Question

What was the subject matter of psychology according to Edward Bradford Titchener?

• A. Conscious experience
• B. Sub-conscious experience
• C. Unconscious experience
• D. Meta-conscious experience

Hint:

Structuralism always equates the mind to the sum total of conscious experience at any given moment, studied via analytic introspection.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks us to identify the core subject matter of psychology as defined by the structuralist Edward Bradford Titchener.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

• Edward Bradford Titchener was a student of Wilhelm Wundt and the founder of Structuralism in the United States.

• Titchener defined psychology as the science of conscious experience, specifically analyzed from the perspective of the experiencing individual.

• He believed that consciousness could be broken down into basic, constituent elements: sensations (elements of perceptions), images (elements of ideas), and affections (elements of emotions).

• To study these elements, structuralists utilized highly trained self-observation known as experimental introspection.

• Titchener rejected the study of unconscious processes (which was later popularized by Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis).

• Sub-conscious and meta-conscious concepts were outside the structuralist definition of psychology's empirical scope.

Step 3: Final Answer:
According to Edward Bradford Titchener, the proper subject matter of psychology is Conscious experience.