chapter 1 Flashcards
introduction and history
psychology
the scientific study of mind and behaviour
philosophical dualism/ substance dualism
the view that the mind and body are fundamentally different things.
-philosopher: Rene Descartes.
philosophical realism
the view that our perceptions of the world are a faithful copy of info from the world that enters our brain through our sensory apparatus
philosophical idealism
the view that our perceptions of the physical world are our brain’s best interpretation of the info that enters through our sensory apparatus
philosophical empiricism
the view that all knowledge is acquired through our experiences.
philosophical nativism
the view that some knowledge is innate rather that acquired
reaction time
the amount of time between the onset of a stimulus and a persons response to that stimulus
structuralism
an approach to psychology that attempted to isolate and analyze the minds basic elements. relied on introspection.
-philosophers: Wilhelm Wundt, and Edward Titchener
introspection
the analysis of subjective experience by trained observers. (the act of looking inward to analyze one’s own conscious mental processes.)
-philosopher: Wilhelm Wundt
functionalism
an approach to psychology that emphasized the adaptive significance of mental processes. suggests that the mind’s primary purpose is to help humans adapt to their environment. This approach emphasizes the overall function of the brain in fulfilling practical needs, rather than analyzing its separate components.
-Philosophers: William James
hysteria
the loss of function that has no obvious physical origin
unconscious
the part of the mind that contains info of which people are not aware
psychoanalytic theory
a general theory that emphasized the influence of the unconscious on feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
-philosopher: Sigmund Freud
psychoanalysis
a therapy that claims to give people insight into the contents of their unconscious minds
- philosopher: Sigmund Freud
behaviorism
an approach to psych that restricts scientific inquiry to observable behavior
- Philosopher: John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner
principle of reinforcement
principle stating that any behavior that is rewarded will be repeated and any behavior that isn’t rewarded won’t be repeated
gestalt psychology
an approach to psychology that emphasized the way in which the mind creates perceptual experience . sees the mind and behaviour as a whole
developmental psychology
the study of the ways in which psychological phenomena change over the life span
social psychology
the study of the causes and consequences of sociality
cognitive psychology
the study of human information processing
evolutionary psychology
the study of the ways in which the human mind has been shaped by natural selection
cognitive neuroscience
the study of the relationship between the brain and the mind. mainly studied in humans
behavioural neuroscience
the study of the relationship between the brain and the mind. mainly studied in non humans
cultural psychology
the study of how culture influences mental life
the theory of humourism
theory by Hippocrates that there are 4 humours that combine to create a persons personality. if the humours were balanced than the person was healthy
black bile (sad, introverted, independent)
Blood (cheerful, impulsive, charismatic)
Yellow bile (angry, ambitious, aggressive)
Phlegm ( sluggish, relaxed, sensitive)
4 goals of psychology
- describe how people and other animals behave
- explain and understand the causes of these behaviours.
mind body problem
how do minds and bodies interact. i.e how can an immaterial thing effect a material thing
Occam’s razor
when confronted with 2 or more equally good competing explanations, the most parsimonious is preferred . i.e. the one that makes the least amount of new assumptions is preferred
operant conditioning
likelihood of a behavior increases or decreases based on the consequences that follow. Behaviors that are rewarded are more likely to be repeated, while behaviors that are punished are less likely to happen.
-Philosophers: B.F. Skinner
humanistic perspective
theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and potential for personal growth.
-philosophers: Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow.
biological perspective
focuses on how brain processes and other bodily functions regulate behavior.
