Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
What are the four basic goals of psycholgy?
1) Describe, 2) Predict, 3) Explain, and 4) Control or Influence
What topics did Aristotle write about?
sleep, dreams, the senses, and memory
Who proposed the doctrine of “interactive dualism”?
French philosopher Rene Descartes
What is Interactive Dualism?
Proposed by Rene Descartes, interactive dualism proposes that the mind and body are separate entities that interact to produce sensations, emotions, and other conscious experiences.
What is physiology?
Physiology is a branch of biology that studies the functions and parts of living organisms, including humans. Advances in physiology helped psychology to be seen as a legitimate science in its own right.
Who is known as “The Founder of Psychology”?
Wilhelm Wundt, a German psychologist
What are some landmarks of Wilhelm Wundt’s career?
He used experimental methods to study fundamental psychological processes.
He was one of the first to connect psychology and physiology, in his text “Principles of Physiological Psychology” in 1874.
Opened the first psychological research laboratory at the University of Leipzig in 1879.
What was Wundt’s definition of psychology?
The study of consciousness.
Who was the psychologist who developed “structuralism”?
Edward B. Tichener, an English student of Wundt’s. He taught psychology at Cornell University.
What is structuralism?
The psychological approach that every experience can be broken down into elemental structures, or component parts of sensations and feelings.
What is a stimulus?
Anything perceptible to the senses, such as a sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste
What practice did Tichener train his subjects in?
Introspection
What is Introspection?
When one views an object or stimulus of any kind, and uses it to reconstruct their thoughts and feelings after viewing it, to create a full description of their conscious experience.
What is one of the trademarks of Tichener’s school of thought?
It was one of the first to be developed, and also one of the first to disappear, fizzling out shortly after his death in 1927.
What was the main problem with structuralism as a school of thought?
Structuralism relied too heavily on introspection.
What are the main problems with introspection?
It cannot be used effectively to study children or animals; difficult topics such as learning, mental, or developmental disorders, personality disorders cannot be investigated using introspection; and lastly, introspection is an unreliable form of investigation, because the findings are applicable only to each individual, and not to the masses.
What was the psychologist who developed “functionalism”?
William James, an American psychologist who taught at Harvard. He was an admirer of Wundt’s, but was mostly influenced by Charles Darwin
What is functionalism?
Functionalism stressed the importance of studying adaptation to environmental changes, and how behavior functions to allow people and animals adapt to their environments.
Who wrote the book “Principles of Psychology”?
William James, in 1980
Explain some differences between functionalism and structuralism.
Functionalists directly observed humans and animals in natural settings, while structuralists relied mostly on introspection and the subject’s personal recollections of their own experiences. Both agreed that psychology should focus on the study of conscious experiences, but functionalists believed they should study more than consciousness at any given moment…they should study consciousness as an ongoing stream of mental activity that shifts and changes.
What are the “twin themes” of functionalism?
1) The importance of the adaptive role of behavior, and 2) the application of psychology to enhance human behavior.
Who was the first woman to receive her PhD in psychology?
Margaret Floy Washburn. She was Tichener’s first female doctoral student at Cornell University. Published a widely respected text called “The Animal Mind” in 1908.
Who is the most famous MALE student of William James?
G. Stanley Hall. He received the first PhD in psychology in the USA, and also founded the first psychology research laboratory in the US at Johns Hopkins University. Began publishing the American Journal of Psychology, and founded the APA - American Psychological Association in 1892.
Who was the most famous FEMALE student of William James?
Mary Whiton Calkins. Studied under James at Harvard, and although she completed all the requirements for a PhD, she was not granted one due to being a woman in the 1890s. She taught psychology at a woman college - Wellesley College, and established a psychology laboratory there. 1st woman to be elected president of the ASA in 1905.
Who is Francis C. Sumner?
Another of James’ students, Sumner went to Clark University, and in 1920 was the first African American to receive a PhD in psychology.
Who is Kenneth Bancroft Clark?
One of Francis C. Sumner’s students, his research on the negative effects of discrimination was hugely influential in the Supreme Court’s decision in 1954 to end segregation in schools. Became the first African American president of the APA in 1970.
Who founded the principle of Psychoanalysis?
Sigmund Freud, an Austrian physician. He was a neurologist, not a psychologist, and developed his theories through observation of his patients as well as years of self analysis.
What is Psychoanalysis?
Freud’s school of thought, which emphasized the role of unconscious conflicts in determining behavior and personality. The belief that human behavior was motivated by unconscious conflicts that were almost always aggressive or sexual in nature, and childhood or past experiences being critical in the shaping of adult personality and behavior.
What is Behaviorism?
A school of thought championed in the early 1900s by the likes of Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, and B.F. Skinner, behaviorism contended that psychology should focus its research on strictly OVERT behavior, observable behavior that could be measured and verified. Behaviorists for the most part studied animal behavior in controlled laboratory environments.
What are some differences between behaviorism and structuralism, functionalism, and psychoanalysis?
Structuralism, functionalism, and psychoanalysis focused on the subconscious and consciousness in general, while behaviorism rejected the emphasis on consciousness and focused on overt behaviors that could be observed, verified, and documented.
Who was Ivan Pavlov?
A Russian psychologist who developed behaviorism through his work with dogs, demonstrating the correlation between external stimuli and automatic behavior (ringing of the bell and the meat powder experiment).
Who was John B. Watson?
An American psychologist who subscribed to Pavlov’s ideas on behaviorism. He wrote a book in 1924 called “Behaviorism”. He believed that psychologists ought to focus on behaviorism in order to learn how behavior is acquired and modified in response to the external environment.
Who was B.E. Skinner?
American psychologist who believed, like Watson and Pavlov, that psychology should be restricted to studying outward behavior that could be verified. Skinner used reinforcement and punishment to shape the behavior of pigeons and rats.
What is humanistic psychology?
Emerging in the 1950s, humanistic psychology emphasized each person’s unique potential for psychological growth and redirection. In contrast to behaviorism, emphasis was on each persons conscious experiences, and how important free will, self-determination, and choice are for human behavior.
Who was the “founder” of humanistic psychology?
American psychologist Carl Rogers. Developed in the 1950s, Rogers developed humanistic psychology mainly through his interactions with his clients as a practicing psychotherapist.
Who is Abraham Maslow?
An advocate of humanistic psychology.
How do modern day psychologists identify themselves?
According to 1) the perspective they emphasize in investigating psychological topics, and 2) the specialty area they have been trained in and practice.
In brief, what are the main 8 psychological perspectives in contemporary psychology?
Biological perspective, psychodynamic perspective, behavioral perspective, humanistic perspective, positive psychology perspective, cognitive perspective, cross-cultural perspective, and evolutionary perspective.
Briefly explain the Biological Perspective of psychology:
Emphasizes studying the PHYSICAL bases of human and animal behavior, including the nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, and genetics. Neuroscience (study of the nervous system esp the brain) grew out of the biological perspective.
Briefly explain the Psychodynamic Perspective of psychology:
Emphasizes the importance of unconscious influences, early life experiences, and interpersonal relationships, believing that understanding those can explain the underlying dynamics of behavior and help to treat people with psychological problems.
