Classical Roots of Psychology

Question 1

Cardio-centric

Answer 1

The heart is the centre of the mind

Question 2

Cephalo-centric

Answer 2

The head as the center of the mind

Question 3

Renaissance (15th/16th century)

Answer 3

-resurgence of interest into Greek philosophy
-playful analysis of observations
-logic and reasoning was applied in novel ways

Question 4

Rene Descartes

Answer 4

-dualism

Question 5

Dualism

Answer 5

Which is the view that mind and body are fundamentally different things

Question 6

Thomas Hobbes

Answer 6

Materialism
-was a materialist who thought the term ‘incorporeal substance’ was a nonsensical contraction

Question 7

Materialism (Thomas Hobbes)

Answer 7

-countered that the mind and body must be physically linked
-soul is body
-Mental events are a product of physical events
-The view that all mental phenomena are reducible to physical phenomena
Materialism is most commonly accepted stance among modern psychologist
-the mind is linked to the brain
-when we study the brain, we study the mind

Question 8

Rene Descartes

Answer 8

Dualism
-proposed the mind as a separate entity from the body
-soul vs body
-not subject to physical laws
-mind was an “incorporeal” or no physical substance
-which is the view that mind and body are fundamentally different things
-cannot be studied (cannot investigate what we cannot access)

Question 9

John Locke

Answer 9

Philosophical realism (nurture)

Question 10

Realism

Answer 10

Sensory signals -> perception
View that perceptions of the physical world are produces entirely by info from the sensory organs
Ex. Eyes, ears etc

Question 11

Immanuel Kant

Answer 11

Idealism (nature)

Question 12

Idealism

Answer 12

Sensory signal->brain interpretation -> Perception
Our brain interprets information before we experience it
-Mind comes hardwire with certain kind of knowledge and that it uses this knowledge to create our perception of the world
-without prior knowledge or conceptions of the world, or have a perception of it
-view that perceptions of the physical world are the brains interpretation of into from the sensory organs

Question 13

John Locke (Realism)

Answer 13

Nurture
-empiricism
-view that all knowledge is acquired through experience
- blank state “tabula rasa”
-experience is accurate
-the “mind” reflects the true state of the environments
-perception of the world produced by sensory organs

Question 14

Immanuel Kant (nature)

Answer 14

Experience is inaccurate
The “mind” reflect
a believe of the world
Perception is the brain’s interpretations of sensory signals

-nativism
Knowledge is innate
Humans are born with knowledge
We learn how to apply it, and build on it

Question 15

Charles Darwin

Answer 15

evolution
-principle of natural selection
organism adapt over generations to their environments
“natural selection”
-specific attributes that promote survival/reproduction of an organism become more prevalent in the population over time

Question 16

Neural Doctrine

Answer 16

the brain is made up of fundammental units; neurons
properties of these can be measured
e.g. reaction time

Question 17

Structuralism

Answer 17

Wilhelm Wundt/Edward Tichener
An approach to psychology that attempted to isolate the basic unit (structure) of the mind

Question 18

William Wundt in Structuralism

Answer 18

The mind has functional units
dependent on introspection (which is the analysis of subjective experience by trained observers)
-> focused on how things worked together
-> examined the capabilities of different parts of the mind
->use introspection to study feelings and sensations

Question 19

Problem of Introspection

Answer 19

each person’s inner experience was an inherently private event

Question 20

psychology

Answer 20

the scientific study of mind and behaviour

Question 21

mind

Answer 21

refers to a set of private events that happen inside a person the thoughts and feelings that we experience at every moment but no on else can see

Question 22

behaviour

Answer 22

refers to a set of public events– the things we say and do that can potentially be observed by others