ilitics of man. A.striking·
.
,

i th d lphin cnn ndjust tJ1cmselves to their surroundings

l, nl tivc pr ccss of echolocntion. To match the
of nonhuman behavior the human has to develop
rn ns, that is, to ls nnd instruments.
v nt e nine from studying animal psychology is that
t in from the study of iofrahuman animal reactions
to throw 1i ht on the way human organisms interact with
undin . One of the greatest values of animal psychology is
th xperiment on animals in ways that are not convenient
e with the human organism.

Child Psychology. The innumerable problems involved in the care

and trainin of children elevate the psychological study of infancy and
childh d to an extremely high place in psychological science. Since
psycho ogical phenomena are events that originate in the behavior his-
tori s of individuals the genetic study of infant behavior is of the
greatest importance.
The artiest careful studies of child behavior were biographical.
J u.-ses simp y recorded the developmental details of individual chil-

dren. Somewhat later, physicians and psychologists compiled a great

many facts concerning the behavior of infants. These workers were in-
terested in co11ecting sUtistic.s concerning the first appearance of cer-
tain reflexes, the early color preferences, etc.
In the 1920's, \Vatson initiated a movement for the experimental
study of infants from the very first days of birth.' This movement rap-
idly exp nded and there are now available numerous, mJnute studies
of the systematic development of newly born infants.
A distinct branch of-child psychology has been cultivated in con-
nedion with the schools. It was Binet's interest in the }earning capacity
.of children that led to his formulation of psychological tests and the
deve opment of the test movement.

Dtcelopmenta.l P.ryclwlogy. Partia1ly at least an outgrowth ofas

the increasing interest in child psychology, a new subdiscipline of _psy-
cholog-1 has developed under the name developmental psychology.
The primary significance of this study lies in the augmented emphasis
of the developmental aspect of psychological behavior. Stressed is the
growth of individual organisms from prenatal conditions through the
neonatal period and beyond to adulthood. The enlargement of the dc-

5. Cuw-r~ i:i h!., bloyiph.!al ,.h tch cf Bec.htm!V, ray, that that Kienthl established
lcng bdare. t.h.!J dale ,an · lz:ltlt-.Jte for thls p:.a.zpoce. Se.e B~ta~. C,n,iro/ P,f~pl11 of
11vm::n R,fta~l.cgy, N.Y.: lotu:ution1-I, 19j1. ·
 Tne uoatian a.nd Investigation of Psychological Events 13

ve opment l concep t to include not only the growth of children but

so th sp ci lized ctiv'ties ruch as discriminations, feelings. and in_
fact e\'ery kind of ction re u ts in an approach to the interbebavioral .
principle. Ho \·ever l1ere is lacking the full evolutionary ~ncept of a
continuous development in constantly- changing contacts with sur-
rounding things and cond ' tions. The developmental literature fre-
qu ntly suggcs :s that deve opmcnt operates only toward the comple-
'on of a pr determined situation.

Social Cultural Psychol-0gy. Most of our behavior is conven-

tion L Consider language. The words we use are English and not
French or German. Thus we are conditioned by the community of
persons among whom we live. But this is not all. Even the things we
talk abou nd the conditions uncfer which we say what we do are like-
wise conventional. Conventional or cultural conduct then is the suh-
ject-matter of social psycho ogy.
The importance of social psychology lies precisely in the fact that
most of our behavior is acquired in a prescribed way, and performed
through definite contacts with specific groups of individuals. The social
psychologist isolates the great mass of our conventional actions such as
shared beliefs, manners, and knowledge, and contrasts them with the
idiosyncratic behavior we acquire as private individuals.

Phyrlolagical Psychology. Since all psychological behavior is per-

formed by biological organisms and in consequence all psychological
behavior is at the same time biological behavior, a prominent speciality
has developed called physiological psychology. Primarily the subject
matter of this division of labor is to ascertain the effects of the tot.al ad-
justments of organisms brought about by their biological conditions.
Generally speaking, the biological normality of organisms constih.1tes a
favorab e factor although various forms of anatomical and physiologi-
cal irregularity may play their part in the successfol adaptations of in-
dividuals. While penons of slight build, or those suffering from such
conditions as being hunchbacked cannot become football stars, those
shortc:ornings need not prevent them from becoming expert mathe-
maticians.
Physiological psychology itseU becomes departmentalized on the
basis of the variant interests of psychoJogical workers. Those psycholo-
gists interested in. the eff cct of drugs on behavior are grouped as Psy-
chopharmacologists, whereas those who study the participa.tion of the
intact or· mutiJated brain and nervous system in behavior are classified
as Psychonewolog{sls. Other subrpcdaliz~tions concern tbe condition&
, 1 Psycho o k .il Events and P ychologica l Science

of en ra 1 fah uc or th r suits of malnutrition and so on. These are

sam · l s of p Jci Hz lion; there arc others.
Th read - r: will be intcrc tcd to know that historically physiological
p chology was developed s the study of the correlation of or basis
for intongi le psychic st tcs and not as the study of participating fac-
tor in multifnctor interbchavioral fields. It is only the latter attitude
th t is naturnlistic and scientific.

Clinical Psychol-0gy. Students of the interbehavior . of organisms

with surrounding things nnd events will inevitably observe that such
actions do not always confonn to the prevalent institutions and the
usual standards .of the perfonning individual and others. Such behavior
is usually called abnormal, deviant, or maladjustive. Students of such
behavior arc categorized as clinical.psychologists. They study and treat
disturbed children, mild and serious criminal offenders who need to
readjust themselves to society, and individuals who are hampered by
neurotic syndromes, or who pass through episodes of depression and
autism, as well as college or high school students who cannot adapt
themselves to school environments.
In an acceptable serue clinical psychologists practice a type of ap-
plied psychology. Besides the study of aberrant behavior by means of
observation, interviews and tests of va_r;-ious sorts, the clinkal psycholo-
gists engage in the corrective treatment and retraining of children and
adults.
Clinical psychologists operate much as do the ~edical specialists
called psychiatrists. The latter are usually doctors of medjcine who deal
with behavior patients by means of drugs, electroshock, brain surgery,
as well as with the verbal methods of psychoanalysis. The clinical psy-
chologists are less definitely separated from lay psychoanalysts who
perform on the basis of a more or less a~equatc psychological ~quip-
ment. However, the techniques of some clinical. psychologists differ
radical1y from those of psychoanalysts. Many clinical psychologists are
employed in hospitals while others engage in private practice.

Educational Psychology. The special conditions of the classroom

are the province of educational psychology. The general classroom en-
vironment, the teaching materials, the techniques of the teacher, t}1e
individual diff ercnces of tlrn pupils, and any other of the multitudinous
. (actors that affect behavior in the school setting arc sh1died. Educn-
tional psychologist.s may conduct research with teaching machines or
other forms of programmed learning, study group discussion versus
teacher presentation, social adjt.Jstment, cooperation versus competi-
 I h h olatlon 11111 fn1Jc1tlgat lon of 1'1y 1t,lo1,I 1 Evcnl.f 15

ion, wd on, Th,~ <lur I onnl p•ychologl t also intcrcstccl in de·

vcln1 ing un cl t1. In!' t • ts for ducntlu n1I plnnn rng n11d couruellng.

ml 1' ycl1olop,y. All th pocinltzritJons of p,y h logI al work

: • 11

w h11v mention cl r< only s mplct. ln nddlt ion them re other spe-
i li1~ tio h d on tJ, type of problem worked upon or the auspices
unc] r which tho work is 0011 . '11nu th e If t could b • extended to fn·
lud indu tria l, n ~n crlng, couns li ng, puhlic ervicc, mflitary, ag-·
ing, hL~to , p )' hophnrmacolog)', and hypnosis problems. In thiJ book
we stras mainly thr. g n r l prob) m n to wh at psychology is, and the
btu ic quc tion ~ to th nature of the subject matter iu particular types
of int rb h vior.

TI(E SOURCES OF r YCHOLOC ICAL DATA

cienc differ with respect to the sources of their data. Thus the
phy icis t, chemis t, nnd astronomer sh1dy lnterbehavior far removed
from their own activities. The as tronomer in many cases studies the
intern ctions of things taki ng place thousands of light ycrus from the
en.rth . The physicist, of course, can study the human organism as a
physicnl thing, but he would ga in very little scientific information in
this way. For the most part physics has to do with the behavior of such
innnimnte th ings as levers, dynamos, and engines. The chemist who
specializes in the biochemical branch comes closer to human sources
of !nets than the physicist, for the former derives a great deal of study
material from the human organism. But biochemistry, though an in·
· crcasingly cultivated discipline, is after all a small part of the total sci-
ence of cl1cmistry.
When we turn to the biological sciences n different situation pre-
vails. In these disdpHnes the investigator finds in his own structure and
conduct a profuse source of scientific material. As a matter of fact the
requirements of medicine have influenced the biolog.ist to ma.kc human
anatomy and physiology the most prominent of all the biological
specialties. ·
Psychology, however, more than any other science, finds its atten-
tion directed to man and his activities as the primary sources of psy-
chological data. We can easily understand this in view of the faet that
the data of human psychology are by far the most complex and on the
whole the most interesting.
The psychologist therefore goes further than any other scientist
in studying facts close to home. Whereas other scientists study things
increasingly different from themselves, the psychologist frequently
finds it much easier to gather information by investigating his own
16 Ps;chob ic I E"·c:.nu a.nd Psycho?o kal Sd encc

ac.' viti rather Hm those of oth r persons. When the psychologist

s 1Jdie hJ o n f Ung , judgments. memories, nnd ways.of learning he
sp o" such heh vior n.s s U-observnlion or introspection.•

Till! .u:n mos OP PSYOIOLOGY

\ "bcthcr psycho og!cal facts are derived from n study of one's own
responses or from those of other organisms there nrc two methods of
am ring rnc}1 dnta. These we may refer to ns ( 1) field and ( 2) labo-
r tory ob ervation.

Field Observations. For the most part psychological phenomena

must be studied just as they occur in nature. So intricate and intimate
are the interactions of organisms and things , tl1at they have to be stud-
ied just h ow nnd where they happen. This situation is not peculiar to
psychology. Among the physical scientists the astronomer in particular
is limited in this way. He cannot manipulate his comets and planets; he
can introduce no chan ges in the motions of the heavenly bodies. The
b 'ologist, too, must to a great extent confine bimseli to field observa-
tions. Tne whole department of ecology constitutes a study of animals
in b iological contact with their environment.
Psycho ogists io increasing numbers believe that the artificial con-
ditions of the laboratory do not result in th~ best understanding of
many types of interbehavior. Consequently improved techniques of
fi eld obs!!rVat:ion are being developed. Ethologists, as behavioral biolo-
gists ca themselves, have shown that while investigating the behavior
of sea gulls, changing the colors and shapes of experimental eggs are
helpful in tile stu dy of interactions with objects in the natural environ-
ment. Other interactions may b e studied without manipulations as
when primates lilce chimpanzees or gorillas are observed over long pe-
riods of time witli precise record keeping.

Laborat-0ry Observations. The method of field observation has its

decided lim ita tions, however. It does not allow for a rigid control of
data. Accordingly, the psychologist wherever possible employs labora-
tory tcchnjques fo:- the more exact determination of ~is facts. A~ the
present ti me ft must be admitted , of course, that only the simplest
form.E of-psychological action can be subjected to the rigorous manipu-
lations of a laboratory. Instead of performing actual remembering ex- .
perimentJ psychologists conJinc their studies to the memorization of
noru:crue syllables and integers. Similarly, laboratory investigations of
6. The rdeta1t o( th.ls W'D'I rrrw t be sharply dJ,tinguls~ from the non-uisttnt p.sychJc
rdern,d lD by ment&listic psychologulJ.
.SU ta
 ...
ln, .ili atJoo u( Psytho!o-gic-tl ti ll
r r trict l lo dmpl heh viot disturb n~.
n t fr1di ~ t b olute tqicrim nt 1 limitaUoru.
· 1\ h· in p Jch · logk l science tb t !uggcsts .
tl ·di 1 ist t eiperimcnt upon the
ll n 1· gi l inter tions.

F RTH R RE
~ er,
II,
e!ui:r.n" u. Chic- : Prin ci pl a Pt w. 1971.
tJ and branches: Psych lcgiC"t..l

V a 8th.Ji:~- Phihdelphia:

r. Columbus : Adams, (2) 19Z9.