Some Historical Figures
By Tammy Stump
Although the field of
dynamical systems has only recently reached mainstream psychology audiences,
many early psychologists included dynamical systems concepts, such as
non-linear relationships, in their theorizing.
For instance, Gustav
Fechner used a non-linear function to describe perception. The law that he proposed described when
we perceive changes in a stimulus.
Fechner’s studies did not support a model in which greater stimulation
lead to proportionally greater perception. Rather, a logarithmic function describes how changes in
perception are perceived, as seen in the following equation:
S = K ln(I),
where S is physical
sensation, I is intensity of the stimulus, and K is a constant.
Thus, Fechner not only
created a mathematical function to describe a qualitative state, but also
applied the idea of non-linearity in his theorizing.
Kurt Lewin,
considered to be the father of social psychology, focused on when and how
behavior and attitude change occurs.
In his dynamic force field theory, Lewin described change as resulting
from driving forces overcoming restraining forces. Thus, to understand behavior, according to Lewin we must know
not only what forces promote a behavior but also that restricts it. Change was only likely to occur when
these forces were not at equilibrium.
For instance, strong motivation to exercise (a driving force) might not
lead to greater exercise if there also strong resisting forces, such as the gym
being far away.
Unlike many of the
experimental, introspective psychologists of his time, William James viewed
consciousness as being irreducible to individual elements. In contrast, James thought of
consciousness as being a stream – just as you can never step into exactly
the same stream twice, one cannot have the same exact experience multiple
times. Thus, in James’
conception of consciousness included both the ideas of emergence and
hysteresis.
1.
http://www.academia.edu/4238396/Psychophysics_of_Consciousness_The_Hard_Problem
2.
Fancher and Rutherford (2012). Pioneers of
Psychology, 4th Ed. New York: Norton & Co.