Conceptual And Historical Issues In Psychology Flashcards
What did Plato (428-347bc) believe?
Certain types of knowledge are innate or inborn
What was plato’s theory called?
Nativism
Aristotle (384-322bc) believed?
All knowledge is acquired through experience
What was aristotles theory called?
Empiricism
Plato and Aristotle were
Antecedents to contemporary nature versus nurture debates in psychology
What is the philosophical foundations?
The mind-body problem
Who discovered the mind body problem?
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
The mind body problem was also referred to as?
Cartesian dualism
The mind body problem believed?
Mind (res cogitans) and body (res extensa) are separate yet they can influence each other
What was the geocentric model of the universe challenge by?
Heliocentrism
Who tested the heliocentric model?
Galileo- ideas unwelcome but ultimately irrefutable
Who explained physical order of universe?
Newton
What did Helmholtz (1821-1894) do?
Recorded speed of nerve impulses
Nerve impulses were previously assumed
So fast as to be immeasurable
How did Helmholtz measure this?
Stimulates nerve in frogs leg at different distances
What did Helmholtz discover from testing on the frog?
Nerve signals travel quite slowly (30 metres/sec)
Donders (1868) uses helmholtz’s techniques to?
Measure speed of mental processes
What did Donders do?
Recorded speed of mental processes
How did Donders do this?
Measured simple reaction time (RT) to single stimulus-seldom less than 20msecs
Subsequent task with two stimuli-subjects had to react only to one of them
When was reaction time longer?
For more complex “discrimination” task
What does the subtractive method provide?
Difference between rt’s and a measure of the mental act of “discrimination” (known as Donders method)
What is mental chronometry?
Time to perform mental tasks and their components
First psychological lab established by?
Wilhelm Wundt- university of Leipzig, 1879
University classes were
Attended by large numbers of young researchers from around the world
These university classes led to?
Rapid establishment of numerous psychology institutes including 20 in USA
These classes involved the application of scientific method to study
Mental processes
What is introspection?
Considered a way of accessing phsycological processes and experience directly
What does introspection do?
Trains people in self observation- to carefully and objectively analyse the contents of their own thoughts and feelings
Introspection is consistent with
Descartes claim that mental states are more real than physical states and can be accessed directly through reflection
Wundt’s introspective model is?
Rigorous and arduous
Wundt’s introspective method requires?
Focused attention over long periods, very large numbers of trials, long period of training
As a result of this focus research depends on
Quite small numbers of highly trained participants usually wundt’s researchers
What is an advantage of introspection?
Direct observation of mental processes
What is another advantage of introspection?
Subjective
What is another advantage of introspective method?
Consistent with long intellectual tradition emphasising importance of self reflection ( including all major religions)
What is another advantage of interospective method?
Values of introspection survive in some branches of psychology (e.g non-directive psychotherapy, phenomenological psychology, positive psychology)
What was William James (1890) work
“Principles of psychology”
What did William James do?
Advocated introspection as a primary means of studying mental life
What did William James emphasise?
Practical functions of the mind
Who was William James influenced by?
Darwin’s evolutionary theory
William James described?
Stream of thought-consciousness of self
What is a criticism of interospective method?
Subjective reports lack objectivity. Cannot be independently verified. If two observers differ who is right?
What is another criticism of interospective method?
Two activities at once- experiencing and analysing. Analysis may change/ interfere with the experience
What is another criticism of interospective method?
Many psychological functions too fast or complex for interospection. They take place below the level of consciousness (perceptuo-motor learning, mathematical thinking, creative thinking)
What is another criticism of interospective method?
Mental processes subject to a range of biases, attributions, confabulation. We often do not have true insight into our mental processes and causes of our behaviour
What is another criticism of interospective method?
Cannot be applied to children, insane, people with language difficulties, animals. Therefor limited applicability- excluded from investigation some of the most important areas of psychology
What is another criticism of interospective method?
Freud’s concept of the ‘unconcious mind’ finally demolishes idea that introspection can reveal causes of behaviour. Unconscious motives, experiences, processes cannot be accessed
Interospective method does not
Stand the test of time
What is the alternative to interospective method?
Study people’s behaviour not their mental states
What was watsons (1913) work?
“Psychology as behaviourist views it” (often called “the behaviourist manifesto”)
Psychology as the behaviourist views it is
A purely objective experimental branch of natural science
The theoretical goal of behaviourist view is
The prediction and control of behaviour
Introspection forms no
Essential part of its methods nor is ten scientific value of its data dependent upon the readiness with which they lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness
Psychology as the science of behaviour challenges view that
Consuls experience should be the subject matter of psychology. Human testimony is unreliable, unverifiable and incapable of quantification. Lacks scientific rigour
Psychology as the science of behaviour proposes that psychology is about
Understanding, explaining and predicting people’s behaviour. The subject matter of psychology should therefore be behaviour
Unlike subjective experience,
Behaviour is objective and measurable. It is therefore possible to investigate it using scientific methods
Psychology as the science of behaviour is influenced by
Studies of animal learning. Analysis of animals behaviour provides insight into how learning takes place
Behavioural approach has remained at the heart of
Psychological enquiry ever since
19th century sees
Psychology emerge at the conjunction of philosophy and physiology
Questions and methods recognisable
To a modern psychologist
Interospective method does not
Stand the try of time
Over time emphasis shifts to studying
Behaviour. Very strong recruit against mentalist explanations of behaviour (behaviourism)
Very little mention of the mind or mental experience for at least
50 years
Beahvioural methods and many behaviourist ideas
Still dominant in contemporary psychology
