Page 14 - History of Psychology

Chapter

Early Develop- 5

ment in Physiology

and The Rise of

Experimental

Psychology

How to know the origins of experimental psychology, begins with the importance
of understanding the early development of empirical science. The discovery of
individual differences among astronomers in the recording of astronomical events
demonstrates the need, even in the physical sciences, to understand how the
physical world is perceived and represented mentally. This was followed by an
intensive investigation of the human sensory apparatus and nervous system,
where Bell and Magendie found that some nerves are specialized for carrying
sensory information to the brain, while others are specialized for carrying sensory
information from the brain to the muscles of the body. Müller discovered that
each sensory nerve is specialized to produce a certain type of energy, which in
turn produces a certain type of sensation. For example, no matter how the optic
nerve is stimulated, it will produce the sensation of light. The same is true for all
the other sensory nerves of the body. Müller's findings are called the doctrine of
specific neural energy. Helmholtz is a monumental figure in the history of science.

He opposed the belief in vitalism held by his teacher Müller and others. Helmholtz
distinguished between sensation and perception, the former being the raw images
provided by the sensory receptors and the latter reflecting the meanings past
experience gave to those raw sensations. Through the subconscious process of
inference, the wealth of previous experiences we have with objects and events are
brought into the present sensation, turning them into perceptions. Helmholtz
discovered a substantial discrepancy between what is physically present and
what is experienced psychologically, he postulated an active mind that takes
whatever sensory information is available and creates the best interpretation of
external reality. Helmholtz's work moved physiology closer to psychology and
thus paved the way for experimental psychology.

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