Current Projects and Research
The Division of Historical Scientific Instruments includes research and project by the following:
Research
Shae Trewin, Collections Manager
Robert Yerkes’ Multiple Choice Apparatus
While employed as a psychologist at the Boston Psychological Hospital in 1916, Robert Yerkes developed a multiple choice apparatus (MCA) to test ideational behavior in human subjects. Ideational behavior is the reactive tendencies a subject displays when confronted with solving a problem. Yerkes’ multiple choice test became one of the most widely used behavioral approaches to study both animal and human intelligence. By designing and building variations of his MCA, Yerkes ingeniously enabled different species to solve identical problems.
The MCA in the Yale Peabody Museum’s Division of Historical Scientific Instruments collection was designed for human use. The device went through various design changes and, despite plans for an automated machine, the MCA ultimately demanded the presence of an experimenter. The clunky and expensive design of Yerkes’ MCA also led to its eventual downfall. Yerkes did not intend to make money from his machine. Instead, he aimed to elevate the status of psychology by propounding the use of rigorous experimental techniques like the multiple choice test.
Projects
- Development of a new numbering system to make the historical scietnific collection easier to search and browse online.
- Conduct catalog review and provenance research so catalog entries become more detailed.
- Selecting objects to be included on the International Register of Scientific Instruments.
Exhibits
History of Astronomy at Yale at the Yale Leitner Family Observatory
Curator’s Choice Exhibits
- Spectacle or Science? Physics in the Age of Franklin
- Moving Magic & Seeing Double:
Instruments of Victorian Entertainment
- Physics Before Relativity:
Scientific Revolutions
in the 19th Century
Faculty Affiliate
Jack Sandweiss
The honorary titles of Faculty Affiliate and Curatorial Affiliate are given to individuals who give some of their time and expertise to the Division. Affiliates are appointed by a vote of the Board of Curators and typically serve a 5-year renewable term.
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