Chapter 1 - Intro

Question 1

What is psychology and when did it originate?

Answer 1

Psychology: the study of the soul/psyche/mind
- aspect of us that exists outside of the physical body

Earliest theories began w/ Ancient Greek philosophy
- Ancient Greek philosophy: looked at the nature of consciousness and what it is
- Early physiology/medicine: materialism vs. vitalism

1879 - first psychology lab opened by Wilhelm Wundt, father of psych

Question 2

Plato’s theory of forms

Answer 2

Theory of Forms:
- a blueprint for everything, he stated that reality is imperfect so we can’t rely on bodily senses, we may not catch things (ex: can’t draw perfect right angle w/o measurement tools)
- to understand the truth (to be rational), we must look inward for a more abstract understanding

Question 3

Aristotle

Answer 3

Believed that to be rational, we can study our environment/nature
- looked at id (libido, primitive aspect of us)) vs. ego (persona)

Question 4

Rene Descartes

Answer 4

Believed that the pineal gland was the “seat of the soul”, meaning that it’s where the soul interacts w/ the body and therefore directs sensory experience

Question 5

Franz Anton Mesmer

Answer 5

• a physiological perspective
• “mesmerize” came from his name
• ‘animal magnetism’ (hypnotism); believed he could cure hysterical symptoms by using metal rod to redistribute magnetic fluid in human body
• used to “cure hysteria” - placebo effect

Question 6

Hermann von Helmholtz

Answer 6

• physiological perspective
• sensation and perception: he believed that all aspects of life, including consciousness, could be explained by physical and chemical processes

Question 7

Presentism vs. Historicism

Answer 7

Presentism - traces people, ideas, and events that led to what is important now
- lets us understand where progress did and did not happen
- prevents personal bias; we use present knowledge to explain the past

Historicism - does not attempt to relate past and present
- tries to record things objectively- almost impossible to do
- often impractical and counterproductive, not often used
- presentism can never be completely avoided

Question 8

Zeitgeist approach

Answer 8

emphasizes the general moral, intellectual, and cultural climate of an era
- certain ideas may be known but go against a larger structure (capitalism, religion, patriarchy, etc)
- Ex: evolutionary theory was known before Darwin popularized it, ‘Hysteria’ vs. ‘Shell Shock’/’Combat Stress Reaction’

Question 9

Great-person approach

Answer 9

emphasizes the contributions of key individuals
- ex: Sigmund Freud and psychodynamic theory (practiced hypnotism to cure ‘hysteria’)

Question 10

Historical developmental approach

Answer 10

emphasizes how individuals or events contributed to changes in ideas or concepts
- ex: feminist movements and debunking of hysteria, removal of homosexuality from DSM in the 80s

Question 11

Eclectic approach

Answer 11

• using whatever method is best for what you are looking at
• we are using this approach in class

Question 12

How should we approach the history of psychology?

Answer 12

• by recognizing how knowledge develops over time depending on historical context
• by recognizing that knowledge may exist because it is ‘fashionable’ and reinforces existing power structures
• ex: because it can be tested ‘scientifically’, computer technology and cognitive psych (most popular today), evolutionary theory and capitalism (natural competition)
• by being open to old but still potentially valuable ideas (ex: humanistic understandings like Jung and Rogers’s, which are less ‘scientific’, focus more on subconscious)

Question 13

What is science?

Answer 13

• ‘Science’ developed as a method for observing nature directly (the scientific method)
• must be falsifiable, and apply empiricism (sensory observation) and rationalism (logic)

Scientific theory has 2 functions:
1) it organizes empirical observations, and
2) it acts as a guide for future observations

Question 14

Falsifiability

Answer 14

it separates scientific from nonscientific theories
- a theory must be refutable, if it cannot be argued against, then it is a weak theory
- ex: Freud’s theory is not falsifiable- very hard to observe subconsciousness

Question 15

scientist-practitioner approach

Answer 15

taken by the DSM - we look at someone’s behavior and their cognition (lead to popularity of cognitive psychology)
- there are categorical and dimensional approaches in the DSM
- ex: homosexuality was included in DSM until 1980, diagnosis for PTSD used to require experiencing something very outside of human experience, but sexual assault has the same symptoms and is not outside of human experience

Question 16

Determinism

Answer 16

all events, including human behaviors, have causes external to will
- states that the soul exists outside of the world, free will is outside of us- everything has a cause, and we do not have free will
- everything that occurs is a function of a finite # of causes

Question 17

biological determinism

Answer 17

emphasizes biological conditions or genetic predispositions

ex: evolutionary psychology

Question 18

environmental determinism

Answer 18

emphasizes environmental stimuli

ex: James Watson, B.F. Skinner- born as a blank slate, environment shapes us, we react based on our environment, studies of behaviorism, etc

Question 19

sociocultural determinism

Answer 19

emphasizes social and cultural rules, customs, beliefs

ex: sociology, feminist understandings of hysteria, gender expectations, cultural contexts

Question 20

indeterminism

Answer 20

behaviors that have causes but they cannot be known, nothing can ever be known w/ certainty in science

ex: Kant believed that psychology cannot be a science, argues that the mind cannot objectively study itself

Question 21

nondeterminism

Answer 21

behaviors are freely chosen

ex: free will (motivation, quest for self-actualization) in humanistic and existential psychology- psychologist would ask you about your goal, how you view yourself, etc

Question 22

Materialists

Answer 22

• looks at mind and body
• argue that matter is the only reality, everything is explained in physical terms, even mental events are just chemistry/physics
• also called monists, because only believe in one thing

Question 23

idealists

Answer 23

reality is only perceived (through consciousness/soul/spirit)
- considered monists because they try to explain everything in terms of consciousness

Question 24

Dualists (and 2 subcategories of dualists)

Answer 24

dualists: both matter and consciousness exist but are governed by different principles
- accepts existence of both

Interactionism - a type of dualism, the mind and body interact through the pineal gland, states that the mind can initiate behavior and vice versa
- ex: holding hot cup of coffee on date will make you think date is warm, vs. cold cup they seem distant/cold

Emergentism - a type of dualism, consciousness emerges from the physical brain, allowing soul to emerge
- thoughts interact w/ each other and then influences subsequent brain activity and thus behavior

Question 25

Mechanism

Answer 25

all behaviors can be explained through their mechanics
- behaviors can all be explained in terms of its parts and the laws governing those parts
- when you die it’s just your body that dies, this theory says nothing about the soul
- ex: cognitive psychology (brain is information processing center)

Question 26

Vitalism

Answer 26

there is a vital force beyond inanimate objects (spirit/soul)
- when you die, your soul leaves your body
- argues that life can never be reduced to material things and mechanical laws
- ex: Jungian psychology (collective consciousness)

Question 27

objective vs. subjective reality

Answer 27

what is the difference b/t what is present physically and how we experience it mentally?
- naive realism says they are both the same- what you’re perceiving in the world is true, our perception is accurate
- others say that things are lost or gained through perception
- ex: visible vs. non-visible light (UV), pheromones (airborne hormones- strippers make more $ when ovulating)
- ex: schemas (roles we assign to men and women- we often take a binary approach)

Question 28

rationalism vs. irrationalism

Answer 28

rationalists emphasize the importance of logic/reason (empiricism) in understanding human nature
- ex: early Greek philosophy; wisdom/rational control is virtuous

irrationalists (Freud & Jung) use non-empirical ideas to explain human nature
- christianity, psychodynamic theory
- ideas are not grounded in reality

Question 29

nature vs. nurture

Answer 29

nativists emphasize genetic inheritance
- evolutionary psychology, we evolve to have certain genetic traits

empiricists emphasize experience
- born w/ blank slates and learn from experience
- behaviourism

• psychologists now acknowledge importance of nature & nurture (overall variance of personality is 50/50 for genetics and environment)

Question 30

the problem of the ‘self’- who am I?

Answer 30

our sense of self constantly changes, yet we experience a sense of continuity.
Is the ‘self’ merely a construct? Is it real?
- babies start to develop sense of self around 1.5yrs
- many animals recognize selves, we look in mirror and can recognize ourselves

“I think, therefore I am”?
- “I am thinking” implies that someone is controlling thinking
- “I am me” implies that there is an “I” and a constructed “me”/sense of self
- if we put the “self” down to its essence, it comes down to our character- values, morals, etc
- Buddhist tradition, meditation, yoga, etc, encourage transcending the ‘self’ by focusing on present