174 General Biology 



We shall go on from this point a little later, after the student under- 

 stands several important terms. 



Objective and Subjective are two of the most important terms used 

 in psychology. The former is the term applied to all things which come 

 under the senses. That is, a thing is objective when it can be observed 

 and measured in the laboratory. It is anything, in other words, which 

 occupies space. Subjective refers to those things which make no 

 observable difference in space and which cannot, therefore, be measured 

 in terms of the rule and scale of the laboratory. For example, changes 

 in the mental world, such as thought and feeling, are subjective. In the 

 classic sense, subjective means the act of the mind itself or what is in th2 

 mind, while objective refers to the matter with which the mind works. 



An illustration of these two terms, as they are commonly used, 

 comes to mind. Suppose a neurologist were to examine the optic nerve 

 and the optic centers of the brain of a student while the latter is reading 

 a letter. The neurologist could probably tell that the optic nerve and 

 center were functioning, but he could never tell what the letter con- 

 tained, nor could he see what emotions were called forth in the mind 

 of the student. The movement in the nerve and nerve center would be 

 objective, while the emotional impression made on the student would be 

 subjective. 



Not only would the neurologist be unable to observe the emotional 

 impression made upon the student, but he would be unable to tell why 

 certain vibrations which, so far as observation goes, are all alike, should 

 produce sensations of red or green in one case, and another color in 

 another case. 



All our emotions, longings, ambitions, thoughts, and ideas, so long 

 as they remain mental states, are subjective, while when they express 

 themselves as acts, they become objective. 



Psychology is the study of the subjective world. The word 

 Psychology (Greek psyche=soul-f-logos=discourse) actually means 

 the study of the soul, but since laboratory methods have come into 

 existence in psychology, and laboratory men think only in terms of 

 measurable substances, it is commonly said to be the study of mental 

 phenomena. 



Since the laboratory methods of studying everything objectively 

 under set conditions has made its way into psychology, the workers in 

 this field have become divided into various camps or schools. First, 

 come the Behaviorists, who insist that the results of mental activity are 

 actions and reactions to given stimuli, and it is only these results which 

 can be measured, and which, therefore, may validly be used as data on 

 which to form any theories of the mental life of animals. Second, come 

 the Introspectionists, who follow the classic method of antiquity. They 

 insist that the only real way of studying mental life is to introspect — 

 to look into our own mental life and try to understand how and why 

 we do what we do under varying conditions. They insist that we must 



