1.1 The Story of Psychology

Question 1

nativism

Answer 1

• the philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn
• Plato was in favor of this view

Question 2

philosophical empiricism

Answer 2

• the philosophical view that all knowledge is acquired through experience
• aristotle believes that the mind was a “blank slate”

Question 3

dualism

Answer 3

• the argument for the distinction between the physical brain and the non-physical mind
• Descartes posited was connected to the physical via the pineal gland

Question 4

materialism

Answer 4

the mind and body are one and the same

Question 5

phrenology

Answer 5

now defunct theory that specific mental abilities are characteristics are localized in specific regions of the brain

Question 6

Franz Joseph Gall (1758)

Answer 6

• phrenology
• the more capacities and traits a person has, the greater area they take up in their brain

Question 7

Paul Broca (1824-1880)

Answer 7

• worked with a patient who lacked the ability to speak, but retained the ability to comprehend speech
• Broca surmised that this impediment might be related to a specific part of the brain

Question 8

William James (1842-1920)

Answer 8

• first to take a scientific approach to study Psych
• Functionalism
• thought it was impossible to break consciousness down into component parts

Question 9

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

Answer 9

• founded the first lab devoted to exclusively psych
• structuralism
• wanted to study consciousness scientifically

Question 10

structuralism

Answer 10

• analyzes the mind by breaking it down into its basic
• wundt

Question 11

functionalism

Answer 11

• the study of the purpose mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environment
• james

Question 12

physiology

Answer 12

• the study of biological processes

Question 13

introspection

Answer 13

the subjective awareness of one’s own experiences

Question 14

structuralism

Answer 14

the analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind

Question 15

consciousness

Answer 15

a person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind

Question 16

fundamental difficulties in introspection

Answer 16

• invalid –> different people see different things
• unreliable –> the same person may see different things at different times
• people are often mistaken about their experiences

Question 17

Hysteria

Answer 17

a temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as the result of emotionally upsetting experiences

Question 18

Jean-Martin Charcot & Pierre Janet findings

Answer 18

founded that when hypnotized, hysteric patients experience relief from physical and emotional symptoms

Question 19

psychoanalysis

Answer 19

• Sigmund Freud
• therapeutic approach focusing on bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness
• bringing the unconscious material into conscious awareness

Question 20

psychoanalytic theory

Answer 20

• Id, Ego, Superego
• theorized that hysterical symptoms resulted from early sexual molestation
• leaving memories that were intentionally forgotten
• discovered that symptoms disappeared when memories were completely recalled

Question 21

Theory of neuroses (freud)

Answer 21

• behind every neurotic conflict lies a forgotten childhood trauma
• mind defends against painful experiences by actively excluding them from conscious awareness

Question 22

Sigmund Freud

Answer 22

• attempting to treat hysteria with hypnosis
• found that hysterical patients experience catharsis when talking about problems in a hypnotic state
• psychoanalytic theory

Question 23

topographic model

Answer 23

the idea that the mind has organization or architecture that overflows consciousness and can be described in terms of different levels or compartments
1. unconscious - the only part of the mind that exists at birth
2. preconscious - everything that can be summoned to consciousness on command
3. conscious awareness - the part of our mind that forms our waking lives

Question 24

Humanistic Psychology

Answer 24

• this approach emphasized the positive potential of human beings
• a direct reaction to the darker tones of the psychoanalytic theory

Question 25

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

Answer 25

• most well known for his hierarchy of needs
• pioneered humanistic psychology

Question 26

Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

Answer 26

• more well known for his “client-centered” approached to therapy
• pioneered humanistic psychology

Question 27

Behaviorism

Answer 27

• advocated that psychologists restrict themselves to the scientific study of objectively observable behavior
• represented a dramatic departure from all previous schools of thought within psychology
• how can anyone tell you about our own private and subjective experiences?
• behaviorists challenged the idea that psych should be interested in mental life at all

Question 28

John Watson (1878 - 1959)

Answer 28

• proposed that psychologists focus entirely on what people do rather than what they experience

Question 29

Ivan Pavlov (1849 - 1936)

Answer 29

• neobehaviorist
• studied digestion
• founded classical conditioning (stimulus-response learning)

Question 30

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

Answer 30

• neobehaviorist
• is free will an illusion?
• stated that our behaviors are a product of past and present patterns of reinforcement

Question 31

Margaret Washburn (1871 - 1939)

Answer 31

• studied behavior in different animal species
• developed theory of consciousness

Question 32

Noam Chomsky (1928)

Answer 32

• cognitive neuroscience
• not all learning is based off of paired associations or reinforcement
• children generate sentences that they could never have heard before
• thus, language cannot be learned solely by reinforcement

Question 33

Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 33

• an approach to psychology that links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other bodily experiences

Question 34

Behavioral Neuroscience

Answer 34

• the field of study that attempts to understand the links between cognitive processes and brain activity