Chapter 1: The Science of the Mind [Exam 1] Flashcards
What is psychology?
The science of behavior and mental processes such as thought and emotion.
Introspection
The personal observation of your own thoughts, behaviors, and feelings.
Early efforts to study mental processes used this.
Not reliable.
What are the 2 roots of Psychology?
- Philosophy.
2. Physical Science.
Trepenation
Drilling holes into a person’s skull to cure some unspecified conditions; headaches or hallucinations.
Cognitive psychology = ____________.
Thinking mind.
Abnormal psychology = ____________.
Troubled mind.
According to Plato, his version of the mind featured 3 parts that needed to be in balance:
- Reason.
- Spirit.
- Appetite.
Wilhelm Wudnt
1872
Conducted the first psychological study - with the metal plate and ball; reaction time.
Titchener
Wilhelm’s student.
Studied structuralism.
Wrote the Periodic Table of Consciousness - things that make up our everyday experiences.
Structuralism
Our perception (the whole) = the sum o the sensations (the parts).
William James
Functionalist.
Wrote “The Principles of Psychology”.
Rejected the notion that you can study the mind by breaking it down into elements or building blocks - it results in a loss of understanding.
Evolutionary Psychologist.
Functionalism
Propose that the mind was shaped by natural selection.
Mex Wertheimer
Gestalt Psychologist.
Challenged the Structuralist Theory.
Gestalt Psychology
Believes that breaking a whole perception into its building blocs would result in some loss of some important psychological information.
Opposite of Structuralism.
Sigmund Freud
Psychodynamic approach.
He emphasized that many important mental processes happen outside conscious awareness (subconscious, unconscious, and nonconscious).
Dream analysis and Treatment.
I.D.
Sigmund Freud’s idea.
We want everything that feels good - we can’t help ourselves.
Carl Rogers
Humanistic Psychologist.
Client-centered therapy and unconditional love.
Abraham Moslow
Humanistic Psychologist.
Created the hierarchy of needs: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualization.
Humanistic Psychology
Takes the approach that human nature is inherently good and people seek to improve.
John Watson
Behaviorist.
Wrote the “Behaviorist Manifesto”.
Behaviorism
Study behaviors of animals to try and understand humans.
Concentrates on observable and measurable behaviors.
Learning
Persistent change in behavior due to experience.
Ulric Neisser
Argued that internal cognitive processes could be studied objectively, as well as behavior.
Apart of The Cognitive Revolution - cognitive approach.
Social Psychology
Describes environmental and social effects on psychology - why do people help each other? When do people not help each other? Does it depend on where you grew up?
Cognitive Psychology
Thinking, information-processing, problem-solving, memory - what type of memory is producing that behavior?
Evolutionary Psychology
Answer how bodies and minds have been shaped by the need to survive/reproduce.
EX: staying away from someone who is sick.
Biological Psychology
The way our nervous system is organized, the way we think, the way we feel, and the way we behave.
The relationship with the mind and the body, and how it works through the nervous system.
Developmental Psychology
How children develop over time - do they understand that they are themselves when they are staring at themselves in the mirror? When do they reach that point?
Clinical Psychology
Mental illnesses, helping people.
Personality Psychology
Looks at personality - what’s the difference between introverted and extroverted people?
