Ch1 - Foundations

Question 1

H.M. case study

diagnosis + basic effects

Answer 1

amnesia

could not form new memories
- lost his sense of self

Question 2

Introspectionism/Structuralism

influential psychologist(s) + definition + limitations

Answer 2

Wilhelm Wundt: experimental psychologist, had participants record their introspections after systematic training

Belief that psychological studies require participants to introspect - observe and record the content of their thoughts and feelings

Limitations:
- Self reporting relies on the honesty and accuracy of human beings, which is flawed
- Data cannot be tested scientifically (thoughts aren’t directly observed or measured)
- Some thoughts are unconcious, hence people will not report them

Question 3

Behaviourism/Behaviourist Movement

influential psychologist(s) + definition + limitations

Answer 3

John Watson: tested grasp reflex in babies

Belief that psychological studies needed objective data that was observable, testable and verifiable

Limitations:
- focused solely on observable behaviours, neglected beliefs, assumptions, internal processes…
- responses to stimuli cannot explain all behaviour

Question 4

Transcendental method

influential psychologist(s) + definition

Answer 4

Immanuel Kant

Reason backward from observations to determine the cause –> “Inference to best explanation”

Question 5

Edward Tolman

Answer 5

Argument against behaviourism: learning involves the acquisition of new knowledge and can occur without behavioural changes

• rats in mazes without food still acquired a cognitive map of the maze
• they were able to find food just as quickly as rats who had been in mazes with food beforehand

Question 6

B. F. Skinner

Answer 6

Argument for behaviourism:
believed language acquisition is a result of behaviours and rewards - conditioned to say words which resulted in successful communication

Question 7

Noam Chomsky

Answer 7

Argument against behaviourism:
language acquisition goes beyond simply conditioning words to rewards, there is creativity in language (eg: creating novel sentences & combining words to describe a new object)

Question 8

Cognitive Psychology

definition

Answer 8

scientific study of how the mind encodes, stores and uses information

focus on mental processes and events rather than simply stimulus-response connections

Question 9

Basic events that led to the cognitive revolution

Answer 9

Introspectionism: methods of studying mental processes were not scientific
Behaviourism: ignored mental events

Question 10

Common measures in cognitive research

Answer 10

1. performace (accuracy eg: remembering list of words)
2. response time
3. neuroimaging techniques