Chapter 1 Flashcards
Psychology Definition
The study of behaviour, thought and experience, and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social and environmental factors.
Examines the individual as a product of multiple influences (biopsychosocial)
The Scientific Method?
A way of learning about the world through collecting observations, making theories to explain them, and using the theories to make predictions.
Theories:
-generate hypotheses
-explain phenomenon
-not the same as beliefs (are tested)
Hypotheses
-testable prediction about process that can be observed and measured
-is falsifiable
-cannot technically be proved (only confirmed and reinforced)
Scientific Literacy
Knowledge Gathering-What do we know?
Critical Thinking- Can we critically evaluate the evidence?
Application- Is this important?
Scientific Explanation- How can science explain this?
Empiricism
Knowledge about the world gathered through careful observation.
We understand behaviour by making observations and testing hypotheses (empirical research)
Determinism
Events are governed by cause and effect relationships.
Occur at different levels (biological, motivational, habitual…)
History of Studying Behavior
-Ancient Egyptian doctors described behavioural changes following head trauma
-Greek (Hippocrates) and Roman (Galen of Pergamon) physicians developed 4 humours/ temperaments theory of personality
-Adoption of scientific method
-Materialism/Dualism
Materialism
Belief that humans and other living beings are composed exclusively of physical matter
Dualism
There are properties of humans that are not material
Gustav Fechner (Influences from Physics)
Psychophysics- Study of relationship between the physical world and the mental representation of the world
Charles Darwin (Influences from Evolutionary Theory)
-Natural Selection
-Genetically inherited traits that contribute to survival and reproductive success are more likely to be passed on
-Traits will differ across environments
Localization of Brain Function (Influences from Medicine)
-Idea that certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities and personality characteristics
-Phrenology
-Brain Injuries
Phrenology
Mental traits and dispositions can be determined by examining the surface of the skull (27 organs)
Brain Injuries
Paul Broca- Left frontal lobe: Spoken language production
Karl Wernicke- Left hemisphere: Language Comprehension
Phineas Gage- Frontal lobe damage: impulsiveness, child like behaviour
Sigmund Freud (Influences From Medicine)
-Intrigued by hypnosis
-Psychoanalysis
-Believed unconscious mind contained
-forgotten memories
-sexual and aggressive urges
-Psychoanalysis allowed direct access to mind
-Recognized unconscious mental activity
-Used medical model to treat disorders of thought, emotion and behaviour
-Recognized evolutionary influences
-Recognized importance of early life experiences
Psychoanalysis
Attempts to explain how unconscious processes influence behaviour and personality
Sir Francis Galton (Influence of Social Sciences)
-Measured perception, used statistical analysis to study behaviour
-Interested in individual experiences of people
-Nature vs Nurture (on nature side)
-Eminence
-Theories used to justify eugenic movements
Eminence
Combination of ability, morality and achievements that ran in family
Wilhelm Wundt (Beginnings of Contemporary Psychology)
-First laboratory dedicated to study of human behaviour
-Used introspection (to look within)
-Sensation and Perception
-Reaction time studies
-Measured how experimental manipulations affected mental events
-Mental activities not instantaneous
Edward Titchener (Beginnings of Contemporary Psychology)
-Structuralism
-Analysis of conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements, and to understand how these elements work together
-Mental experiences are made of a limited number of sensations
Structuralism
-Analysis of conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements, and to understand how these elements work together
William James (Beginnings of Contemporary Psychology)
-Wrote first psych textbook (The Principles of Psychology)
-Interested in how our thoughts and actions help us adapt to our environment
-Functionalism
Functionalism
-Study of the purpose and function of behaviour and conscious experience
-Behaviour is understood by determining the purpose it served over the course of evolution
-Why do we behave the way we do?
Edwin Twitmyer (Behaviourism)
-Classic conditioning
-Behaviourism
Behaviourism
-Singular focus on studying only observable behaviour
-Little or no reference to mental events or instincts
Edward Thorndike (Behaviourism)
-Behavioural changes based on the type of consequences
John B.Watson (Behaviourism)
Only observable changes in the environment and behaviour appropriate for scientific study
B.F. Skinner (Behaviourism)
Radical behaviourism: Foundation of behaviour is the response to reward and punishment
Hermann Ebbinghaus (The Cognitive Revolution)
Studied memory; remembering and forgetting (used himself to train memory with lots of words)
Frederick Bartlett (The Cognitive Revolution)
Cultural knowledge and previous experience influence our memories
Noam Chomsky (The Cognitive Revolution)
Aspects of language are too complex for behaviourism
Gestalt Psychology (The Cognitive Revolution)
Emphasizes focus on the whole of perception and experience rather than its parts
Cognitive Psychology
Modern psychological perspective focusing on processes such as memory, thinking and language
Social Psychology
-Study of influence of other people on our behaviours
-Behaviour is a function of the individual and the environment
Personality Psychology
Study of how different personality characteristics can influence how we think act
Humanistic Psychology
-Focuses on the unique aspects of each individual human, beyond their conditioning (behaviourism) and unconscious motivations (psychoanalysis)
-Freedom to act, rational thought
-Meaning of personal experience
Donald Hebb (Brain and Behaviour)
Hebb’s law: Cells that fire together wire together
Wilder Penfield (Brain and Behaviour)
-Mapping of sensory and movement brain regions
-Subjective experience represented in the brain
Emerging Themes in Psychology
-Psychology of Women
-How human behaviour differs across cultures (WEIRD)
-Brain imaging
-Psychology in the ‘real world’ (vs all and facilities)
-Psychology in the digital world
