The approach to quantification in psychology through the timing of mental operations is rooted in the work of a Dutch physiologist, F. C. Donders (1818–1889). In examining Donders' writings, their translations, and the literature referring to Donders' work we were struck by the large number of minor but not insignificant errors.
References
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DondersF. C.Over de snelheid der gedachte en der wilsbepaling: Voorloopige mededeling [On the speed of thought and decision making: Preliminary communication]. Nederlandsch Archief voor Genees-en Natuurkunde, 1865, 1, 518–521.
7.
DondersF. C.On the rapidity of thought and of the determination of the will. (Translated from the 1865 Dutch version by MooreW. D.) British and foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review, 1866, 38, 168–170.
8.
DondersF. C.Deux instruments du temps nécessaire pour les actes psychiques. Archives Néerlandaises des Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, 1867, 2, 247–250.
9.
DondersF. C.Twee werktuigingen tot bepaling van den tijd, voor psychische processen benoodigd [Two instruments for determining the time required for mental processes]. Onderzoekingen gedaan in het Physiologisch Laboratorium der Utrechtse Hoogeschool, Tweede Reeks, 1867–1868, 1, 21–23. [Published also in Nederlandsch Archief voor Genees-en Natuurkunde, 1868, 3, 105–109. Translated by KosterW. G., in Koster, 1969, 432–435.].
10.
DondersF. C.Die Schnelligkeit psychischer Processe. Archiv fuer Anatomie, Physiologie und wissenschaftliche Medizin (Reichert's und duBois-Reymond's Archiv), 1868, 6, 657–681.
11.
DondersF. C.La vitesse des actes psychiques. Archives Néerlandaises des Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, 1868a, 3, 296–317.
12.
DondersF. C.Over de snelheid van psychische Processen [On the speed of mental processes]. Onderzoekingen gedaan in het Physiologisch Laboratorium der Utrechtse Hoogeschool, Tweede Reeks, 1868–69, 2, 92–120. [Published also in Nederlandsch Archief voor Genees-en Natuurkunde, 1869, 4, 117–145. Translated by KosterW. G., in Koster, 1969, 412–431.].
13.
DondersF. C.Noematachometer. Noematachograph. In Catalogue of the Special Loan Collection of Scientific Apparatus at the South Kensington Museum. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1876. Pp. 818–819.
14.
(DondersF. C., not signed). Korte beschrijving van eenige werktuigingen en toestellen tot de collectie van het Physiologisch Laboratorium en het Ned. Gasthuis voor Ooglijders behorende [A short description of some instruments and apparatus belonging to the collection of the Physiological Laboratory and the Dutch Ophthalmic Hospital]. Onderzoekingen gedaan in het Physiologisch Laboratorium Utrecht, 1877, 3e Reeks, 4, 1–30. [Translated, in part (Section VII, Mental Phenomena, Items No. 52, Noematachometer, and No. 53, Noematachograph), by W. G. Koster, in Koster, 1969, 436–438.].
15.
DrewF.Attention: Experimental and critical. American Journal of Psychology, 1895, 7, 533–557.
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HermochovaS.Prispevek k historii reakcniho experimentu [Contribution to the history of reaction-time experiments]. Acta Universitatis Carolinae Philosophica et Historica, 1961, 1, 31–54.
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de JaagerJ. J.De physiologische tijd bij psychische Processen. Utrecht: P. W. van de Weijer, 1865. [Translated and edited by BrozekJ.SibingaM., Reaction time and mental processes. Niewkoop, Holland: B. de Graaf, 1970, in press.].
18.
KosterW. G. (Ed.) Attention and performance. II: Proceedings of the Donders Centenary Symposium on Reaction Time. Amsterdam-London: North-Holland, 1969.
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20.
MooreW. D.(Transl.) Abstract of F. C. Donders' 1865 paper “Over de snelheid der gedachte en der wilsbepaling: Voorloopige mededeling.”Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, 1867, 1, 181.
21.
van LeersumE. C. (Ed.) Het Levenswerk van Franciscus Cornelis Donders [The work of F. C. Donders]. Haarlem, Holland: De Erven F. Bohn, 1932.
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24.
ZwaardemakerH.Abstract of F. C. Donders' 1868 paper “La vitesse des actes psychiques.” In van LeersumE. C. (Ed.), Het Levenswerk van Franciscus Cornelis Donders. Haarlem, Holland: De Erven F. Bohn, 1932. P. 229.
25.
ZwaardemakerH.Abstract of F. C. Donders' 1865 paper “Over de snelheid der gedachte en der wilsbepaling.” In van LeersumE. C. (Ed.), Het Levenswerk van Franciscus Cornelis Donders. Haarlem, Holland: De Erven F. Bohn, 1932. P. 205.
