Summarize how Wundt used reaction time in an effort to determine how long it took to perform various mental operations. Why did Wundt abandon his reaction-time research?
Wundt expressed his views in the book called as the Principles of the Physiological Psychology. He believed that, for the study of the activities of the mind along with the mind’s elemental contents reaction time could be the best addition to the technique of introspection. First reaction time based experiments was performed by the Friedrich Bessel to differentiate the individuals on the basic of their reaction times.
Helmholtz has also used the same technique. Later on the Dutch physiologist Franciscus has conducted a series of the reactions using the reaction time technique. Wundt followed the methodology used by Franciscus for reaction time based experiments. The experiment called as the mental act of the discrimination, the selected subjects were presented with different stimulus but they were instructed to respond only one out of many stimuli.
Total time determination was done by subtracting simple time of reaction from the time of reaction involved in the discrimination process. Wundt believed that reaction time method is perfect for the precise cataloging of the reaction time for different mental acts to form a mental chronometry.
Approximately twenty percent of the laboratory work of the Wundt was based on the reaction time based methodology. Later Wundt has abandoned his studies based on the reaction time methodology as he had observed the drastic variation in the reaction time from person to person, against different stimulus and so on.