---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The objective psychologist, hoping to get…"
description: "\"The objective psychologist, hoping to get at the physiological side of behavior, is apt to plunge immediately into neurology trying to correlate brain ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/832/roger-wolcott-sperry-30962_accentuate_the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get_3105569.png"
---

#  The objective psychologist, hoping to get at the…

![“The objective psychologist, hoping to get at the physiological side of behavior, is apt to plunge immediately into neurology trying to correlate brain activity with modes of experience ... The result in many cases only accentuates the gap between the total experience as studied by the psychologist…” quote by Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/832/roger-wolcott-sperry-30962_accentuate_the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get_3105569.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/832/roger-wolcott-sperry-30962_accentuate_the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get_3105569.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/832/roger-wolcott-sperry-30962_accentuate_the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get_3105569.png)

> “The objective psychologist, hoping to get at the physiological side of behavior, is apt to plunge immediately into neurology trying to correlate brain activity with modes of experience ... The result in many cases only accentuates the gap between the total experience as studied by the psychologist and neural activity as analyzed by the neurologist.”

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote critiques psychologists who jump straight to brain studies, noting it can widen the divide between subjective experience and neural data.

**In simple terms:** Focusing only on brain activity may miss lived experience.

Key Takeaway

Balance mind and brain perspectives.

Themes

psychology neuroscience methodology

Mood

analytical thoughtful

Type

philosophical academic

When to use this quote

- clinical research
- therapy
- education
- philosophical inquiry

Key Concepts

mind‑body dualism reductionism integrative science

Questions to Reflect On

- How can psychologists integrate subjective reports?
- What methods bridge experience and brain data?

A Different Perspective

Neuroscience alone cannot fully explain consciousness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Neurologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurologists/) [Neurology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurology/) [Psychologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychologist/)

## Related quotes

> [There were only 170 neurologists in Britain then and, whether spoken or unspoken, there was this insidious feeling. How can Bannister, a mere athlete,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/there-were-only-170-neurologists-in-britain-then-and-whether-spoken/)

[Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/)

> [ “So the \[Binet-Simon\]test results were always related to time. Thereby producing a new figure -- a measurement of intelligence. A calculated figure,and hence quite… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/so-the-binet-simon-test-results-were-always-related-to-time-thereby/)

[Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/)

> [It is so wonderful to our neurologists that a man can see without his eyes, that it does not occur to them that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-so-wonderful-to-our-neurologists-that-a-man-can-see-without-his/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Human beings are powered by emotion, not by reason. Study after study has proven that if the emotion centers of our brain are damaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-calne/human-beings-are-powered-by-emotion-not-by-reason-study-after-study/)

Donald Calne

> [To fly in space is to see the reality of Earth, alone. The experience changed my life and my attitude toward life itself. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberta-bondar/to-fly-in-space-is-to-see-the-reality-of-earth-alone-the-experience/)

[Roberta Bondar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberta-bondar/)

> [Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/dreams-are-the-royal-road-to-the-unconscious/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [I wanted to be a neurologist. That seemed to be the most difficult, most intriguing, and the most important aspect of medicine, which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/i-wanted-to-be-a-neurologist-that-seemed-to-be-the-most-difficult/)

[Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/)

> [“In the spring of 2009, I was the 217th person ever to be diagnosed with anti-NMDA-receptor autoimmune encephalitis. Just a year later, that figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/in-the-spring-of-2009-i-was-the-217th-person-ever-to-be-diagnosed/)

[Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/)

> [Neurologists say that our brains are programmed much more for stories than for abstract ideas. Tales with a little drama are remembered far longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-kotter/neurologists-say-that-our-brains-are-programmed-much-more-for-stories/)

[John P. Kotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-kotter/)

> [There will be no one like us when we are gone, but then there is no one like anyone else, ever. When people die,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/there-will-be-no-one-like-us-when-we-are-gone-but-then-there-is-no/)

[Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/)

> [We shall abolish the orgasm. Our neurologists are at work upon it now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-shall-abolish-the-orgasm-our-neurologists-are-at-work-upon-it-now/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [If you listen to neurologists and psychiatrists, you'd never fall in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/if-you-listen-to-neurologists-and-psychiatrists-you-d-never-fall-in/)

[Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/)

> [I come from a pretty scientific family. My sister is a neurologist and my brother is an engineer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-winstead/i-come-from-a-pretty-scientific-family-my-sister-is-a-neurologist-and/)

[Mary Elizabeth Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-winstead/)

> [There are relatively few atheists among neurologists and brain surgeons and astrophysicists, but many among psychologists, sociologists, and historians. The reason seems obvious: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/there-are-relatively-few-atheists-among-neurologists-and-brain/)

[Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/)

> [Symptoms, then, are in reality nothing but a cry from suffering organs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-martin-charcot/symptoms-then-are-in-reality-nothing-but-a-cry-from-suffering-organs/)

Jean-Martin Charcot

## More by Roger Wolcott Sperry

> [Futurists and common sense concur that a substantial change, worldwide, in life style and moral guidelines will soon become an absolute necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/futurists-and-common-sense-concur-that-a-substantial-change-worldwide/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [What it comes down to is that modern society discriminates against the right hemisphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/what-it-comes-down-to-is-that-modern-society-discriminates-against/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [The new way of thinking, spawned by the cognitive revolution, shows strong promise. Reversing previous doctrine in science, the new paradigm affirms that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/the-new-way-of-thinking-spawned-by-the-cognitive-revolution-shows/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [The centermost processes of the brain with which consciousness is presumably associated are simply not understood. They are so far beyond our comprehension that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/the-centermost-processes-of-the-brain-with-which-consciousness-is/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [What is needed to break the vicious spiral is a world-wide change in attitudes, values, and social policy. As Einstein put it, We need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/what-is-needed-to-break-the-vicious-spiral-is-a-world-wide-change-in/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [The main theme to emerge... is that there appear to be two modes of thinking, verbal and nonverbal, represented rather separately in left and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/the-main-theme-to-emerge-is-that-there-appear-to-be-two-modes-of/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [It seems important that the social value factor be more generally recognized as a powerful causal agent in its own right and something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/it-seems-important-that-the-social-value-factor-be-more-generally/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [(The mind's) dynamics transcend the time and space of brain physiology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/the-mind-s-dynamics-transcend-the-time-and-space-of-brain-physiology/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [There probably is no more important quest in all science than the attempt to understand those very particular events in evolution by which brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/there-probably-is-no-more-important-quest-in-all-science-than-the/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [Before brains there was no color or sound in the universe, nor was there any flavor or aroma and probably little sense and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/before-brains-there-was-no-color-or-sound-in-the-universe-nor-was/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [The cells and fibers of the brain must carry some kind of individual identification tags, presumably cytochemical in nature, by which they are distinguished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/the-cells-and-fibers-of-the-brain-must-carry-some-kind-of-individual/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [Sperry's thinking about subjective experience, consciousness, the mind, and human values makes a powerful plea for a new scientific examination of ethics in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/sperry-s-thinking-about-subjective-experience-consciousness-the-mind/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [When the brain is whole, the unified consciousness of the left and right hemispheres adds up to more than the individual properties of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/when-the-brain-is-whole-the-unified-consciousness-of-the-left-and/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [To see a promising solution to a dilemma and then just leave it to questionable development at its own pace without trying to aid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/to-see-a-promising-solution-to-a-dilemma-and-then-just-leave-it-to/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

> [The upward thrust of evolution as part of the design becomes something to preserve and revere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/the-upward-thrust-of-evolution-as-part-of-the-design-becomes/)

[Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

[Explore all 17 Roger Wolcott Sperry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/)

## More Accentuate quotes

> [Not only does political coverage often lose the signal—it frequently accentuates the noise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/not-only-does-political-coverage-often-lose-the-signal-it-frequently/)

[Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/)

> [Not to be vain, but I have nice long legs, so I like to accentuate them. Find what part of your body you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khloe-kardashian/not-to-be-vain-but-i-have-nice-long-legs-so-i-like-to-accentuate-them/)

[Khloe Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khloe-kardashian/)

> [Everyone has a best feature, so find clothes and accessories to accentuate those, whether it’s your shoulders or your long legs!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/everyone-has-a-best-feature-so-find-clothes-and-accessories-to/)

[Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/)

> [Worms'-Meat, n. The finished product of which we are the raw material. The contents of the Taj Mahal, the Tombeau Napoleon and the Granitarium.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/worms-meat-n-the-finished-product-of-which-we-are-the-raw-material/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [“It was, to reiterate, to stress, to accentuate the point, to leave no doubt, hot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-maarten-troost/it-was-to-reiterate-to-stress-to-accentuate-the-point-to-leave-no/)

[J. Maarten Troost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-maarten-troost/)

> [I do not discriminate about size. I design dresses to accentuate a woman's positives, whether you are a size 0 or a size 3X.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadashi-shoji/i-do-not-discriminate-about-size-i-design-dresses-to-accentuate-a/)

[Tadashi Shoji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadashi-shoji/)

> [Find a positive lesson and positive reason for all of your personal relationships. Accentuate the blessings and knowledge gained from each.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/find-a-positive-lesson-and-positive-reason-for-all-of-your-personal/)

[Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/)

> [I accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. That is the timeless thing,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-kasem/i-accentuate-the-positive-and-eliminate-the-negative-that-is-the/)

[Casey Kasem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-kasem/)

> [“READ- Render Educational Accentuated Discourse”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/read-render-educational-accentuated-discourse/)

[Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/)

> [ Even though the play \[ The Best Man\] was written a long time ago, the characters seem modern and their struggles to make ends… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hart/even-though-the-play-the-best-man-was-written-a-long-time-ago-the/)

[Chris Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hart/)

> [I love Dior. I've been wearing some of the really beautiful structured pieces - I love a deep neck and how it accentuates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-gomez/i-love-dior-i-ve-been-wearing-some-of-the-really-beautiful-structured/)

[Selena Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-gomez/)

> [I think my philosophy in music has been to accentuate the positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-love/i-think-my-philosophy-in-music-has-been-to-accentuate-the-positive/)

[Mike Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-love/)

> [In the etheric body are centered the forces animating man's physical vehicle, so disease is evidenced in the etheric before it manifests in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-heline/in-the-etheric-body-are-centered-the-forces-animating-man-s-physical/)

[Corinne Heline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-heline/)

> [Everyone's hip to the fact that we all do things to accentuate our looks - and it's much more accepted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyan-douglas/everyone-s-hip-to-the-fact-that-we-all-do-things-to-accentuate-our/)

[Kyan Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyan-douglas/)

> [“Accentuate the positive - eliminate the negative. And only the negative.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-case/accentuate-the-positive-eliminate-the-negative-and-only-the-negative/)

John Case

Browse all 74 Accentuate quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The objective psychologist, hoping to get at the physiological side of behavior, is apt to plunge immediately into neurology trying to correlate brain activity with modes of experience ... The result in many cases only accentuates the gap between the total experience as studied by the psychologist and neural activity as analyzed by the neurologist.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Roger Wolcott Sperry"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get-at-the-physiological-side-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accentuate"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get-at-the-physiological-side-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/832/roger-wolcott-sperry-30962_accentuate_the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get_3105569.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/832/roger-wolcott-sperry-30962_accentuate_the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get_3105569.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/832/roger-wolcott-sperry-30962_accentuate_the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get_3105569.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The objective psychologist, hoping to get at the physiological side of behavior, is apt to plunge…” — Roger Wolcott Sperry",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Roger Wolcott Sperry",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The objective psychologist, hoping to get...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get-at-the-physiological-side-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/the-objective-psychologist-hoping-to-get-at-the-physiological-side-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
