Chapter 1- history of psychology Flashcards
what is psychology?
the scientific study of mental processes and behaviour
what is a mental process?
things going on in our mind that are not observable to another
eg. thinking of what to say
what is behaviour?
things that we are doing that can be observed by another
eg. riding a bike
what are the 4 goals of psychology
description
explanation
prediction
controlling
what is description?
describing what we observe
what is explanation?
explain the observations
what is prediction?
what leads to the expression of a specific behaviour
what are the 3 levels of analysis
the brain
the person
the group
the brain
structure and function
the person
thoughts and feelings
the group
family, friends, culture
what is philosophy?
the study of knowledge and reality
what is psychophysics?
the study of the relationship between physical stimuli and their psychological effect
pioneered in the 1800’s
who is Wilhelm Wundt?
opened the first psychology lab in 1879
studied consciousness
who is G. Stanley Hall?
credited with many firsts:
first psychology lab in North America (1883); launched the first psychology journal (1887); helped establish the APA (1892)
who is james mark baldwin?
first psychology lab in Canada (1890)
what is structuralism?
led by william james
sought to understand the function of the mind
led to other schools of though
influenced by Charles Darwin
died out and morphed into different fields
What is Gestalt Psychologists?
said consciousness can’t be broken down into elements
perceive things as a whole perceptual unit
learning is tied to what we perceive
perspectives on behaviour
different vantage points for analyzing behaviour and it causes
what are the major perspectives in psychology?
psychoanalysis
behaviourism
humanistic psychology
cognitive psychology
psychobiology/ neuroscience
what is psychoanalysis
founded by sigmund freud in the early 1900
focused on the role of the unconscious
drives, wishes, needs and desires
emphasized the importance of early childhood experiences
what is behaviourism?
dominant school of thought on the early 1900’s
founded by John B. Watson
emphasized psychology’s focus on observable behaviour - disgusted with introspection
showed that phobias can be learned
who is Ivan Pavlov?
a behaviourist
studied classical conditioning in dogs
found that dogs would salivate to a bell that reliably predicted the arrival of food
who is Edward Thorndike?
studied operant conditioning in cats and came up with the law of effect
behaviours followed by good thing will more likely to be repeated in future (positive consequence)
behaviour followed by a bad thing, less likely to do again (negative consequence)
who is B.F. Skinner?
studied operant conditioning in rats and pigeons
invented the skinner box, allowed detailed recording of behaviour over time
established some general laws about how behaviour changes in response to consequences
who is albert bandura
described learning by social observation, others are models, highly adaptive
studied how children behaved with a bobo doll after a demonstration
what is Humanistic psychology?
argued that psychoanalysis and behaviourism were dehumanizing
emphasized the unique qualities of humans (focused on freedom and personal growth)
led by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
what did Abraham Maslow create?
the hierarchy of needs
theory of motivations
what are the hierarchy of needs?
physiological needs
safety needs
belonging and love needs
esteem needs
self-actualization needs
what sis carl rogers focused on?
client-centered therapy
creating a therapeutic environment in which clients can see themselves honestly
unconditional positive regard, empathy, genuineness
what is cognitive psychology?
applied the scientific method to study the mind
became the dominant perspective in psychology
1950-1960: neisser, miller and chomsky
what is cognition?
mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge
what is psychobiology / neuroscience?
explained behaviour in terms of physiological processes-how brain structure and activity relates to behaviour
who is Karl Lashley?
studied learning and memory changes in rats after removing different parts and amounts of their brain
who is Donald Hebb?
described cell assemblies or how neurons in the brain form networks of connections based on out experiences
who is Wilder Penfield?
showed that the mild electrical stimulation of different areas of the brain evokes different responsed
who is Roger Sperry?
studied split-brain patients to uncover functions of each hemisphere of the brain
seen what functions was on what side of the brain
