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Intro To Psych 2024/25 > Chapter 1 > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

Definition: psychology

A

The study of behavior, thoughts and experience

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2
Q

Definition: scientific method

A

A way of learning about the world through collecting observations, and to develop theories to explain such observations

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3
Q

Definition: hypothesis

A

A testable prediction about processes that can be observed and/or measured. Must be falsifiable

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4
Q

Definition: theory

A

An explanation for a broad range of observations that also generates new hypotheses and integrates numerous findings into a coherent whole

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5
Q

Definition: critical thinking

A

Exercising curiosity and skepticism when evaluating the claims of others and one’s own assumptions/beliefs

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6
Q

Definition: principle of parsimony

A

When we/Scientists accept the simplest of all competing explanations of a phenomenon

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7
Q

Definition: empiricism

A

The Philosophical tenet that knowledge comes through experience

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8
Q

Definition: determinism

A

The belief that all events are cause-and-effect relationships – e.g. No free will

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9
Q

Definition: zeitgeist

A

A general set of beliefs of a particular culture at a specific time in history

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10
Q

Hippocrates: what were his beliefs

A

Philosophical - 4 humors thought to contribute to our health + personality:
Blood, phlegm, yellow+ black bile

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11
Q

Aristotle: what were his contributions

A

Tabula Rasa: man begins life with a blank slate
Para psyche: “about the mind” - first psychology text

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12
Q

Renee Descartes: what were his beliefs and the issue with it

A

“Cartesian dualism”- both mind and body drive human behavior
“Problem of Interactionism” - how mind can impact body, therefore not connected

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13
Q

Definition: psychophysics

A

The study of the relationship between the physical world and the mental representation of that world
- Created by Gustav Fechner

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14
Q

Charles Darwin: what were his beliefs

A

The theory of evolution by natural selection
- surviving traits and offspring

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15
Q

Definition: phrenology

A

the detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities
- brain consisted of “27 organs” assigned a personality trait

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16
Q

Definition: Brain localization

A

The belief that certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities
- discovered by Broca and Wernicke

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17
Q

Franz Mesmer: what were his contributions

A

Believed magnets could redirect flow of metallic fluids within the body to cure disease
Discovered hypnosis by “mesmerizing” patients, creating a trance

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18
Q

Sigmund Freud: what were his beliefs/contributions

A

he believed that the unconscious mind guided behaviors
ID: instincts
Super-ego: morality+critical thinking
Ego: mediates ID and SE
- incorporated medical model, evolutionary thinking and introduced subconscious processes

19
Q

Definition: psychoanalysis

A

A psychological approach that attempts to explain how behaviour and personality are influenced by unconscious processes

20
Q

Sir Francis Galton: what were his contributions

A
  • Investigated nature vs. Nurture relationships
  • believed hereditary genes explained psychological differences
21
Q

Definition: eminence/eugenics

A

The combination of ability, morality, and achievement resulting from good genes
- eventually coined “eugenics” to justify racist and sexist ideals e.g. White supremacy

22
Q

Vilhelm Wundt: what were his contributions

A

Set up first lab dedicated to the study of human behaviour
-Introspection to explain psychological sensations
Discovered structuralism and reaction time methods and how mental activity isn’t instantaneous

23
Q

Definition: structuralism

A

To analyze conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements and understand how such elements work together
e.g. Periodic table

24
Q

Definition: introspection

A

the examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes

25
Q

Edward Titchener: what were his beliefs

A

Adopted introspection + structuralism, explaining it like a periodic table
- different element combinations responsible for complex experiences

26
Q

Definition: functionalism

A

The study of behaviour and conscious experience

27
Q

William James: what were his contributions

A

First modern psychology textbook - “principles of psychology”
- proposed functionalism

28
Q

Edwin twitmyer: what did he discover

A

Conditioned reflexes
- inspired Pavlov

29
Q

Definition: behaviorism

A

The study of observable behaviour with little or no reference to mental events or instincts as possible influences on behaviour.

30
Q

Ian Pavlov: what were his contributions

A
  • Trained dogs to salivate in response to a metronome
  • won Nobel prize for discovering classical conditioning
31
Q

John B Watson: what were his beliefs

A
  • Observable changes in behaviour and the environment should be studied
  • all behaviour could be explained by conditioning
  • developed ads in marketing that formed associations between a product+ a desired feeling
32
Q

B.F. Skinner: what were his contributions

A

Pioneered positive+ negative conditioning as well as operant conditioning

33
Q

Definition: operant conditioning

A

Strengthening or weakening a behaviour by reward or punishment

34
Q

Definition: humanistic psychology

A

Focuses on the unique aspects of each individual human, each person’s freedom act, one’s rational thought, and the belief that humans are fundamentally different from animals

35
Q

Definition: non-localization

A

The exact location of brain damage not important

36
Q

Definition: principle of mass action

A

The size of brain damage corresponds with impairment

37
Q

Karl Lashley: what were his contributions

A
  • Tested rats in mazes
  • trined to locate the “engram”, or the memory
38
Q

What is Hebb’s law?

A

Cells that fine together, wire together

39
Q

Wilder penfield: what were his contributions?

A
  • Electrically stimulated patients’ brains under local anaesthetic
  • mapped sensory and motor cortices
40
Q

Gestalt psychology

A

Emphasized the need to focus on the whole of perception and experience rather than its parts

41
Q

Ebbinghaus/ Bartlett: contributions

A

Memories aren’t perfect, and it is an interpretive process

42
Q

Cognitive psychology

A

The modern perspective that focuses on mental processes, such as memory thinking and language

43
Q

Social and personal psychology

A

Cognitive, behavioural and social psychologists got together after Ww2 which created social and personal psych

44
Q

Kurt Lewis: what were his contributions

A
  • Founder of modern psychology
  • believed behaviour is a function of individual and environment (nurture and nature)

Intro To Psych 2024/25 (3 decks)

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