Edward Bradford Titchener

Born Jan. 11, 1867, in Chichester, Great Britain; died Aug. 3, 1927, in Ithaca, USA. American psychologist, identified with the school of introspective psychology.

Titchener received his training in psychology at W. Wundt’s laboratory in Leipzig. In 1892 he became a professor at Cornell University, where he established an important center for experimental psychology. In 1904, Titchener founded the Society of Experimental Psychologists. In 1921 he became the editor of the American Journal of Psychology. Following Wundt, he adhered to extreme sensationalism in his treatment of consciousness, as reflected in the concept of “analytical introspection.” Titchener made a sharp distinction between introspection proper, which takes place under special psychological conditions, and “naive” everyday self-observation. In his dispute with the Würzburg school of cognitive psychology, Titchener denied the existence behind “meanings” of a special kind of reality irreducible to elements perceived by the senses. This interpretation of consciousness recalls the views of E. Mach. Titchener wrote a number of works dealing with experimental research in the psychology of sensations, attention, and thought.