Chapter 1 Flashcards
what is psychology
the scientific study of behaviour and metal processes
science is a search for
knowledge and understanding using evidence based methodology
- using these systematic methods to observe human and animal behaviour, we can draw conclusion
comes from a latin impurical of thinking
what is behaviour and mental processes and how do they differ?
behaviour is anything that we actively do that can be observed,
while mental processes are our thoughts, feelings, and motives that cant be observed
what does psyche mean
greek for the word soul
what does -ology mean
the study of something
what do scientific psychologists do
they systematically study the brain, mind, and behaviour
- psychologists conduct research and rely on that research to provide evidence fro their conclusions
- they examine available evidence about some topic and see how strongly the data supports their hypothesis, evidence that disconfirms it, and see if they explored all the possible variables and explanations
what 4 attributes are at the core of this scientific approach
critical thinking
skepticism
objectivity
curiosity
what is critical thinking
process of reflecting deeply and actively, asking questions, and evaluating the evidence
- thinking critically means asking how we know something so they question and test what are so called “facts”
- critical thinking reduces the possibility of conclusions being biased
what is skepticism
challenging whether a fact is really true
- questioning what everyone knows
- a skeptic knows that is sth sounds too good to be true, it probably is
what is the distinction between science and pseudoscience
“pseudo” means fake so pseudoscience is info that uses scientific terminology but isn’t supported by proper scientific research
i.e. astrology
you can tell an explanation is pseudoscience rather than science by seeing if the person accepts evidence to the contrary
what is the scientific method
observation
hypothesize
prediction
experimenting
analyzing
concluding
what are one of the ways scientists are objective
- apply the empirical method to learn about the world
- the empirical method means gaining knowledge through observation of events, collection of data, and logical reasoning
what is objectivity
- seeing things how they really are, not as we would like them to be
- looking at evidence and not guesses
what was freud’s view on psychology
he believed that most of human behaviour is caused by dark, unpleasant, unconscious impulses trying to be expressed
what is positive psychology
- a branch of psychology that emphasizes human strengths
- one goal is to bring a greater balance by focusing how and why things go right
who was William Wundt and what did he do
- a German philosopher/physician who founded the first psychology lab
- he is known as the founding father of modern psychology
what did William wundt’s approach consist of
- one of his students, EB titchener most prominently and his collaborators concentration on discovering basic elements/structures of mental processes so their approach was called structuralism
- their method was introspection (looking inside)
[saw the mind as ‘what’ and rigid structures’
who was William James and what was his contribution to psychology
- a psychologist and philosopher, his main question was what the mind is for and how the functions and purposes of the mind ad behaviour connect a person to their environment
recogizes the shortcomings of structuralism - this view is called FUNCTIONALISM, functionalists focused on human interactions with the outside world and the purpose of thoughts
- saw the mind as flexible and the “why”
he’s the one that rlly brought psychology to the world even though wundt is regarded as the founder of modern psych
how do functionalism and natural selection connect
traits and processes are shaped and adapted by how efficiently they (the mind/organism) succeed in its environment
what are the different approaches to psychology
- biological
- behavioural
- psychodynamic
- humanistic
- cognitive
- evolutionary
- sociocultural
what does the behaviour approach entail
- emphasizes the scientific study of observable behavioural responses and how it can be linked to one’s environment
- 2 behaviourists are John B Watson (1878-1958) and BF Skinner (1904-1990)
- Skinner emphasized that psychology is about what people do not, their unseen thoughts, etc. he also said that reinforcement using rewards/punishment have a role in behaviour
- B.F. Skinner developed the concept operant conditioning to how we learn behaviours
what does the psychodynamic approach entail
emphasizes unconscious thoughts, biological desires, the societal pressures, and early childhood experiences
- it focuses on how impulses and desires can influence how people think, feel, and behave
- sigmund freud (1856-1939) was the founding father and he theorizes that talking about ones childhood memories unlocks unconscious conflicts
what does the humanistic approach entail
emphasizes a persons positive qualities, capacity for positive growth, and the ability to choose your destiny
- stresses that people aren’t tied to their upbringing/environment but have the ability to dictate hoe their lives will go
what does the cognitive approach entail
- emphasizes the mental processes involved in knowing: focusing on info processing and how the mind interprets, weights, stores and applies information
- sees the mind as an active and aware problem-solving system
- this constraints behaviourist approach
what does the evolutionary approach entail
- some argue that all of psychology emerges of evolutionary theory
- it focuses on adaptation, reproduction, and NS on the determinant of human behaviour
what does the sociocultural approach entail
sees how social and cultural variables influence behaviour and how being in a particular social/cultural context can help us understand actions
what are practitioners of psychology
individuals who are focused on helping others work through problems
what is evidence-based practice
using therapeutic tools which have been proven effective using empirical research
what’s the difference between a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist
clinical psychologists have a doctoral degree in psychology (4-5 years of grad school) and one year of internship in a mental health facility
- a psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in abnormal behaviour and psychotherapy: can prescribe drugs
what are the approx percentages of settings where psychologists work
~ 35% ACADEMIC
~ 24% CLINICAL
~ 22 % PRIVATE PRACTICE
~ 12% INDUSTRIAL
~ 4% SCHOOLS
~ 4% OTHER
How many subdivisions in the American Psychological Association
56
what do physiological psychologists do
focus on the physical processes that underlie mental operations
(visions, memory)
what do behavioural neuroscientists do
- focus on biological processes, like the brains role in behaviour
what do sensory/perception researchers do
focus on physical systems and psychological processes that allow us to experience the world (smelling, sight)
what do researchers who focus on learning do
study the basic principles of learning from behavioural/cognitive perspectives
what do cognitive psychologists do
focus on attention. consciousness, information processing, and memory
- also interested in problem solving, decision making, intelligence, and expertise
what do developmental psychologists do
how ppl become who they are, from conception to death
- they study child/adult development and aging
what do researchers who study motivation and emotion do
- study now individuals persist to attain a goal ad how rewards affect that
- they also focus on the physiological processes that have a role in emotional experience
what are some real-life evidence of the body’s impact on the mind
- when you’re sleep deprived, you’re likely to experience brain fog, poor emotional regulation, and a short attention span
- eating a nutritious diet has been linked to lower rates of anxiety and depression
evolutionary theory can be summarized by 4 key points
1) variation
2) competition
3) selective advantage
4) inheritance
neuroscience
scientific study of the structure, function, development, genetics and biochemistry of the nervous system
- emphasizes that the brain and nervous system are central to understanding behaviours, thoughts, and emotions
psychopathology
study of psychological disorders and the development of diagnostic categories and treatments for those disorders
different forms of psychologists
- health
- industrial and organizational
- community
- school
- environmental
- forensic
- sport
- cross-cultural
health: emphasizes psychological factors, lifestyle, and nature of healthcare delivery system
industrial: workplace-based (HR)
community: improving quality of relationships among society
school: school-based
environmental: interactions between people and their physical environment
forensic: legal system
sport: sport-based
cross-cultural: study of culture’s role in understanding behaviour, thought, and emotion (compares amongst diff cultures to find overlap and differences)
bio psychological model and health psychology
- health is impacted by the body and mind inseparably
- critics of health psychology find that the discipline focuses on only a few behaviours that affect health
mysterians
believe that certain questions regarding human nature are unanswerable
multicollinearity
overlap among diff causes of behaviour
materialism (Marx)
vs
idealism (hegel)
materialism
only material things
(those that can be derived from the senses) exist
idealism
some of reality exists separately from the sensible world
empiricism vs rationalism
empiricism (HUME)
belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience (bottom-up)
rationalism (DESCARTES)
at least some knowledge can be known independent of the senses (top-down)
realist view vs relativist view
realist view (popper)
sees theories as soft mental images involving values and beliefs while facts are hard, settled, and observable
(failing to confirm the null hypothesis=probable truth)
relativist view (foucault)
the idea that the powerful influence of our thoughts often dictates what we observe as facts
- we only know the world through our consciousness
2 approaches to knowledge
logical positivism
- assumes reality is independent of the knower
- empirical
- objective
social constructionism
- assumes researchers construct knowledge that is influenced by the social context of their inquiry
- subjective
behaviourism
focuses on uncovering the general laws of learning by looking outside the organism to rewards, punishment, and behaviour delivered by or present in the environment
founded by John B Watson and BF Skinner
Cognitivism
proposes that our thinking (cognition) affects our behaviour in powerful ways
Jean Piaget and Ulric Neisser
Mind and Body Debate
“are our behaviours due entirely to the actions of our nervous system or are they also due to the action of another entity?”
mind-body monists- the mind=brain and nervous system in action
mind-body dualists- mind is more than the brain and nervous system
