Replication and Pedagogy in the History of Psychology IV: Patrick and Gilbert (1896) on Sleep Deprivation

We report an attempted replication of G. T. W. Patrick and J. A. Gilbert’s pioneering sleep deprivation experiment ‘Studies from the psychological laboratory of the University of Iowa. On the effects of loss of sleep’, conducted in 1895/96. Patrick and Gilbert’s study was the first sleep deprivation experiment of its kind, performed by some of the first formally trained psychologists. We attempted to recreate the original experience in two subjects, using similar apparatus and methodology, and drawing direct comparisons to the original study whenever possible. We argue for a strong influence of an ‘Americanized’ Wundtian psychology on Patrick and Gilbert, a claim supported biographically by their education and by their experimental methods. The replication thus opens interesting new perspectives, which are unlikely to be generated by any other historical approach.

Thomas FuchsEmail:

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Thomas Fuchs   earned his PhD in experimental psychology at Bowling Green State University. In his dissertation he conducted research on nocturnally migranting birds, investigating their potential as an animal model of sleep deprivation. Thomas is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Washington State University studying positive affect and social attachment in infant rodents. Jeffrey Burgdorf   received his Ph.D. in psychology at Bowling Green State University, and he is now Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. His research involves using animal models of human emotionality to uncover the biochemicals that control emotion in humans and animals.