Chapter 1 Psychology 175.102 Flashcards
The extent to which different parts of the brain control different aspects of functioning
Localisation of function
The scientific investigation of mental processes and behaviour
Psychology
Investigates the physical basis of psychological phenomena such as memory, emotion and stress
Bio-psychology
Observation the individual in the natural setting and considers the individual as part of a culture Mead and Benedict
Psychological anthropologist
Compeers the individual of one culture was that of another
Cross-cultural psychology
Free will says we’re free to act as we choose. Determinism says our actions are controlled by outside influences
Free will versus determinism
How do mental and physical events interact?
Mind-body problem
The process of looking inward and reporting one’s conscious experience. Wundt and Titchener
Introspection
The attempt to undercover the basic elements of consciousness through introspection. Titchener
Structuralism
The attempt to explain psychological processes in relation to the function they serve. William James
Functionalism
Hey broad system of theoretical assumptions that a scientific community uses to make sense of it is domain of study
Paradigm
Schools of thought that can be used to understand psychological events
Perspectives
Actions reflect the way thoughts, feelings and wishes are associated in minds; many of these are unconscious; mental processes can conflict leading to compromises. Freud
Psychodynamics
Focuses on the way objects or events in the environment (stimuli) come to control behaviour. Skinner and Watson
Behaviorist perspective
The doctrine of dual spheres of mind and body
Cartesian Dualism
The belief that the path to scientific knowledge is systematic observation and experimental observation
Empiricism
Emphasises the uniqueness of the individual and focuses on the person’s immediate experience. Maslow and Rogers
Humanistic perspective
To treat people with respect and warmth, stressing every individual freedom to make their own choices
Empathy
The person we truly want to become
Ideal self
The idea that people are motivated to reach their full potential
Self actualisation
Focuses on the person and their immediate experience
Person centred
How we perceive ourselves now
Self-concept
Focuses on the way people perceive, process and retrieve information. Descartes
Cognitive perspective
Thinking; the environment provides inputs, which are transformed, stored and retrieve using various mental programs, leading to specific response outcomes.
Information processing
Emphasised the role of reason in creating knowledge
Rationalist philosophers
Argues that many behavioural tendencies in humans evolved because they helped our ancestors survive and rear healthy offspring. Darwin
Evolutionary perspective
Nature: that behaviour reflects shared tendencies rooted in biology. Nature: that behaviour is primarily learned.
Nature versus nurture
Studies animal behaviour from the biological and evolutionary perspective
Ethology
Natural forces select traits that are adaptive and likely to be passed on to offspring
Natural selection
Characteristics that help organisms to adjust and survive in their environment
Adaptive traits
Explores possible evolutionary and biological basis of human social behaviour
Sociobiology
Apply evolutionary thinking to a wide range of psychological phenomena. They proposed that genetic transmission is not limited to physical traits
Evolutionary psychologists
Refers to the capacity to survive and produce offspring
Reproductive success
Refers not only to an individual’s own reproductive success but also to his influence on the reproductive success of genetically related individuals
Inclusive fitness
Perception is an active experience of imposing order on an overwhelming panorama of details by seeing them as parts of large wholes or gestalts
Gestalt psychology
