The Psychology Book (15 page)

question of whether the mind and

discipline, and were offering

Berkeley, referred to James as

body are separate or not to a more

degrees in the subject. Three

the “father of psychology.” ■

useful study of mental processes,

specialist psychology journals

such as attention, memory,

were also founded in that time,

reasoning, imagination, and

and a professional organization—

intention. James claimed his

the American Psychological

approach helped to move

Association—was formed.

philosophers and psychologists

James introduced experimental

“away from abstraction, fixed

psychology to America, despite

All these consciousnesses

principles, closed systems, and

claiming to “hate experimental

melt into each other

pretended absolutes and origins,

work.” He did so because he had

like dissolving views.

towards facts, action, and power.”

come to realize that it was the best

Properly they are but one

His insistence on focusing on the

way to prove or disprove a theory.

protracted consciousness,

wholeness of events, including the

But he continued to value the use of

one unbroken stream.

effects of different environments

introspection as a tool of discovery,

William James

on our actions—in contrast to the

especially of mental processes.

introspective, structuralist approach

The shift in the perception of

of breaking down our experiences

psychology and its concerns from

into small details—has also shaped

being considered, “a nasty little

our understanding of behavior.

subject” (in James’s words) into a

46

ADOLESCENCE

IS A N

G. STANLEY HAL E

L (1W B

844–1924) IRTH

IN CONTEXT

Human development
is determined by

APPROACH

nature
:
it is a repetition of our
“ancestral record
.
”

Human development

BEFORE

1905
Sigmund Freud, in

Three Essays on the Theory of

A child has
animallike dispositions

and goes through
several growth stages
.

Sexuality
, claims the teenage

years are the “genital stage.”

AFTER

1928
American anthropologist

Margaret Mead, in
Coming

At
adolescence
, the evolutionary momentum

of Age in Samoa
, declares

subsides; this is a time for
individual change
.

that adolescence is only

recognized as a distinct

stage of human development

in Western society.

During this wild, lawless time,

1950
Erik Erikson, in

teenagers are increasingly
sensitive, reckless,

Childhood and Society
,

self-conscious
, and prone to depression.

describes adolescence as

the stage of “Identity vs.

Role Confusion,” coining

the term “identity crisis.”

The child then emerges as an adult: a more
civilized,

1983
In
Margaret Mead

“higher-order” being
.

and Samoa
, New Zealand

anthropologist Derek Freeman

disputes Mead’s claim that

adolescence is merely a

socially constructed concept.

Adolescence is a new birth.

PHILOSOPHICAL ROOTS 47

See also:
Francis Galton 28–29 ■ Wilhelm Wundt 32–37 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■

Erik Erikson 272–73

T
he word “adolescence” “curve of despondency” that starts

literally means “growing

at the age of 11, peaks at 15, then

up” (from the Latin

falls steadily until the age of 23.

adolescere
). In theory, it describes

Modern research acknowledges

a distinct stage between childhood

a similar pattern. The causes of

and adulthood, but in practice often

depression that Hall identified are

simply defines the “teenage” years.

startlingly familiar: suspicion of

In most Western societies, the idea

being disliked and having seemingly

of adolescence was not recognized

insuperable character faults, and

until the 20th century; childhood

“the fancy of hopeless love.” He

ended and adulthood began at a

believed the self-consciousness of

G. Stanley Hall

certain age—typically at 18.

adolescence leads to self-criticism

Pioneering psychologist and

and censoriousness of self and

Born into a farming family

in Ashfield, Massachusetts,

educator, G. Stanley Hall, in his

others. This view mirrors later

Granville Stanley Hall

1904 book
Adolescence
, was the

studies, which argue that teenagers’

graduated from Williams

first academic to explore the subject.

advanced reasoning skills allow

College, Massachusetts in

Hall was influenced by Darwin’s

them to “read between the lines,”

1867. His plans to travel were

theory of evolution, believing that

while also magnifying their

thwarted through lack of

all childhoods, especially with

sensitivity to situations. Even Hall’s

funds, so he followed his

regard to behavior and early

claim that criminal activity is more

mother’s wish and studied

physical development, reflect the

prevalent in the teenage years,

theology for a year in New

course of evolutionary change, and

peaking around 18, still holds true.

York, before moving to

that we each develop in accordance

But Hall was not totally negative

Germany. On Hall’s return to

with our “ancestral record.”

about adolescence. As he wrote in

America in 1870, he studied

One key influence on Hall

Youth: Its Education, Regiment,

with William James for four

was the 18th-century
Sturm

and Hygiene
, “Adolescence is a

years at Harvard, gaining the

und Drang
(“Storm and Stress”)

new birth, for the higher and more

first psychology PhD in the

movement of German writers

completely human traits are now

US. He then returned to

Germany for two years to

and musicians, which promoted

born.” So, for Hall, adolescence

work with Wilhelm Wundt

total freedom of expression. Hall

was in fact a necessary beginning

in his Leipzig laboratory.

referred to adolescence as “Sturm

of something much better. ■

In 1882, Hall became a

und Drang;” he considered it a stage

professor at Johns Hopkins

of emotional turmoil and rebellion,

University, Baltimore, where he

with behavior ranging from quiet

set up the first US laboratory

moodiness to wild risk-taking.

specifically for psychology. He

Adolescence, he stated, “craves

also launched the
American

strong feelings and new sensations…

Journal of Psychology
in 1887,

monotony, routine, and detail are

Adolescence is when the

and became the first president

intolerable.” Awareness of self and

very worst and best impulses

of the American Psychological

the environment greatly increases;

in the human soul

Association in 1892.

everything is more keenly felt, and

struggle against each

sensation is sought for its own sake.

Key works

other for possession.

G. Stanley Hall

1904
Adolescence

Modern echoes

1906
Youth: Its Education,

Many of Hall’s findings are echoed

Regiment, and Hygiene

in research today. Hall believed that

1911
Educational Problems

adolescents are highly susceptible

1922
Senescence

to depression, and described a

48

24 HOURS AFTER

LEARNING SOMETHING,

WE FORGET

TWO-THIRDS OF IT

HERMANN EBBINGHAUS (1850–1909)

IN CONTEXT

APPROACH

…forgetting is

…items forgotten can be

Memory studies

most rapid within the

relearned faster
than new

BEFORE

first nine hours
.

ones learned for the first time.

5th century BCE
The

ancient Greeks make use of

“mnemonics”—techniques,

such as key words or rhymes,

that aid memory.

1582
Italian philosopher

Giordano Bruno in
The Art

…
meaningful

…material that

of Memory
gives methods for

things
are

is
studied

memorizing, using diagrams

Ebbinghaus’s

remembered

beyond

of knowledge and experience.

memory

for about
ten

mastery

experiments

times longer

(over-learned) is

AFTER

showed that…

than random,

remembered

1932
Frederick Bartlett says

meaningless

longer.

that every memory is a blend

things.

of knowledge and inference.

1949
Donald Hebb, in
The

Organization of Behavior,

describes how learning results

from stimulated brain cells

linking up into “assemblies.”

…items toward the

…repeated learning sessions

1960
US psychologist Leo

beginning and end of

over a
longer interval of

Postman finds that new

a series
are most easily

time
improves memory

learning can interfere with

remembered.

retention on any subject.

previous learning, causing

“retroactive interference.”