Multiple Choice
History of Modern Psych, 3e: Study Guide, Chapter 7
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1. According to Titchener, in his 1898 paper on “The Postulates of a Structural Psychology,” structuralism
is analogous to the study of
a. anatomy
b. physiology
c. both anatomy and physiology
d. physics
2. In Titchener’s Manuals,
a. introspection was an important part of the qualitative experiments
b. the experiment using the olfactometer was an example of a quantitative experiment
c. a study examining just noticeable differences would be an example of a qualitative
experiment
d. the instructor’s manuals were not very detailed, a major weakness
3. Which of the following was true of Titchener’s version of introspection?
a. there had to be special rules of introspection for children
b. to give a description of immediate experience was to commit the stimulus error, a problem
that invalidated an introspection
c. introspections could only be completed by those who had received extensive training
d. it was virtually identical to the procedures used by Wundt
4. John Dewey’s reflex arc paper,
a. clearly identified (and named) functionalism as a school and denounced structuralism
b. argued for an understanding of reflexes as they help the organism adjust to the world
c. argued that reflex arcs could be reduced to simple stimuli and responses
d. provided strong support for Titchener’s vision of psychology
5. What did Thorndike conclude from his puzzle box research?
a. he rejected the concept of trial and error learning as simplistic
b. cats are capable of learning by imitation (i.e., watching other cats escape)
c. because they were unable to escape from the boxes despite repeated tries, the cats
could not be considered to have “consciousness” or “rationality”
d. cats initially behaved randomly, but eventually used only the behaviors that worked for escape
6. The conflict between Mills and Thorndike was in essence an argument over whether
a. the laboratory was the best place to study animal behavior
b. animals can be said to show thinking and reasoning powers
c. introspective analysis was appropriate for comparative psychology
d. structuralism or functionalism should be the dominant school of psychology
7. In the so-called Columbia bible, Woodworth
a. associated dependent variables with experimental research and independent variables
with correlational research
b. distinguished between experimental (causal) and correlational (non-causal) methods
c. rejected the concept of transfer
d. emphasized the importance of correlational techniques and downplayed experimental
methods
8. Concerning motivation, Woodworth
a. rejected an S-O-R formulation in favor of the more parsimonious S-R model
b. believed that human behavior could not be fully understood without studying motivation
c. believed that because motives were personal, they could not be studied scientifically
d. none of the above—it was Thorndike, not Woodworth, who was interested in
motivation
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Multiple Choice
History of Modern Psych, 3e: Study Guide, Chapter 7
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Answers
1. a. CORRECT ANSWER – bodily structure was analogous to mental structure, Titchener believed
b. he thought it was functionalism that was analogous to physiology
c. he argued that anatomy was to mental structure as physiology was to mental function.
d. the analogy he drew in the article was to biology, not physics
2. a. CORRECT ANSWER – introspection was not absent from quantitative experiments, however
b. opposite – this was an example of a qualitative experiment
c. opposite – this was an example of a quantitative experiment
d. the instructor’s manuals were in fact highly detailed, twice the size of the student manuals
3. a. because children could not introspect properly, they were not considered appropriate for laboratory
research, Titchener believed
b. when making the stimulus error, observers had failed to describe immediate experience
c. CORRECT ANSWER – the introspective habit had to be acquired, in order to avoid bias (or so
Titchener thought)
d. Wundt’s version (“internal perception”) was much more restricted than Titchener’s
4. a. this role was played by Angell’s 1906 APA presidential address
b. CORRECT ANSWER – a “functional” approach, as opposed to an analytical or structural approach
c. he specifically rejected this analytical approach as artificial
d. the opposite – it was opposed to Titchener’s view
5. a. trial and error learning was his main conclusion
b. he specifically tested this and found no evidence of imitation
c. in fact, they did learn to escape, with practice
d. CORRECT ANSWER – this was his law of effect, and why he referred to the learning as “trial and
accidental success”
6. a. CORRECT ANSWER – Mills thought the puzzle box studies were artificial and irrelevant
b. close, because Mills would have been more likely to make such attributions than Thorndike; but the
issue between them was over the proper setting for the research
c. introspection did not come into play as an issue between them
d. Mills was no structuralist
7. a. independent and dependent variables were the main components of experiments, according to
Woodworth
b. CORRECT ANSWER – the main distinction made by Woodworth, with important subsequent
ramifications
c. Woodworth embraced the concept of transfer, contributing (with Thorndike) important research
d. the opposite was true
8. a. the opposite; he argued that “organismic” variables had to be taken into account
b. CORRECT ANSWER – understanding motivation (the “O” in S-O-R) was essential, he thought
c. he insisted that they be studied
d. no, it was Woodworth
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