Chapter 1 Flashcards
The Science of Mind: The Discipline of Psychology
behaviourism
a psychological approach that features the study and careful measurement of observable behaviours
biological psychology
a psychological perspective that focuses on the relationships between mind and behaviour, as well as their underlying biological processes, including genetics, biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology
clinical psychology
a psychological perspective that seeks to explain, define, and treat abnormal behaviours
cognitive neuroscience
a psychological approach that focuses on understanding the links between cognition and brain activity
cognitive psychology
a psychological perspective that investigates information processing, thinking, reasoning, and problem solving
cultural diversity
variations in the practices, values, and goals shared by groups of people
developmental psychology
a psychological perspective that examines the normal changes in behaviour that occur across the life span
evolutionary psychology
a psychological perspective that investigates how physical structure and behaviour have been shaped by their contributions to survival and reproduction
functionalism
a psychological approach that saw behaviour as purposeful and contributing to survival
Gestalt psychology
a psychological approach that saw experience as being different from the sum of its elements
humanistic psychology
a psychological approach that saw people as inherently good, and motivated to learn and improve
introspection
a personal observation of your own thoughts, feelings, and behaviour
mind
the brain and its activities, including thought, emotion, and behaviour
natural sciences
sciences that study the physical and biological events that occur in nature
personality
an individual’s characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving
philosophy
the discipline that systematically examines basic concepts, including the source of knowledge
psychology
the scientific study of behaviour, mental processes, and brain functions
social psychology
a psychological perspective that examines the effects of the social environment on the behaviour of individuals
structuralism
a psychological approach in which the mind is broken into the smallest elements of mental experience
voluntarism
a psychological approach that emphasizes the role of will and choice in determining thoughts, perceptions, and behaviours
two Greek words that make up the term “psychology”
- psyche meaning “soul”
- logos meaning “the objective study of
behaviour
any action that we can observe
Early efforts to study mental processes were unsatisfactory because they relied on…
introspection
when psychology first came about
1870s
the very first topic that would interest modern psychologists
Assyrians in 6000-5000 BCE reported dreams with many of the same themes
The two major roots of psychology are…
philosophy and the natural sciences
similar topics between psychology and philosophy
- the nature of the self
- the effects of early experience
- the existence of free will
- the origin of knowledge
- relative balance of biological factors (nature) and environmental factors (nurture)
- relationship between self-interest and community welfare
- relationship between body and mind
- relationship between humans and other species
the idea that flourished from Aristotle’s (384-322 BCE) belief that knowledge was gained through sensory experience
empiricism was the idea that the mind is viewed as a “blank slate” at birth, and is then filled with ideas through worldly observations
Ancient people may have attempted to cure headaches, seizures, or psychological disorders by…
drilling holes in the skull
how contemporary psychologists believe the mind is formed
experience interacts with inborn characteristics to shape the mind
Rubbing your eyes and seeing a flash of light proves that…
a single sensory nerve carries only one type of information.
The nerves serving the retina can’t process touch or pressure, and are only capable of producing one message - light - when stimulated.
Hermann von Helmholtz’ (1821-1894) study of reaction time
He asked his participants to push a button when they felt touch. When a thigh was touched, participants reacted faster than when a toe was touched; more time was required to send signals from the toe to the brain.
The gradual merger of philosophical questions and scientific reasoning led to the birth of…
contemporary psychology
Gustav Fechner’s (1801-1889) sound experiment
He was able to identify the softest sound a person could hear by randomly presenting sounds of different intensities to which a participant would respond “yes” or “no”. When the “yes” responses reached 50%, he concluded that the sound was within the range that the human ear could detect.
the first experimental psychologist
Wilhelm Wundt
a former research assistant to von Helmholtz who emphasized conscious will and choice
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
Wundt’s reaction time experiment
He wanted to test how quickly after hearing a ball drop onto a platform could a person respond by striking a telegraph key.
Wundt’s approach to psychology
voluntarism
Titchener’s approach to psychology
structuralism
one of Wundt’s students who expanded on Wundt’s views
Edward Titchener (1867-1923)
Canadian structuralist who developed a program of army recruits that served as the first case of mass psychological testing worldwide
John Wallace Baird (1869-1919)
founders of Gestalt psychology
early 20th-century German psychologists, including Kurt Koffka, Max Wertheimer, and Wolfgang Köhler
why Gestalt psychology was founded
Gestalt psychologists challenged structuralism; they believed that breaking a “whole” perception into its building blocks would result in the loss of important information
Gestalt principles
- The proximity principle states that things that are near one another seem to belong together.
- The similarity principle states that people tend to group stimuli that are alike.
- The continuity principle states that people tend to connect points that result in straight or gently curved lines that create smooth paths.
- The closure principle: states that people tend to ignore gaps in figures to create a sense of closure or completeness.
- The simplicity principle: states that people tend to organize and interpret forms in the simplest way possible.
founder of functionalism, and the term “stream of consciousness”
William James (1842-1910)
all contemporary psychologists are this at heart
functionalists
founded the first psychology laboratory in the British Commonwealth
James Mark Baldwin (1861-1934), at the University of Toronto in 1891
the most common view of psychological disorders throughout history (excepting the Egyptians and Greeks)
The supernatural approach states that psychological disorders resulted from the actions of evil spirits or other, external magical forces.
the two scientific approaches for psychological disorders that emerged between the 17th-19th centuries
- The medical model emphasized physical causes of abnormal behaviour and medical treatments (e.g. medication).
- The psychological model states that abnormal behaviour can result from life experiences, leading to fear, anxiety, and other counterproductive emotional responses, and treatments take many forms (i.e. offering support, applying cognitive/behavioural methods to help people think).
played a dominant role in psychology during the first half of the 20th century with his work on consciousness, sexuality, abnormal behaviour, and psychotherapy
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
controversy behind Freud
His methods were not scientific and non-experimental, but were based on observations of his patients (mostly upper-class Viennese housewives, who weren’t typical of the human population).
contributed a theory of motivation and ideas about exceptional people to the growing humanistic psychology movement
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
Before humanistic psychology, Freud, James, and behaviourists all believed that human behaviour was in relation to…
animal behaviour
client-centred therapy
A new approach to therapy developed by humanistic therapist Carl Rogers, in which the people receiving treatment were called “clients” rather than “patients”, and were on equal standing with the therapist as there was an emphasis on active listening
classical conditioning
(Pavlovian conditioning)
learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus (e.g., a tone) becomes associated with a stimulus (e.g., food) that naturally produces a behaviour
founder of classical conditioning
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936)
Pavlov’s dog experiment
While studying digestion in dogs, he realized that the dogs’ salivation in response to the arrival of the handler or to being harnessed for an experiment, rather than just to the food itself, indicated that the dogs had associated these signals with the arrival of food.
the behaviourist who used rats to come to many of the same conclusions as Pavlov
John B. Watson (1878-1958)
Watson’s advertising research
He believed that a product would sell better if it were paired with an appealing image (e.g. a Justin Bieber-inspired collection of nail polish sold over 1 million bottles within the first two months of its launch).
Thorndike’s Law of Effect
Behaviours followed by pleasant or helpful outcomes would be more likely to occur in the future, whereas behaviours followed by unpleasant or harmful outcomes would be less likely to occur.
founded the law of effect through observation of cats’ behaviour in a puzzle box
Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)
founder of cognitive neuroscience, and author of the 1967 book Cognitive Psychology
Ulric Neisser (1928-2012)
the new source of technology that gave psychologists new ideas about how the mind might process information
computers
the five major perspectives of psychology
- biological psychology (behavioural neuroscience)
- cognitive psychology
- developmental psychology
- social and personality psychology
- clinical psychology
need for cognition
level of how much someone enjoys mental challenges (e.g. solving difficult puzzles)
repression
traumatizing experiences are more difficult to remember due to this process
examples of how the five perspectives of psychology are integrated within romantic relationships
- biological psychology: the “bonding” hormone, oxytocin
- cognitive psychology: automatic thought
- developmental psychology: relationships change over time
- social and personality psychology: understanding different cultural and social contexts, and individual traits
- clinical psychology: the effects of psychological disorders (e.g. borderline personality disorder)
differences between therapists with doctoral degrees in psychology (PhD/PsyD) and psychiatrists (MD)
- only psychiatrists can prescribe medication
- in Canada, healthcare plans cover only the cost of a psychiatrist
William James’ student who thought that structuralism and functionalism worked hand in hand
Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930)
