United Colleges - Vox Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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12 VOX ory. It is said to be the perform¬ ance of a habit after a time has elapsed since the last performance. Very Feiv Instincts Watson made a study of one thousand babies, after which he de¬ cided there were but three instincts, and these form the nucleus of all emotional reactions. They are fear, rage and love, and their stimuli are, loss of support or a loud noise; hampering of the body; fondling. Very soon, though, these responses are called forth by other stimuli presented simultaneously with the original ones. They are then said to be “conditioned.” Later these second responses become further conditioned or transferred until the emotional world is varied enough to suit a Rex Beach or an Ella Wheeler Wilcox. The infant is not afraid in a zoo. The adult may run at sight of a mouse. According to this theory, man has no basic instinct, no untutored life, nor are there elemental facts. And alas! no ambitious maid can sigh for a chance at self-realization and expression. All she can do is permit her physiological processes through stimulus and response (conditioned and unconditioned) to adapt her bodily movements to the situation in hand. Thinking Explained Watson is insistent that the or¬ ganism responds as a whole. This is true even in such a hidden proc¬ ess as thinking. One thinks and plans with one’s whole body. When a particular group of muscles works, we say a man is doing some¬ thing. as, for instance, the imper¬ ceptible working of the larnyx and long-e results in thought; the overt working results in speech. “Thought is highly integrated bodily activity and nothing more.” “When we study implicit bodily processes we are studying thought.” “There is really no difference be¬ tween a game of tennis and think¬ ing.” When the kinaesthetic and verbal processes become blocked we have an emotional response where the individual is not able to act. In contrast, we have instinctive re¬ sponses where the person invariably does something. The “organism as a whole” in¬ cludes, beside muscles which move the bones, many unstriped muscles and glands. These parts of the body apparently cause many acts and states of emotion that we have not been able to explain. They are as yet unverbalized, and scientists have not learned how to talk about them. Watson suggests they are the unconscious complexes and sup¬ pressed wishes of Freud, and advises us not to attribute too much to these unknown causes. The Behauiorist Method What the Behaviorist works upon, then, is simply—stimulus, response (conditioned and uncon¬ ditioned) , gland, unstriped muscles and a minimum of instinct and emotion. He dismisses analysis and introspection. He demands that psychological conclusions must stand on a scientific basis, and are useless if they cannot be arrived at in another laboratory and by any psychologist. He is convinced that all human actions are developments of the simple reflexes which a babe displays. He uses the data of psy¬ chology at every turn, but he is concerned most of all with the or¬ ganism as a whole. It is in the United States alone that the wave of behavior¬ ism has swept all before it, and men (Continued on page 55)

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11 vox Are We Conscious? By Eunice Bennett The U.S. press (in the exagger¬ ated ‘‘booster - ’ style which is so typical of it) acclaims Dr. John B. Watson’s work, “Behaviorism,” in the most flattering terms. One lead¬ ing paper says: “Perhaps this is the most important book ever writ¬ ten ; another asserts, “It marks an epoch in the intellectual history of man.” Most people who have done much reading know how to rate this stuff. Yet when there is a system which claims “to revolu¬ tionize ethics, religion, psycho¬ analysis—in fact, all the mental and moral sciences,” we should like our readers to hear some of the arguments fairly set forth. No Soul and Not Conscious In 1869 Wundt of Germany dismissed the soul from the study of psychology. He could not find it in his test tube. However, he sup¬ plied in its place consciousness, and this was taken for granted until 1912. Then John B. Watson, of the United States, after attempting to find consciousness in his test tube and failing, threw it overboard and decided all human behavior could be explained by determining the stimulus and response. Indeed, many other attributes of the mind and much good terminology were considered superfluous and had to be pitched out. The “medicine men.” the introspectionists, were buried and with them all such men¬ tal processes as attention and per¬ ception; next went the irreducible sensations and their ghosts, the images; after this clearance they felt able to handle what remained. So “proving absurd all written hither¬ to, and putting us to ignorance again,” they began once more the patient search for truth. Behavior the Problem The problem confronting the psychologist is the explanation and prediction of behavior. When this has been achieved it should result in the control of human conduct. In behavioristic terms one must be able to deduct the response when the stimulus is known, and the most complex act loses its mystery when submitted to these investiga¬ tions, and so their hypothesis is plainly a mechanistic one. The “purposive” psychologists relying on consciousness ask just how can mechanism really explain a single act, and the Behaviorist comes back pat, “Consciousness is not a cause of motor activity.” Now we must consider some of their positive assertions. Heredity Belittled It is to be feared that Watson has struck a death blow to our buried ancestors, and that the po¬ tency of the social register is no more, for he believes that the genus homo has been equipped with the same hereditary structure through¬ out the ages and in all classes of society. Adult performance is not inherited but is accounted for by a certain type of structure plus early training. Indeed, he would guar¬ antee to take a normal child and train it to be anything desired, so sure is he of the adaptability of the human structure. A certain amount of unlearned behavior is allowed us, and is divided into emotion and instinct. When instinct is broken down it is replaced by habit. Consolidations of habit and instinct result in the dozens of so-called instincts of the older school and popular speech. Just here we might mention mem-

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vox 13 The Late Honorable T. A. Burrows His Honor, T. A. Burrows, late Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba, was for many years closely associ¬ ated with Wesley College. In 1911 he became a member of the Board of Directors, and acted as Vice- Chairman in 1924, and as Chair¬ man in 1927. On the formation of the United Colleges in 1925, he became Chairman of the Joint Executive Board. It will be seen, then, that by his death the United Colleges have suffered the loss of a practical and sympathetic friend. It was in 1927 that we had oc¬ casion to record Hon. Mr. Bur¬ rows ' appointment to the high office of Lieutenant-Governor of the province of Manitoba, which he discharged with marked dignity and success. His passing was quite unexpected, and was the sad oc¬ casion of the first death while in office of a crown representative for Manitoba. At the State funeral President Riddell, as befitting one who was a life-long friend and associate in church and educational enterprises, pronounced the funeral oration. Reviewing the career of Hon. Mr. Burrows, Dr. Riddell emphasized his conspicuous and lasting contri¬ butions in the four fundamental in¬ stitutions of the life of society. “They are,” said Dr. Riddell, ‘‘the State, the Church, the School, and the Home” Behind this fourfold contribution was a character of liberal sympathies, possessed of in¬ tegrity and a keen sense of respon¬ sibility. While not forgetting his services in Parliament and as the crown representative, we remember grate¬ fully Hon. Mr. Burrows’ efforts on behalf of Wesley and the United Colleges, and join with our President in extending to his re¬ latives our sincere expression of regret and sympathy. All members of the Student Body and Faculty of the United Colleges extend to Miss Gwendo¬ lyn Taylor, Norris Beamish and Ellice Scott sincere sympathy in the bereavements which they have recently sustained.