Speed of Mental Processes, F.C.

¶ … speed of mental processes," F.C. Donders is speaking about mental chronometry. The concept relies mainly on the duration of a response in tasks which involve the process of perception and physical movement. The purpose is to understand the cognitive operations which occur and analyze them in terms of both duration and content. In addition, the order in which these operations occur can be considered relevant factor. According to the writer, the time required for a so called "simple task" can be analyzed in terms of perception and motor time. "Perceptual discrimination time = time for discrimination task- simple task" and "response selection time= time for choice task -- discrimination task" are the other two formulas coined up by Donders in his attempt to create an investigation method for the area under discussion.

E.B. Titchener, in his "An outline of psychology" tries to make the readers understand which are the elements that could be considered as component parts of the mind. The author believed that finding the mind to have a structure and understanding what that structure is could help us comprehend the manner in which thoughts (from simple to complex) are constructed. In order to understand the structure of the mind, we need to have a basic unit. Once we have established that, then we can understand what introspection and consciousness consist of.

"The psychopathology of everyday life" is S. Freud's attempt to analyze psychological aspects basing his conclusions upon the observation of everyday life facts. The psychologist discusses aspects such as infantile sexuality and its impact upon the adult, the distinction between facts driven by the unconscious and those driven by the consciouss, the role of will, slips of the tongue and their meaning, superstitions, etc. His purpose is to demonstrate the impact of the mind upon behaviour patterns.

Kenneth Kotovsky and Herbert A. Simon are concerned with the "Human acquisition of concepts for sequential patterns." Their goal is to understand how an individual can produce a serial pattern. The process is based upon a rule which was learned by the individual under discussion through induction. Their research involves the use of computer programming and formal languages. Its goal is to understand which problems are likely to be more challenging for the human mind. The program is presented in various types and its results are evaluated as being successful.

B.F. Skinner in "About behaviorism" presents his views regarding the human behaviour patterns. According to him, the manner in which people behave is deeply influenced by the environment where they live. One of the things which differentiates his view is the importance given to subjective factors, such as the individuals' personal thoughts and feelings (which the author considers to be part of his behaviour). Mentalism is a further important concept in the book. In addition Skinner attempts to apply the results of his research in the political area.