chapter 1 Flashcards
What is psychology?
the science of mental processes and behavior
What is science?
provides empirical evidence to derive solutions to problems or hypothesis
What are mental processes?
what happens inside the brain, from the sensing of stimuli to thinking;
What the brain does when a person stores, recalls or uses information or has a specific feeling
Define behavior
outwardly visibile processes of both individuals or groups
What are the 3 aspects of science of mental processes and behavior?
The Brain, The Person, The Group
Describe the level of the brain
It’s where the process begins; sensation and perception, simple and complex learning, memory, language and thought
Describe the level of the person
Emotions: Why we feel the way we feel, how we act on our emotions, mental health and mental illness, lifespan development from infant to death
Describe the level of the group
How we interact with others, how different culture react to similar stimuli
How the individual influeneces the group and how the group influences the individual
What are the 8 schools of psychology?
Structuralism
Functionalism
Gestaltists
Pyscho-dynamic theory
Behaviorism
Humanistic Pyschology
Cognitive Pyschology
Evolutionary Phychology
Describe Structuralism
William Wundt was one of the fathers of structuralism.
Structuralists examined sensory and perception by manipulating stimuli and asking subjects to report what they experienced.
It attempted to understand what the mind was doing.
Major tool of structuralism was introspection.
Looked at structures of the brain and created theories about their functionss
Problems occured with structuralism because researchers could agree upon what the data meant.
What is introspection?
the technique of observing your mental events as, or immediately after, they occur
Describe Functionalism
Study of consciousness
Functionalist wanted to now the why behind certain behaviors
Focused on level of person and group
Strongly influenced by Charles Darwin; used theories of Darwin and natural selection
William James spokesperson for functionalism
Who was William James?
First American Psychologist
Together with William Wundt they are considered the Fathers of Psychology
Wrote the first general text book on psychology
Early spokes person of functionalist and argued against structuralism
Proposed that mental life is a unity that flows and changes
In his book, Principales of Psychology he presents ideas about consciousness, attentiona, memory, habits and emotions
Describe Gestalt Psychology
From the German word Gestalt (meaning whole)
Emphasizes the overall pattersns of perceptions and thoughts
Looks at the whole rather than the parts
Provides the basis for, amoung other studies, perception and how we view the world
Focused on level of person and brain
Led by Max Wertheimer
Describe Pyschodynamic Theory
Sigmund Freud developed theories of how thoughts and feelings affect what we do
Frued was more interested in adbornal behavior
Suggested that unconscious” mental processes has an overriding affect on our behavior
Describe Behaviorism
Ignored mental processes and focused simply on ones observable behavior
focused on how a specific stimulus evokes a specific reponse
Focuses on level of the person
Edward Throndike, Clark Hull and John Watson began the Behaviorist movement
BF Skinner was probably the most famous behaviorist
What is operant conditioning?
sometimes referred to as instrumental learning, is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. It encourages the subject to associate desirable or undesirable outcomes with certain behaviors.
What is BF Skinner most famous for?
conducting research with rats or pigeons (operant conditioning)
Extrapoloated results from animals of this research as being applicable to human beings
His approach saw human behavior as being largely explicable in terms of physiological responses to external stimuli
Important works: Behavior of Organisms, Walden Two, Beyond Freedom and Dignity
In Beyond Freedom and Dignity he controversially advoacted mass conditional as a means of social control
Describe Humanist Pyschology
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
Developes as an antithesis of behaviorism and pyschoanalysis
Suggested that clients has self worth and positive values, free will, and deep inner creativeity, whi can allow them to choose life fulfilling paths to human growth.
Focused on level of the person
What is Abraham Maslow most known for?
Theory that peorple have the urge to self actualize
What is Carl Rogers most known for?
He used the term client vs patient
He called is therapy client centered therapy
Idea that human nature leads us to eant to develop to our fullest potential, and it’s the therapists job to help us do so
Describe Cognitive Science
Evolved in 1960’s as an alternative to behaviorism
Focused on how the brain functions
Attempts to characterize the nature of human information processing, that is mental events that allow information to be stored and processed.
The mind is like a piece of software on a computer, the is like the hardware/computer itself.
Studied the level of the brain
Several sub-areas have since developed, such as neuroscience and neutobiology
Describe Evolutionary Theory
Developed in the late 1980s, and believes that certain cognitive strategies and goals are so important that natural selection has built them into our brains
Approach addresses events at all 3 levels of analysis: brain, person and group
What do pyschologists do?
Observe
Explain
Predict
Control
What does a Clinical Pyschologist do?
Provider pyschotherapy
Administers and interprets pyschological tests
