ch 1 Flashcards
What is psychology?
The study of mental processes and behaviors.
What are the four goals of psychology?
Describe, explain, predict, and control behavior.
What are mental processes?
Activities of the brain like thinking and remembering.
What is behavior?
Observable actions in response to stimuli.
What is culture?
Shared beliefs and practices transmitted across generations.
Who is Hippocrates?
A Greek physician who linked mental and physical health.
What did Plato believe about knowledge?
Knowledge is innate and inborn
What is empiricism?
The belief that knowledge comes from experience.
Who is René Descartes?
A philosopher who proposed mind-body dualism.
What is structuralism?
A study of the structure of conscious experience (Titchener).
What is introspection?
Self-observation of mental processes
What is functionalism?
Focus on the purpose of mental processes (James).
What is Gestalt psychology?
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Who founded psychoanalysis?
Sigmund Freud.
What is the unconscious?
Thoughts and feelings outside awareness.
What is behaviorism?
Study of observable behavior (Watson, Skinner)
What is reinforcement?
Increases likelihood of a behavior being repeated
What is punishment?
Decreases likelihood of a behavior.
What is humanistic psychology?
Emphasizes human potential and growth
What is psychoanalytic theory?
Unconscious forces drive behavior (Freud)
What is conditioning?
Learning associations between stimuli and responses
What is the difference between positive and negative reinforcement?
Positive adds a reward; negative removes an unpleasant stimulus.
What is voluntarism?
Willful decision-making in behavior (Wundt)
Who developed the theory of evolution?
Charles Darwin
Who measured the speed of nerve impulses?
Hermann von Helmholtz.
What is psychophysics?
Study of relationships between stimuli and perception (Müller, Fechner).
What is a stimulus?
An environmental factor that triggers a response.
What is a response?
A reaction to a stimulus
What is the “tabula rasa” concept?
The mind is a blank slate at birth (John Locke).
What is negative reinforcement?
Removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior.
What are the main features of Gestalt psychology?
Inborn tendencies to perceive wholes, not parts.
What is cognitive behaviorism?
Combines behaviorism with cognitive processes (Bandura).
What did William James argue about consciousness?
It helps humans adapt and survive.
What is consciousness?
Personal awareness of mental processes and behaviors.
Who is Wilhelm Wundt?
Founder of experimental psychology and voluntarism.
What is structuralism’s main method of study?
Introspection, or self-reflection on mental processes.
What did Edward Titchener contribute to psychology?
Developed structuralism, focused on the basic elements of consciousness.
What was William James’ view on the mind?
Consciousness is a stream of ever-changing mental events (functionalism).
What is the difference between structuralism and functionalism?
Structuralism focuses on the structure of the mind, functionalism on its purpose.
What is the main idea of Gestalt psychology?
The whole is perceived, not just the sum of its parts.
What is psychoanalytic theory’s focus?
Unconscious drives and childhood experiences shape behavior (Freud).
What is behaviorism’s key belief?
Psychology should study observable behaviors, not mental processes.
What did John Watson believe about psychology?
Psychology should focus on observable behavior and conditioning.
What was B.F. Skinner’s major contribution?
Expanded behaviorism to include reinforcement and punishment.
What is positive reinforcement?
Adding a reward to increase a behavior.
What did Sigmund Freud believe about childhood?
Childhood experiences shape unconscious and conscious behaviors.
What is the blank slate theory (tabula rasa)?
The belief that humans are born without innate ideas (John Locke).
What is classical conditioning?
Learning to associate a neutral stimulus with an automatic response (Pavlov).
What did Freud believe about hysteria?
It was caused by unconscious memories and repressed trauma.
What is dualism?
The idea that the mind and body are separate (Descartes).
What did William James believe about emotions?
They are adaptive and help humans survive (functionalism).
What is the main principle of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory?
Behavior is driven by unconscious forces and childhood experiences.
