More about Wundt's doctorate students.

Reports that 3 doctoral students of W. Wundt are still active. Anna Berliner (PhD, 1914) was the only woman to receive her PhD from Wundt. Her reminiscences present a human side of Wundt. J. M. MacEachran currently lives in Canada, and Friedrich Sander (PhD, 1913) currently resides in Germany. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A reappraisal of Wundt's influence on social psychology.

Discusses the social psychology of Wundt and its link to current developments in the constructionist movement in modern psychology. The historical lines of descent from Wundt's experimental psychology to American behaviorist social psychology are traced, and the relationship between Wundt's (1911) Volkerpsychologie to the social scientists who kept alive Wundt's social psychological orientation and who figure as antecedents of postmodern constructionism is delineated. With historical hindsight, the behaviorist program for social psychology may now be seen as an aberrant detour around the fundamental questions of social psychology. The questions asked by Wundt appear to be perennial questions. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retracing the footsteps of Wilhelm Wundt: Explorations in the disciplinary frontiers of psychology and in V?lkerpsychologie.

In 1927, Wilhelm Wundt’s daughter, Eleonore Wundt, compiled and published a comprehensive catalogue of her father’s works and works in translation. We use this catalogue as a starting point for an examination of the breadth of Wundt’s contributions, the reaction to his works from the international psychological community, and the overall trajectory of his academic career. Two areas of particular interest are Wundt’s view on the nature of psychology and its relationship to other disciplines, and his discussion of the nature of V?lkerpsychologie and its role in psychology. A close examination of original sources reveals that Wundt anchored psychology in the realm of mental sciences. He regarded “psychology [to be] in relation to natural sciences the supplementary, in relation to the mental sciences the fundamental, and in relation to philosophy the propaedeutic empirical science.” The accomplishments and limitations of Wundtian V?lkerpsychologie are viewed stereoscopically through the lenses of its explicated conceptions, goals, and methods, on one hand, and of the contemporary advancements in psychology, on the other. Current implications of Wundt’s works and further developments of his ideas are related to Davidson’s theory of epistemology and to present-day deliberations on the biocultural coconstruction of human development. We conclude by considering the continuing relevance of Wundt’s intellectual legacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Letters from Wundt's doctoral students.

Presents letters written by 2 of Wilhelm Wundt's doctoral students, A. Berliner and B. Berliner, regarding the students' careers and graduate work with Wundt. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What college students really think about ethnic student organizations.

In this study, the authors examined European, Hispanic, and African American college students' attitudes toward ethnic student organizations (ESOs). Based on data from Study 1 (N = 750), it was found that students across ethnic groups expressed uncertainty about whether ESOs were beneficial/necessary, fair/acceptable, and about their interest in joining an ESO. As a group, Hispanic and African American students did not believe that ESOs contributed to racial or ethnic separatism on campus, whereas European Americans expressed uncertainty about that possibility. In Study 2, a separate sample of students (N = 631) was randomly assigned to read the mission statement of a White, Hispanic, or African American ESO. Consistent with asymmetry theory, students in general judged the White American ESO as significantly less beneficial/necessary, less fair/acceptable, and as contributing more to racial/ethnic separatism than the Hispanic and African American ESOs. European, Hispanic, and African American students viewed their own ESO most favorably, although European American students were more consistent in their appraisals of ESOs irrespective of the ethnic focus of the ESO. Implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wundt versus Münsterberg: Roback's version challenged.

Indicates that a blatantly negative caricature of W. Wundt, both in terms of behavior and personality dynamics, can be found in A. A. Roback's (1952) book where he deals with the controversy between Wundt and his student Münsterberg. Evidence suggests that Wundt and Münsterberg did not regard each other as enemies due to theoretical differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lightner Witmer: Little-known founder of clinical psychology.

Lightner Witmer inaugurated the first psychological clinic in 1896, and he also took a number of other crucial steps in establishing and defining the field of clinical psychology. Witmer was one of the early group of Americans who took their doctorates under Wilhelm Wundt. He was a charter member of the American Psychological Association and the last to die. Clearly, he is an important figure in the history of psychology, yet relatively little biographical information about him has been available. This article summarizes his life and career, examines the beginnings of his clinic, and evaluates the significance of his contributions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wundt, V?lkerpsychologie, and experimental social psychology.

Wilhelm Wundt distinguished between "experimental psychology" and Volkerpsychologie. It is often claimed that Wundt maintained that social psychological phenomena, the subject matter of V?lkerpsychologie, could not be investigated experimentally but must be explored via comparative-historical methods. In this article it is argued that it is doubtful if many of the passages usually cited as evidence that Wundt held such a view actually support such a view. It is also argued that if Wundt did hold such a view, it was inconsistent with his own general theoretical position and methodological practice. It is suggested that it is anachronistic to attribute such a view to Wundt, because he appears to have had little interest in the experimental analysis of the synchronic social dynamics of psychological processes. Most of Wundt's arguments about the inappropriateness of experimentation were directed against the introspective analysis of diachronic historical processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A reappraisal of Wilhelm Wundt.

Reexamines the psychology of Wundt on the occasion of the centenary of his influence in founding experimental psychology. Historical accounts of Wundt that arose in the early 20th century are considered as heavily in error, particularly concerning the issues of mind-body dualism, elementalism, and associationism. The central theme in Wundt's psychology is selective volitional attention. Modern cognitive psychology and research on human information-processing revives Wundt's work. Examples are given in 6 areas: cognitive control, psycholinguistics, abnormal behavior, emotion, information-processing, and cultural psychology. The influence of changing and conflicting Zeitgeists upon Wundt's psychology is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomy and Competence in German and American University Students: A Comparative Study Based on Self-Determination Theory.

According to self-determination theory (R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000), supports for autonomy and competence are essential for growth and well-being in any learning environment. Educational contexts differ in their relative support for these 2 needs. The authors examined the role of autonomy and competence in 2 German and 2 American university settings, as they were predicted to differ in terms of their relative emphasis on competence versus autonomy. Invariance analyses supported the construct comparability of the measures and demonstrated that German students felt significantly more autonomous and less competent than American students. Perceived pressures and positive informational feedback were modeled as antecedents of autonomy and competence, and well-being was examined as a consequence. The hypothesized model was generally supported across the 4 samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic Stress Among College Students: Comparison of American and International Students.

This study compared academic stressors and reactions to stressors between American and international students using Gadzella's Life Stress Inventory (B. M. Gadzella, 1991). Five categories of academic stressors (i.e., frustrations, conflicts, pressures, changes, and self-imposed) and four categories describing reactions to these stressors (i.e., physiological, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive) were examined. The sample consisted of 392 international and American students from 2 Midwestern universities. American students reported higher self-imposed stressors and greater behavioral reactions to stressors than international students. Respondent's status (American or international) and interaction of status and stressors emerged as the 2 strongest predictors of their behavioral, emotional, physiological, and cognitive reaction to stressors. Five stressors attained statistical significance in the regression model. The findings emphasize the need to recognize cultural differences in stress management. Implications for mental health providers in the university arena are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reflected Appraisals, Academic Self-Perceptions, and Math/Science Performance During Early Adolescence.

The authors tested a model of the relations among adolescents' perceptions of parents', teachers', and classmates' support for, valuing of, and beliefs about their competence in math/science; adolescents' own academic self-perceptions concerning math/science; and their academic performance. The sample included 378 middle school students; 65% were Latino, and 21% were European American. Reflected appraisals of adults' beliefs concerning both the importance of and students' competence in math/science, as well as perceived support, predicted students' own self-perceived importance, competence, scholastic behavior, and performance in these courses. Latino students reported lower mean levels of perceived competence than did European American students (controlling for maternal education). Findings have important implications for understanding achievement socialization in ethnically diverse populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Roles of gender, race, and SES in the college choice process among first-generation and nonfirst-generation students.

The authors examined students' reports of their college choice process to understand the influence of a set of psychological, personal, and institutional factors. The authors also examined potential moderating influences of generational status, gender, race, and SES on our variables of interest. A diverse sample of college freshmen (N = 1,339), including 42% who were the first in their families to attend college, responded to a self-reporting, Web-based survey. Findings indicate that psychosocial factors and academic quality of the college were most influential for first-generation students as compared to their nonfirst-generation peers in the college choice process. However, gender, race, and SES moderated these influences in complex ways. For example, females rated the psychological variables higher than males; Asian American and African American first-generation students rated higher than their parents' preferences for which college to attend as compared to nonfirst-generation peers. First-generation females, African American in particular, considered academic quality more important than other groups. Our findings should be of value to counselors and other personnel who facilitate students' college choice process as well as college recruitment, retention, and diversity enhancement programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student reactions to the history of psychology.

Analysis of a short questionnaire administered to 53 students (26 men and 27 women) disclosed that the majority liked the course and found it "moderately" or "very useful." Topics liked best were hypnotism, dynamic psychology, behavioristics, and gestalt psychology; those liked least were the personal equation, psychophysiology in the 1st ? of the 19th century, and physiological psychology of sensation—1800-1850. Wundt, Freud, James, Helmholtz, and Darwin were regarded as the greatest contributors to psychology. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2AM89N. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Asian American psychology meets the twenty-first century.

Reviews the book, Asian American psychology: Current perspectives edited by Nita Tewari and Alvin Alvarez (2007). Drs. Nita Tewari and Alvin Alvarez have compiled and edited a well-organized, comprehensive, user-friendly textbook on Asian American psychology. The 58 contributing authors represent the breadth and diversity of this growing field of study. The reader who is looking for simple answers about Asian America will be frustrated by the book, as the complex texture and nuance within “Asian America” is well represented. The 650-page volume is divided into six sections: Foundations and Roots, Balancing Multiple Worlds, Gender and Intimate Relationships, Next Generation, Social and Life Issues, and Health and Well-Being. The book is oriented toward the subfields of personality, counseling, and clinical psychology. Readers will have to look beyond this text to learn about the contributions of our colleagues in social psychology. This text is suitable for undergraduates and beginning graduate students. It contains a goldmine of information that faculty can use very flexibly. Faculty and instructors teaching classes such as Asian American Psychology, Cross-Cultural Psychology, or Asian American Families will be able to use this book as a primary text. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologist as teacher and mentor: Affirming ethical values throughout the curriculum.

Argues that those involved in mentoring and teaching graduate students in professional psychology training programs must be concerned with 2 extracurricular issues when they consider how to influence students' ethical behavior. First, they must be ethical in their own interactions with students. Second, they must deal responsibly with students when students engage in unethical or unprofessional conduct. It is argued that the implicit attitudes and explicit behavior of faculty communicate as much as course content about being ethical. Last, strategies are identified for handling these special responsibilities on the basis of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists (American Psychological Association, 1990) and the broader ethical principles underlying those standards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of explicit timing on mathematics performance in second-grade Caucasian and African American students.

Investigated and compared the effects of explicit timing on mathematics problem completion rates in African American and Caucasian 2nd-grade students. During explicit timing, students were told they were being timed and instructed to circle the last problem completed at each 1-min interval. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that both African American and Caucasian 2nd-grade students increased their problem completion rates when explicit timing procedures were implemented, but no significant cross-group differences were found in the increase in problem completion rates or problem accuracy. Although some have suggested that African American students have different learning styles, which are related to their conceptualization of time, this study showed that an explicit timing procedure was equally effective for increasing problem completion rates among African American and Caucasian students. Discussion focuses on applied and theoretical implications of culture-treatment interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extended text and the writing proficiency of students in urban elementary schools.

The effect of extended text writing on the writing proficiency of elementary students in urban schools was investigated. 39 4th- and 5th-grade classrooms were observed and categorized according to the ratio of extended text to exercises written by students and according to the level of student engagement. Analyses revealed that students in classrooms characterized by extended text outperformed students in classrooms characterized by exercises both in the quality of the content of their writing and in correct use of writing conventions, after adjustment for pretest differences at both the student and classroom levels. The effect of extended text instruction was consistent for both students of ethnic minority (African American, Mexican American, and Native American) status and students of White European ancestry. No differences were found on a multiple-choice test of language skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)