1.1: Introducing Psychology Flashcards
Wilhelm Wundt
Combined physiology and philosophy to create psychology and established the first psychology lab in Germany (1879).
He believed in introspection and structuralism.
Structuralism
Structure is more important than function.
Structuralists believed that the mind must be broken into elements to understand the brain and its functions.
For structuralism to work, the subject would have to be very intelligent and verbal in order to describe their sensations, images, and feelings in certain moments.
Introspection
Looking inward; people try to understand the thoughts or emotions they are experiencing at the time.
Proved unreliable since the results varied from person to person.
Functionalism
Came after structuralism and was created to understand how the conscious mind is related to behavior.
Functionalists, such as William James, wanted to know how the mind affected what people did.
Early Behaviorism
The study of observable events.
This theory shifted psychology from a study of the unconscious and conscious mind to a more science-based study based on observable events.
John Watson
A behavioral psychologist who studied observable behaviors and led the Little Albert experiment, where he trained an 11-month-old boy to fear a white rat.
Believed that observable events are the only events that can be proven true, unlike studying the conscious, where results are not verifiable.
Little Albert Experiment
The boy was not initially afraid of the rat, but when the white rat was paired with a loud sound, the boy would show signs of distress. Eventually, the boy began to cry when just seeing the white rat without the sound.
Gestalt
The whole is different than the sum of its parts.
Gestalt psychology looks at the mind and behavior as a whole.
It suggests that human minds do not focus on small components. Instead, humans see the greater whole.
Psychological Approaches
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Evolutionary, Biological, Cognitive, Biopsychosocial, & Sociocultural.
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Approach
Focuses on the study of the unconscious mind.
It states that behavior is determined by past experiences.
Sigmund Freud is the key individual that used this approach, and he built his theories based on it.
Humanistic Approach
Believes that humans have free will and the ability to grow.
All individuals are striving to reach self-actualization and their greatest potential with this approach.
Evolutionary Approach
Uses evolutionary biology to explain human behavior.
Also, it looks at how natural selection due to variable traits promotes the survival of genes.
An evolutionary psychologist may study how anger could be a gene inherited from our ancestors.
Biological Approach
States that behavior is based on physical processes, such as those relating to the brain, hormones, and other chemicals.
Cognitive Approach
States that thought processes impact the way people behave.
A cognitive psychologist may study how an emotion, such as fear, affects one’s thinking.
Biopsychosocial Approach
Acknowledges the person as a whole and tries to look at all of the patient’s circumstances.
It looks at biological, psychological, and social factors to understand a person’s behavior.