Exam 1 - textbook Flashcards
How was Gustav Fechner’s ideas found?
After death, individuals found diaries developing psychophysics (how we perceive and understand light)
What was the clown/gorilla study?
A researcher wished to understand what could distract an individual
- Results: we have a difficult time focusing on more than one thing at once
How did the British empiricists (BritE) and the German physiologists (GerP) differ in their approach to the study of the senses?
The BritE studied the senses from the viewpoint of philosophy. The GerP used scientific methods to study the senses.
Define zeitgeist.
A person of their culture/intellectual climate
What were the significant influences in the development of psychology as a discipline?
Increase in jobs (specifically in education), wars (social climate), prejudice and discrimination
Define personalistic theory.
Theory believing that large changes in history/science are due to the unique ideas of special individuals (Great Man Theory)
- Examples: Napoleon, Hitler, Darwin
Define the naturalistic theory.
Theory believing that the world is entirely explainable through natural ways (thought process using the scientific method)
How can a zeitgeist hold back the progression of a science?
Due to the climate at the time, individuals may be held back due to prejudice, financial reasons, or simply not the right climate for a sector of research to be addressed
Define the clockwork universe.
The world and universe is ran much like a clock
Define determinism vs reductionism.
- Determinism: the belief that every action is predetermined by past events
- Reductionism: the belief that people can be better understood when reduced to its basic components
How does Rene Descartes define the mind-body problem?
Previous belief was that the mind had total control of the body and its flow, however Descartes believes that the mind and body had equal influence.
- Began the dualist movement, belief that the mind and body are two independent entities
What was the calculating engine?
Charles Babbage produced the first widely known computing machine that imitated human mental actions
- Actions: math problems, playing chess/checkers, and other games
What was Babbage’s analytical machine?
A larger, more advanced computer ale to hold separate memories and an information processing capability, aiding in the later development of AI/super computers
Define the reflex action theory.
The belief that a stimulus results in a reflex/action
- Using the words of the time: animal spirits flowed throughout the brain and then made an impression of the body through sensation
Define positivism and materialism
Positivism: Using observational facts and actions, sense
Materialism: using observational facts and physical terms defined by science
Both: shaped science in its use of empiricism and leading to a more accepted discipline of Psychology
What were John Locke’s contributing ideas?
Established empiricism, and suggested that our minds are black slates at birth (tabula rasa), there are sensations and then our own personal perception, objects have both primary qualities (its real traits) and secondary qualities (perceived traits)
What was George Berkeley’s contribution to Psychology?
Mentalism: our life is made up of our perceptions (the only reality)
Association of sensations: complex ideas are formed through many perceptions/associations (building blocks)
What was Johannes Muller known for?
Physiologist advocating for the experimental method, also developed a theory into the specific energies of nerves
What were the importance of Marshall Hall and Pierre Flourens’ studies?
Found that different nerve endings would move different parts of the body
Define extirpation.
The method of destroying/removing specific parts of the brain
Define the clinical method.
Developed by Paul Broca, discovered the area of the bran that produced speech
Who first promoted the electrical stimulation technique of studying the brain?
Fritsch and Hitzig
What were the contributions of Luigi Galvani and is nephew?
Electrical pulses simulated movement from the body, developed electroshock therapy
Define Hartley’s theory of vibrations
Sensations enter into the nervous system as vibrations and form localized vibrations in the brain
