James McKeen Cattell Contributions to Psychology, Research Paper Example

Introduction

James McKeen Cattell was born in 1860 in Easton, Pennsylvania. At 16, he was enrolled at Lafayette College where he pursued English Literature. He graduated in 1880 with a master’s degree from this college. His professional career started in Germany where he had gone to study advanced philosophy. At Gottingen, he developed interest in Hermann Lotze’s and Wilhelm Wundt’s intelligence as well as their philosophical work. The partnership between Wundt and Cattell was highly productive since the two formed a curriculum for intelligence (Cattell, 1903). Under Wundt, his greatest achievement was his certification as the first psychologist professor in America. He published the first America dissertation paper in psychology, which was entitled Psychometric Investigation. Between 1882 and 1883, he worked alongside John Dewey and Joseph Jastrow at John Hopkins laboratory (Buckhalt, 1991). They implemented his study on Psychometric Investigation with emphasis on the timing of diverse mental and psychological processes. Throughout his life, he created and edited scientific journals. His editorial work enhanced psychology’s visibility significantly and elevated it from the status of old sciences. He died in 1944 at 84. His wife, Josephine Owens, and his seven children continued to share his editorial work after his death.

James McKeen’s Cattell’s Contribution to Psychology

Cattell’s career in psychology started at University of Leipzig when he embarked on fertile investigations. He wrote six articles that were published in several journals such as the Philosophische Studien in Germany. Later, he wrote articles, which were published in Mind and Brain magazines in England. The main theme in his articles was the different phases of association and reaction times, incorporated with simpler reading processes. All these are fundamental topics, which have been developed with time to become classics in different fields.

His career became more pronounced when he returned to America in 1887 as a lecturer at Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania. He set up a laboratory to advance his investigations. He performed his investigation alongside Francis Galton, whose ideals and methods were greatly admired by Cattell (Sokal, 1971). The theme of his investigation was to establish individual differences that distinguished men in their middle and later portions of their lives. He met Josephine Owen from London who was of great help to his investigation. On the contrary, his experimental work differed from that of Wundt. In response to this variation, Wundt suggested that the variation in the experimental methods, with consideration of some introspective controls, had teased out time constants. The most adverse effects of the controls was on elementary mental courses such a choice, perceptions, and association (Woodworth, 1944). With respect to the scope of his investigation, James realized that he was incapable of carrying out the required subjective controls and introspections. Additionally, he did not believe in the abilities of other people.

One of the earliest deductions of his investigation was simple reactions were caused by “prepared reflex actions.” Complicated reflex actions constituted processes that overlapped in time, and, as a result, their extents were not measurable. He emphasized that the reaction time experiment was a vital tool in determining the difficulty and speed of a variety of mental processes (Sharp, 1898). For instance, he was able to show that the time required to fathom a short common word is not greater than the time required for a single letter. His investigation concluded that teaching a child to read whole words rather than single letters have a scientific perspective. With no regard to the analysis of complicated processes in the elements, he used the net reaction time that was obtained under different conditions to study fatigue and practice, and attention. He compared legibility of the alphabetical letters for many other scientific and practical purposes.

Cattell’s studies in psychology were all concerned with time management. On the contrary, they were not rooted entirely to reaction times. To further advance on his investigation, he used a fall tachistoscope to determine the exposure time required to perceive pictures, colors, letters, and words (Woodworth, 1944). He also used a serial exposure apparatus to determine the rates of fathoming the perceptions stated above. This experiment was unique in its structure and application since it did not require a follow up. He continued to use this method in more advanced and important studies. He used Columbian students as his specimen for the investigation.

After his stay at Leipzig, he carried out an extensive investigation on one of the classical fields in experimental psychology, psychophysics. Just like his investigation on reaction time, he disregarded the older experimental views that were concerned with measurements as well as substituting a more operational and objective conceptions (Sokal, 1971). He believed that investigations that that used the method of right or wrong, or constant stimuli could not be used for estimating the extensity of a sensation. These were just experiments for judgment and observation, and their outcomes were regarded as measurements of the deviation of observation. From this observation, psychophysics ought to be conceived as an investigation of accuracy of an observed factor of trait under different conditions. He summarized it as an investigation of obvious theoretical and practical importance (Woodworth, 1944).

He extended his knowledge to the Theory of Probability. He stated that probability of occurrence of an error of observation increases with increase of the square root of magnitude of observation (Woodworth, 1944). From this statement, he was opposed to the Weber’s Law that states that the expectation of observation error is directly proportional to its magnitude. From the recent investigations of the two aspects, analysts derive data from these two formulas. This implies that observation error increases slowly than in Weber’s Law, which means that Weber’s Law can be used to predict the magnitude of observation at a faster rate than the square root law of Cattell. He later combined his knowledge in reaction time and psychophysics to results in a psychophysical method. This is a time discrimination method that indicates the differences between qualities or magnitudes. It is based on the assumption that, the higher the effective difference between the two factors, the higher the rate of discrimination. Although his philosophical work differed from that of his Wundt, he still maintained a cordial personal affection to his master.

After leaving Leipzig, Cattell met Francis Galton who he was one of the greatest men in psychology at the time (Woodworth, 1944). Galton confirmed Cattell’s long-held views on individuality. Cattell had stated that measurement of individual differences was one of the most productive fields in the study of psychology. He became the first person to reflect on mental tests. He formulated a series of tests that he put to test at the University of Pennsylvania. Later, he developed an extensive list at Columbia, which was known for a long time as The Freshmen Tests. The tests were administered to about fifty volunteers from successive freshmen classes. The aim of this exercise was to come up with data for the investigation on individual differences, as well as the factors that affect the differences. After administration of the test, the Pearson method was used to study the correlation between the difference and the factors behind them. The data that was derived from the investigation was disappointing to Cattell since most of the students suffered from attenuation. This study had considerable historical importance in developing correlational techniques in psychology. His plan of testing different functions such as quickness of movement, the senses, and imagery, separately faced a setback when Binet’s method of assessing intelligence was formulated (Sharp, 1898). Nevertheless, his plan was in line with the current efforts in developing tests for different mental abilities.

Psychophysics, reaction time, and mental tests were the main focuses of Cattell’s early works in psychology. His experiments were simple since involved asking posing questions to students about distances on their campus, on weather, and the fixtures of some historical events. The responses from the students showed wide variation. In some cases, some answers were close to truth while others showed a large constant error.

The Ranking Method or Order of Merit

Another Cattell’s major contribution in psychology was the invention of the ranking method or order of merit (Sharp, 1898). This method had a wide application in both aesthetics and psychophysics. He prepared a series of about 200 gray shades ranging by indiscernible steps from white to black. His subjects were required to arrange the gray shades in their order of brightness. The errors of the observers were determined by referring to independent scale of brightness. He extended the application of this method to the extensive fields of value judgment. The first value that was considered was the scientific standings of American people in Science, that is, the level of knowledge of American men in science and other related disciplines. For instance, in psychology, he prepared a list of individuals who had the potential to be referred to as scientific psychologists. He then introduced ten top psychologists to act as judges and classify the participants in order of merit. The judges were required to work independently. Afterwards, Cattell would collect their rankings and combine them to compute an average. The average ranks were considered as a means of furnishing an approximation and relating it to the true order of merit.

From this experiment, the results could be translated in two different ways; first, calculation of the average mark from the judges was a means of estimating the accuracy of the judges, and second, the average ranks together with the other data enabled him to come up with the logical study which he named, ‘Homo Scientificus Americanus’. It incorporated other quantities such as place of birth, educational level, present geographical distribution, and parentage (Buckhalt, 1991). He repeated this study in intervals of seven years to introduce slight changes in trends. His ranking method was rapidly absorbed by his colleagues and students in situations involving value judgment in education, literature, and business.

Cattell’s Effect in Psychology

Cattell was a member of the small group that spearheaded the American Psychological Association in 1892 (Woodworth, 1944). He became a member of the association at the time of its inception, the secretary in its third year, and later the president. Later, he relocated to Columbia where he became an active member of New York Academy of Sciences. Later, he induced the Academy and came up with the Anthropology and Psychology Section. This action earned him recognition from the science department for his efforts in encouraging psychological studies. In 1902, he was made the president of New York Academy. By 1900, Cattell had acquired permission to set up a New York Branch from the American Psychological Association. He maintained a useful and continuous existence in this branch until it broadened its scope to become today’s Eastern Psychological Association (Woodworth, 1944). His interests and efforts in the American Psychological Association began early before it was set up. In 1898, he was the president and chairperson of Section H.

In his last twenty years, the most important contribution in psychology was his active participation in building a basis for psychology as a science. In 1923, he started the Science Press Printing Company, which specialized in printing of scientific books and journals. His interest in university management and organization problems was strongly rooted to a democratic spirit, rather physical and brutal competition. His personal antipathy and pacifist learning played a major role in reconciling nations during the First World War. At the age of seventy, he was chosen to represent American psychologists in the Ninth International Congress of Psychology that was held in New Haven in 1929 (Thorndike, 1988). His presidential address on psychology to Americans was based on the success of the organization in incorporating science to psychology. He called on the young generation to embrace and appreciate the work of the association in developing psychology. His associates and committee members spoke gratefully of his wise foresight and broad vision, his courage and initiative, his sense of democracy and effectiveness in management, his command at work, and sound judgment to all men, his commitment to his investigation and the association, and his personal unselfishness and warm friendship.

Cattell was productive in his investigations after setting up his own laboratory. Currently, researchers support his ideas since he adopted a practical and test-oriented approach in his study of mental processes. Researchers and scientists today still employ his ranking method. In addition, without his contribution and reference to his work, the study of psychology would be incomplete. This is because people would still ignorant and devoid information on effects of drugs on mental processes. His efforts were important in naming colors and objects. A close review of recent articles and books characterizes contemporary ideas on the nature of intelligence with solid basis on Cattell’s investigations. Researchers today have correlated intelligence with reaction times to come up with elementary cognitive processes (Vandome, 2013). On the contrary, not all measures that Cattell used in his experiment are used to measure intelligence in the current research. Researchers today have confirmed cerebral operations speed, which corresponds to the data collected by Cattell. Psychologists today have given Cattell credit for his efforts in formulating the mental test. Additionally, he formed a basis for psychological studies through conducting repeatable investigations and experiments (Vandome, 2013). In the view of contemporary results related to Cattell’s investigation, present and future researcher should give James McKeen Cattell more credit than he should has received.

References

Buckhalt, J.A. (1991). Reaction Time and Intelligence: Contemporary Research Supports Cattell’s Abandoned Hypothesis. School Psychology International, 12(10), 355.

Cattell, J. M. (1903). A statistical study of eminent men. Popular Science Monthly, 62(1), 359-377.

Sharp, S. E. (1898). Individual psychology; a study in psychological method. American Journal of Psychology, 10(1), 329-391.

Sokal, M. M. (1971). The education and psychological career of James McKeen Cattell, 1860-1902. Unpublished doctoral    dissertation. Case Western Reserve University.

Thorndike, E. (1988). Further Contributions, Twentieth Anniversary of the Psychological Corporation and To Honor Its Founder, James Mckeen Cattell. Psychological Corporation.

Vandome, R. (2013). The Advancement of Science: James McKeen Cattell and the Networks of Prestige and Authority, 1894–1915.     American Periodicals, Vol. 23 No. 2

Woodworth, R.S. (1944). The Psychological Review. Journal of Psychology, 51(4), 1-9.