Course 1: What Is Psychology? Flashcards
Psyche
Soul
Covert behaviour
Behaviour that is not observable by others
Overt behaviour
Behaviour that you can see
Eclectic psychotherapy
A form of psychotherapy where the clinician combines multiple theories and techniques
Behaviourism
Focus on observing and controlling behaviour
Used in behavioural and cognitive therapy
Functionalism
How mental activities help an organism adapt to its environment
Humanism
Perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans. Humanists believe that rational thinking and human experience is most important.
Introspection
Process in which one examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible, making the human mind like any other aspect of nature that a scientist observes (usually involving the patient describing what they experience)
Psychoanalytic theory
A focus on how the unconsciousness affects conscious behaviour
Structuralism
Understanding the conscious experience through introspection, breaking the human mind into parts. A structuralist would first examine individual parts, then explain how they all fit together.
Wilhelm Wundt
First person to be referred to as a psychologist (German scientist)
Used introspection to examine the structure of the mind (structuralist); specific conditions were put in place, where a stimulus would produce a repeatable, observable reaction
Eg. Subject receives stimulus in form of light, image, sound, and their reaction time is tested
William James
First American psychologist, believing that the purpose of psychology was to determine the purpose of behaviour (functionalist); used introspection
Believing in Darwin’s theory of evolution caused him to think that natural selection produces suitable characteristics AND behaviour
Wrote first psychology textbook, “The Principles of Psychology,” in 1890
Sigmund Freud
Austrian neurologist intrigued by hysteria and mental issues, theorizing that they rise from the unconscious mind
Freud believed the unconscious could be examined through dream analysis, the first words that came to people’s minds, and slips of the tongue
Freud popularized psychoanalysis, which includes a patient talking about their experiences and selves
Introduced the importance of childhood experience affecting adult behaviour, motivation driving conflicts, unconscious vs conscious motivations, and the development of personality over time
Gestalt psychology
Created by Fritz Peris
Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler were three German psychologists who immigrated to the US in the early 20th century to evade the Nazis, and were credited for introducing Gestalt principles to Americans
Gestalt means whole, and the principle of the psychology is how although a sensory experience can be broken down, it is how they fit together as a whole that causes an individual to perceive it
Ivan Pavlov
Russian psychologist who studied conditioned reflex
Salivation in response to the presence of food was able to be produced by providing two stimuli and removing the food one in the future
John B. Watson
American psychologist who thought the study of consciousness was flawed
Shifted psychology from mind to behaviour, introducing behaviourism
Commonly used animals in experiments as it was believed that animal behaviour was similar to human behaviour (comparative psychology)
Skinner box
American psychologist/behaviourist B.F Skinner created this, examining how behaviour is affected by consequences
Skinner box is a chamber that isolated the subject from its environment, with a lever inside that would either give a reward or punishment when pulled at the right time
Invaluable towards modern behavioural modification
Carl Rogers
Like Maslow, was an American psychologist who believed in humanism
Used client-centered therapy
Believed therapists needed to display unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy