Robert Yerkes has made significant contributions to modern psychology in numerous ways, which has had an effect on many different fields in the discipline. Out of such contributions, there are three of which that have had the most influence over modern psychology today. The first major contribution and definitely where his largest impact in psychology has been focuses on Yerkes’ research that he conducted at the very first American primate laboratory which he founded himself. Another major influence Yerkes has had on psychology today was his work on intelligent testing on American military recruits during the First World War. Finally, the last influence to be discussed was his development of the Yerkes-Dodson law and its impact on how we understand the relationship between arousal and performance today.
After years at Yale, in 1930 Yerkes was finally able to study primates in a laboratory which was unprecedented in the United States up until this point. At this laboratory which resided in Orange Park, Florida he was able to conduct numerous research studies on primates that dealt with many different areas under the field of psychology, such as sensory function, habit formation, and problem solving (Dewsbury, 2000). Dewsbury (2000) argues that Yerkes’ research projects that were centered on these aspects of psychology as well as further extending the field of animal testing were his main contributions to modern psychology, and that Yerkes was able to set the foundation for similar research to be conducted that can still be see today. Other contributions to modern psychology that Yerkes’ is responsible for include his development of a new brand of comparative psychology which he utilized within his research, as well as his creatio...
... middle of paper ...
...dity of Habit- Formation. M. Bar-Eli. Editor & D.Smith. Editor (Ed.). In Essential Readings in Sport and Exercise Psychology.13-22. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Elliot, R.M. (1956). Robert Mearns Yerkes: 1876-1956. The American Journal of Psychology,
69:3. 487-494.
Shultz, D.P., & Shultz, S.E. (2011). A History of Modern Psychology. US: Cengage Learning.
Triplet, R.G. (1982). The Relationship of Clark L. Hull’s Hypnosis Research to his Later Learning Theory: The continuity of his Life’s Work. Journal of the History of Behavioural Sciences, 18. 22-31.
Yerkes, Robert M., & Yerkes, A. W. (1936). Nature and conditions of avoidance (fear) response in chimpanzee. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 21, 53-66.
Yerks, R.M. (1932). Robert Mearns Yerkes. In a History of Psychology in Autobiography, Vol II. C. Murchison (Ed.). Worcester, MA: Clark University Press.
Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2010). Psychology. (2nd ed., p. 600). New York: Worth Pub.
Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, J. N. (2012). Psychology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
The development of psychology like all other sciences started with great minds debating unknown topics and searching for unknown answers. Early philosophers and psychologists such as Sir Francis Bacon and Charles Darwin took a scientific approach to psychology by introducing the ideas of measurement and biology into the way an indi...
Buchanan, R. D. (2011). Research report: Doing a biography of Hans J. Eysenck. History Of Psychology, 14(2), 210-213. doi:10.1037/a0023481b
Hergenhahn, B.R. "CH.16: Psychoanalysis." An Introduction to the History of Psychology. 16th ed. Belmont: Michele Sordi, 2009. 516-45. Print.
The study of psychology began as a theoretical subject a branch of ancient philosophy, and later as a part of biological sciences and physiology. However, over the years, it has grown into a rigorous science and a separate discipline, with its own sets of guidance and experimental techniques. This paper aims to study the various stages that the science of psychology passed through to reach its contemporary status, and their effects on its development. It begins with an overview of the historical and philosophical basis of psychology, discusses the development of the various schools of thought, and highlights their effects on contemporary personal and professional decision-making.
Fuchs, A.F. (1997). Ebbinghaus’s contributions to psychology after 1885. The American Journal of Psychology, 110, 621-633.
Watson, J. B. (1994). Psychology as the behaviourist views it. The Centennial Issue of the
Gall, S. B., Beins, B., & Feldman, A. (2001). The gale encyclopedia of psychology. (2nd ed., pp. 271-273). Detroit, MI: Gale Group.
century. In G. A. Kimble & K. Schlesinger (Eds.), Topics in the history of psychology (Vol. 2,
Rieber, R. W. (2001). Wilhelm Wundt in history: the making of a scientific psychology. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
Although, there was no field called cognitive psychology during the 19th century, Donders and Ebbinghaus were referred to as cognitive psychologists because both of their experiments dealt with the studying of the mind. Donder’s experiment focuses on a person’s Reaction-time in order
B.F. Skinner was born on March 20, 1904 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, a small town where he spent his childhood. He was the first-born son of a lawyer father and homemaker mother who raised him and his younger brother. As a young boy, Skinner enjoyed building and used his imaginative mind to invent many different devices. He spent his college years at Hamilton College in New York to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in writing. Following his graduation in 1926, Skinner explored writings of Pavlov, Russell, and Watson, three influential men in the field of behavioral psychology. After two years as a failed writer, Skinner applied to Harvard University to earn his Ph.D. in psychology.
Weiner, I. Healy, A. Freedheim, D. Proctor,R.W., Schinka,J.A. (2003) Handbook of Psychology: Experimental psychology,18, pp 500
Edited by Raymond J. Corsini. Encyclopedia of Psychology, Second Edition, Volume 1. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc.