Forces Shaping History

History is full of people and events that have intermingled in such a way that it’s difficult to know which was more influential, the people of that time or the societal events working in the foreground. It’s usually a combination of the two. To illustrate our point, let’s use a figure most people are familiar with: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a civil rights activist in the 1960s who raised the nation’s consciousness about the need of all people, regardless of color, to be treated equally. Within the larger culture of that time, there was great prejudice and discrimination toward people of color, especially toward African Americans. Dr. King, Jr. was one man with a calling to push against the laws and attitudes that discriminated against people of color. He spoke out publicly on many occasions. As a result of his public stance on these issues, he received death threats and was beaten, ridiculed, and imprisoned. His nonviolent protests gradually gathered a large following of people from around the country and the attention of public officials; some eager for civil rights and others not. He paid the ultimate price for standing up for what he believed in when he was assassinated during the height of his popularity. At the time, many thought the civil rights movement would dry up because they had lost their leader, but the quest for equal rights only grew as others in the civil rights movement carried the burden of the cause to higher levels. This eventually led to laws and social norms that gave equal rights to people of color. So how much of the societal change that occurred during Dr. King’s life and following his death was due to his individual courage and mobilization of others for the cause of civil rights, and how much of the societal change was due to social, political, and economic events that were also going on at the time? For example, how much of a role did the new media of television play in influencing the minds of the American people who could now watch the marches and the violence doled out to the demonstrators by police? Did this promote more sympathy for the protestors and their cause? What political forces were at work at that time to help overturn archaic laws that discriminated against people of color? We use the example of Dr. King and the civil rights movement as an example of what you will be trying to do in this assignment. In this assignment, you are looking at the same two forces just mentioned but applied to the start of psychology. These are actual theories: the great person theory and the cultural theory. Both the person and the culture interact to shape historical events. Your task is to compare the two theories as they relate to the formation of the first psychologist: Wilhelm Wundt. You will be asking questions similar to those just posed about the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: What was the mix of Wundt’s ideas and what were the cultural issues of the day that helped establish psychology as a formal discipline and promoted rapid growth of psychology in both Europe and the United States? This assignment will challenge you to think critically about these issues and in the process help you begin forming a solid base for your understanding of modern psychology. Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to: • Compare two historical theories identifying how they have influenced the development of historical events. Background Information In this assignment, you will explore this topic by comparing two theories about the development of history: the great person theory and the cultural theory. You will be asked to compare the two theories in terms of how they influence the development of psychology as a formal discipline. Before starting this assignment, you should first read Chapter 10 from the textbook and read the article on Wilhelm Wundt. It will be necessary to do additional research outside of these two resources on the specific social, economic, or political issues going on in Europe from 1860–1890 to better understand the cultural trends and their influence on Wundt’s work. In the great person theory, the contributions of exceptional individuals, like Wundt (and others), are often considered to be the pivotal agents of change in a particular historical period. The cultural theory says that social, economic, and political forces are the primary shaping agents of change as it relates to history. You are tasked with seeing how these forces intermingle and influence one another in that particular period of history. ________________________________________ Instructions 1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade. 2. Read Chapter 10, “Psychophysics and The Formal Founding of Psychology,” in your textbook, A History of Psychology: The Emergence of Science and Applications. 3. Read the article “Wilhelm Wundt” on the Encyclopaedia Britannica website. 4. Write a three- to four-page paper that addresses the following questions: a. Wilhelm Wundt would be the first “great person” of modern psychology, which officially began in 1879. Based upon the reading from your textbook, how did Wundt’s ideas mix with the cultural issues (social, economic, and political) of that time to establish psychology as a formal discipline? Explain your comments in detail. b. Choose the one most influential of Wundt’s ideas or corresponding cultural factors mentioned in the previous answer and explain how it may have shaped the rapid growth of psychology in both Europe and the United States in the decade following the official start of psychology.