1.2 A Brief History of Psychology Flashcards
Wundt and the structuralism of Titchener, Gestalt psychologists, Freud and psychoanalysis, William James and functionalism, John B. Watson and Behaviourim
A philosophical view known as empiricism was important to the development of what?
Scientific psychology
What did philosophers John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume challenge?
The claim that some knowledge is innate (present in an individual from birth).
Empiricists argue that the world come to us through __________ and __________ and not through __________ or __________.
- experience
- observation
- imagination
- intuition
At birth our minds are like a _________ __________
Blank slate (tabula rasa in Latin)
What is the official birth date of modern psychology?
1879
What is consciousness?
The awareness of external stimuli and our own mental activity
Gustav Fechner discovered the relationship between changes in the _________ characteristics of stimuli and changes in our _________ __________ of them.
- physical
- psychological experience
What was Gustav Fechner’s approach to sensation and perception called?
Psychophysics
Wilherm Wundt studied sensory-perceptual systems. What was the focus of his work on ?
Consciousness
What technique did Wilherm Wundt use to observe conscious experience?
introspection, which means looking forward
What are the two essential elements of a sensation?
quality and intensity
Wilherm Wundt’s research began psychology’s transformation from the _________ of mental processes to the __________ of mental processes.
- philosophy
- science
What element of sensation did Edward Titchener add?
Clearness
Edward Titchener tried to define the structure of consciousness. What did he call this approach?
Structuralism
4 people
In 1912 who made up the Gestalt psychologists?
Wilherm Wundt, Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler
What did the Gestalt psychologists point out?
That the whole shape of the conscious experience is not the same as the sum of its parts.
Sigmund Freud developed his ideas into a body of work known as what?
psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis included a theory about what?
Personality and mental disorders, as well as a set of treatment methods.
Why are Sigmund Freund’s ideas not universally accepted?
They are based on a small number of medical cases rather than extensive laboratory experiments.
William James wanted to understand how images, sensations, memories and other mental events make up our flowing what?
Stream of consciousness function to help us adapt to our environment.
An approach to psychology called functionalism focuses on the role of consciousness in guiding people’s ability to do what?
Make decisions and solve problems
What was John Watson’s approach called?
Behaviouism
What was John Watson famous for?
The most important determinant of behaviour is learning, and it is through learning that animals and humans are able to adapt to their environment.
Who were the early advocates for the school of structuralism?
Edward Titchener, trained by Wilhelm Wundt
Who was the early advocate for the school of Gastalt?
Max Wertheimer
Who was the early advocate for the school of psychanylysis?
Sigmund Freud
Who was the early advocate for the school of Functionalism?
William James
Who were the early advocates for the school of Behaviourism?
John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner
Darwin’s theory of evolution has an especially strong influence on __________ and __________
functionalism and behaviourism
Which school of psychological thought was founded by a European medical doctor?
Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freund
In the history of psychology __________ was the first school of thought to appear.
Structuralism (1879)
Structuralism is to study what and how?
The conscious experience and its structure through experiments and introspections.
Gastalt is to study what and how?
The organisation of mental processes: The whole is different from the sum of its parts. Through observation of sensory-perceptual phenomena.
Psychoanalysis is to study what and how?
Personality and behaviour to develop techniques for treating mental disorders. Through studying of individual cases.
Functionalism is to study what and how?
How the mind works in allowing an organism to adapt to the environment. Through naturalistic observation of animal and human behaviour.
Behaviourism is to study what and how?
Only observable behaviour and explain behaviour through learning principles. By observation of the relationship between environmental stimuli and behavioural responses.
