Chapter 1: History of Psychology

Question 1

Define Psychology

Answer 1

the scientific study of the intangible mind and physical behaviour

Question 2

Define Psychological Explanations

Answer 2

thoughts, emotions, and internal motivations

Question 3

Define Biological Explanations

Answer 3

genes, hormones, and physiological processes

Question 4

Define Environmental Explanations

Answer 4

external physical and social surroundings

Question 5

Explain Greek Roots of Psychology

Answer 5

Greek philosophers pondered about morality, the mind, and human nature. They believed that the brain is connected to the behavior.

Question 6

What is The Mind-Body Problem?

Answer 6

How can we study the mind if it is unobservable? What is the relationship between the body (behavior) and the mind?

Question 7

Define Dualism & Rene Descartes

Answer 7

Dualism: the mind is tangible and non-physical while the body is physical and a separate identity, but linked in some way

Rene Descartes: knew intentions could make physical things occur through the pineal gland

Question 8

Define Philosophical Dualism and Materialistic Dualism

Answer 8

Philosophical Dualism: the mind and body are two different things

Materialistic Dualism: the mind and body are different things, the body is specifically physical

Question 9

Define Monism & Thomas Hobbes

Answer 9

Monism: they are the same thing, not separate entities.

Thomas Hobbes: the mind is not a separate, intangible entity. It is the PRODUCT of the brain’s physical actions.

Question 10

Define Philosophical Idealism and John Locke

Answer 10

Philosophical Idealism: perception of the world around us comes from how the brain interprets incoming sensory information. We see things based on existing knowledge that shape what we are currently experiencing.

Immanuel Kant: believed we were born with some innate knowledge of the world and our experiences add to that understanding.

Question 11

Define Nativism

Answer 11

Our knowledge of the world is innate, present from birth.

Question 11

Define Philosophical Realism and John Locke

Answer 11

Philosophical Realism: perception of the world around us is produced by information sent from sensory organs

John Locke: believed in understanding the abilities and the extent of the human mind

Question 12

Define Empiricism

Answer 12

Our knowledge of the world is gained entirely through experience.

Question 13

Define Structuralism & Wilhelm Wundt/Edward Titchener

Answer 13

Structuralism: focused on analyzing the basic elements of the mind and determining what those elements are

William Wundt: Father of Modern Psychology, believed in scientific study techniques to determine the human mind

Edward Titchener: Student of Wundt, applied empirical observations, used introspection, and focused on sensations (considered the basis of consciousness)

Question 14

Define Functionalism and William James

Answer 14

Functionalism: focused on the adaptive significance of mental processes and influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Wiliam James: interested in the purpose and function of consciousness. What does the mind do?

Question 15

Define Introspection

Answer 15

The process of “looking within” allows for self-observation and self-reflection

Question 16

Cultural Psychology

Answer 16

Interested in how culture influences behavior through shared experiences, values, and beliefs within particular groups

Question 17

Neuroscience Psychology

Answer 17

Interested in brain function.

Cognitive Neuroscience: study of the brain and the mind
Behavioural Neuroscience: study of the relationship between brain and behaviour

Question 18

Evolutionary Psychology

Answer 18

Interested in how natural selection has shaped the human mind and its abilities

Question 19

Define Cognitive Psychology

Answer 19

Interested in the internal, mental processes such as thought, reasoning, memory, and perception. Viewed humans to be governed by thought. D

Question 20

Define Cognitive Behaviourism

Answer 20

The idea that learning experiences and the environment affect our behavior by giving us the information we need to behave effectively

Question 21

Define Social Psychology & Kurt Lewin/Solom Asch & Gordon Allport

Answer 21

Social Psychology: the branch of psychology that deals with social interactions, including their origins and their effects on the individual. People make assumptions that influence their actions, people’s behavior can influence others’ behavior, and people are reactive.

Kurt Lewin: interested in school behavior in group settings. Argued against the environment being the driving force of behaviors because individuals’ subjective perception of the environment is more important in driving a reality.

Solomon Asch and Gordon Allport: interested in how people come to make inferences about others and how those inferences affect their behavior toward those individuals. Interested in interactions and the influence of these interactions.

Question 22

Define Developmental Psychology & Jean Piaget

Answer 22

Developmental Psychology: abilities are not static they change with age. Patterns of development are fairly stable across individuals

Jean Piaget: interested in understanding the mistakes children made as they grew up. The types of mistakes made can provide insight into their mental abilities and how they think

Question 23

Define Gestalt Psychology & Max Wertheimer/Sir Fredric Bartlett

Answer 23

Gestalt Psychology: how the mind organizes and combines stimuli to create a wholistic perceptual experience. The whole being is more than the sum of its parts, perception is subjective.

Max Wertheimer: interested in perceptional errors in our interpretations that distort sensory reality

Sir Fredric Bartlett: interested in false memory, errors in recall show memory is not a simple recording device, and how expectations can affect recall.

Question 24

Define Psychoanalysis & Jean-Martin & Pierre Janet/Sigmund Freud

Answer 24

Psychoanalysis: therapeutic approach to giving patients insight into their unconscious mind. Focused on the unconscious mind that influences behavior.

Jean-Martin & Pierre Janet: sought to treat patients with symptoms that had no physical cause (hysteria)

Sigmund Freud: focused on treating hysteria and nervous disorders. Founded psychoanalytic school of thought: the unconscious influences thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in hidden ways

Question 25

Define Behaviourism & Ivan Pavlov/John B. Watson/ B.F Skinner

Answer 25

Behaviorism: focused on the influence the environment has on physical observable behavior. The mind and the other internal conscious components are considered irrelevant.

Ivan Pavlov: interested in classical conditioning

John B. Watson: thought psychology should focus on observable behavior, not unobservable inner consciousness. Interested in predicting behavior by understanding stimulus-response relationship (link between the environment and the response)

B.F Skinner: interested in active, rather than passive behavior. No account of what is happening inside the human body, no matter how complete, will explain the origins of human behavior. Internal cannot explain the human, simply the ACTIVE participation of behavior. Believed in operant conditioning.

Question 26

Define Classical Conditioning

Answer 26

Experience in the environment can elicit a physical response

Question 27

Define Operant Conditioning

Answer 27

Through experience, an organism can modify its behavior based on the consequences of having carried out those in the past

Question 28

Define Radical Reorientation

Answer 28

Physical Response