CHAPTER ONE Flashcards
What is the Savant Syndrome?
Padgett suffered a concussion that led him to seeing mathematical formulas in geometrical shapes and essentially becoming a mathematical genius.
The rare acquired savant syndrome is when brain injury occurs resulting in a prodigious artistic talent in the form of painting, sculpting and other mediums. This syndrome makes us beg the question, do we all have genius abilities lying dormant in our brains, just waiting for the right kind of injury to release their potential? Most philosophers and psychologists believe yes, however, we must keep into consideration that many people suffer from brain injury and commas yet do not emerge with impressive new talents
What are anecdotal Evidence?
THESE ^ case studies are what we call anecdotal evidence: rare occurrences/personal experiences that are incredibly difficult to study empirically in order to understand their causes and processes
What is the Essence of Psychology?
The essence of psychology is the effort to understand all human behavior and attempt to reverse engineer the human brain, an example of a challenge psychologists face to reverse engineer is to help stop amputees from experiencing chronic pain in their missing limbs. For example, the Phantom limb is a side effect for many of those who experience the amputation of a body. Psychologists use mirror box to make the missing limb be whole again and found that a phantom itch can be scratched to reduce or eliminate the pain
What is the definition of Psychology? - Explain each one
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Scientific - use of systematic methods to observe the natural world and to draw conclusions (describe, predict and explain behavior)
Behavior - everything we do that can be directly observed
Mental Processes - thoughts, feelings and motives that each of us experience privately but that cannot be observed directly
The scientific approach consists of 4 attitudes what are they?
The scientific approach → psychologists test assumptions and rely on objective evidence to solve these puzzles. This scientific approach consists of four attitudes: critical thinking, skepticism, objectivity, and curiosity
Critical thinking → process of reflecting deeply and actively, asking questions, and evaluating the evidence. Thinking critically means asking ourselves HOW we know something, they normally question and test what some people say are facts.
Skepticism → people who challenge whether a supposed fact is really true, questioning what “everybody knows”. Distinction between science and pseudoscience, pseudo meaning “fake” and pseudoscience refers to information that is couched in scientific terminology but is not supported by sound scientific research.
Objectively → being open to evidence (seeing things as they really are NOT as what we would like them to be). To achieve this goal scientists apply the empirical method to gain knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data, and logical reasoning
Curiosity → Scientists notice things in the world and want to know what it is and why it is that way (involves asking questions, even very big questions)
What did Sigmond Freud Believe?
Sigmond Freud believed that most of human behavior is caused by dark, unpleasant, and unconscious impulses clamoring for expression. Freud based his ideas about human nature on the patients whom he saw in his clinical practice - individuals who were struggling with psychological problems.
Are Freuds theories supported by empirical evidence?
Many of Freud’s theories are not supported by empirical evidence and his methods were not characteristic of the rigorous scientific method, many of his contributions have been important and useful, and have been refined and tested using the empirical method.
Science of psychology and violence
The science of psychology has much to offer to our understanding of not only the perpetrators violence but also the victims capacity for forgiveness
The willingness of the Amish community to forgive this horrible crime is both remarkable and puzzling.
Can we scientifically understand the human ability to forgive even what might seem to be unforgivable?
Psychologists have taken up the topic of forgiveness in research and clinical practice, where they explored the relationship between religious commitment and forgiveness
Positive psychology → branch of psychology that emphasizes human strengths, which centers on topics such as hope, optimism, happiness, and gratitude. The goal of positive psychology is to bring a greater balance to the field by moving beyond focusing on how and why things go wrong in life to understanding how and why things go right
Who is Wundt and what is structuralism?
Wilhelm Wundt, German philosopher-physician, integrated philosophy and the natural sciences to create the academic discipline of psychology. Wundt’s study was trying to measure the time it took the human brain and nervous system to translate information into action. The heart of the experiment was THE IDEA that mental processes could be measured and inferred through careful examinations of behavior.
Wundt and his collaborators concentrated on discovering the basic elements, or “structures”, of mental processes. They did this through the approach called structuralism due to its focus of identifying the structures of the human mind. Their method of study was introspection (looking inside our own minds by focusing on our own thoughts) → relies on the person’s conscious reflection. HOWEVER, if an approach to science is based on individual conscious reflection, it may lack the objective rigor required to contribute to scientific advancement. It is impossible to verify introspective insights because they are not observable or measurable and one would need to rely on trusting that the insights are not fabricated or unduly biased.
Who is James and what is functionalism?
From William James’s perspective, the key question for psychology was not so much what the mind IS (its structures) as what it IS FOR (purposes/functions). His view was called functionalism (approach to mental processes, emphasizing the functions and purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual’s adaptation to the environment). Functionalism is about the why. James did not believe in the existence of rigid structures in the mind like Wundt, he instead saw the mind as flexible and fluid characterized by constant change in response to a continuous flow of information from the world (called natural flow of thought “stream of consciousness”)
What is Darwins Natural Selection?
Natural Selection → evolutionary process in which organisms that are better adapted to their environment will survive and produce more offspring. It is the process by which the environment determines who wins that competition. Darwin asserted that organisms with biological features that led to survival and reproduction would be better represented in subsequent generations.
What are genes?
Genes → collections of molecules that are responsible for heredity (a characteristic cannot be passed from one generation to the next unless it is recorded in the genes).
What is the Evolutionary Theory? and what are the four key points?
Evolutionary theory → species change through random genetic mutation (accidental happening where some members of a species are born with genetic characteristics that make them different from other members) IF these species are adaptive (help those members compete for food, survive and reproduce) they become more common in the species.
Variation → characteristics of a species differ (some are faster,taller or better learners than other individuals of the same species)
Competition → arises due to a species producing more individuals than can possibly survive given the limited resources of an environment
Selective advantage → occurs because some of the variation of characteristics possessed by individuals give these individuals a better chance to survive (faster individuals can hunt down more prey and avoid predators better than slower indivsla)
Inheritance → linked to genetics and refers to the tendency for an offspring to possess the traits of its parents (if your biological parents are tall, the more chance that you will also be tall)
What are the Contemporary Approaches to Psychology?
What is the Biological Approach?
Focus on the body, especially the brain and nervous system, FOR EXAMPLE: researchers may investigate the way your heart races when you are afraid or how your hands sweat when you lie.
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the structure, function, development, genetics and biochemistry of the nervous system. It emphasizes that the brain and nervous system are central to understanding behaviors, thoughts, and emotions which scientists believe are the physical basis in the brain. It is when electrical impulses zoom throughout the brains cells, releasing chemical substances that enable us to think, feel, and behave (human capabilities would not be possible without the brain and nervous system)
What is the Behavioural Approach?
Emphasizes the scientific study of observable responses and their environmental determinants. It focuses on the organisms VISIBLE interactions that is, behaviors, NOT thoughts or feelings. The principles of the behavioral approach have been widely applied to help people change their behavior for the better.
What is the Psychodynamic Approach?
Emphasizes the unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives (sex) and society’s demands, and early childhood daily experiences. Practitioners of this approach believe that sexual and aggressive impulses buried deep within the unconscious mind influence the way people think, feel, and behave.
Psychoanalysis → Freud’s theory was the basis for the therapeutic technique which he called psychoanalysis (analysts unlocking a person’s unconscious conflicts by talking with the individual about their childhood memories, as well as the individual’s dreams, thoughts, and feelings. Freud’s theories REMAIN unsupported by evidence and NOT founded on rigorous empirical scientific methods
What is the Humanistic Approach?
Emphasizes a person’s positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose one’s destiny. Humanistic psychologists stress that people have the ability to control their lives and are not simply controlled by the environment. Where people CAN CHOOSE to live by higher human values such as altruism (unselfish concern for other people’s well-being and free will.
What is the Cognitive Approach?
Emphasises the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems. FOCUS is on information processing (ways in which the human mind interprets incoming information, evaluates it, stores it, and applies it to decision making). Psychologists view the mind as an active and aware problem-solving system. WHERE and individuals’ mental processes are in control of behaviour through memories, perceptions, images and thinking.
What is the Evolutionary Approach?
Evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining scientific human behaviours. Involves examining the behaviour of nonhuman primates to look for clues for the origins of human behaviour. David Buss argues that just as evolution moulds our physical features, such as body shape, it also influences our decision making, level of aggressiveness, fears, and mating patterns. Many theories of evolutionary psychology are speculative and supported only by circumstantial evidence as we have no control group (no humans/organisms who are not the result of evolutionary pressure) THEREFORE we cannot be sure that our explanations are correct.
What is the Sociocultural Approach?
Examines the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behaviour. Socioculturalists argue that understanding a person’s behaviour requires knowing about the social and/or cultural context in which the behaviour occurs (some make comparisons with people from different cultures to see if they are similar or different).
