History of Psyc Flashcards
Psychology
examines the range of human experience (e.g., love, sleep, memory, happiness). Not just about abnormal psychology (i.e., mental disorders).
The reason we need a science of psychology?
we cannot always rely on intuition, common sense, everyday experiences, and everyday thinking to give us an accurate view of human nature.
Why is Psychology classified is a science?
Relies on empiricism, systematic
experimentation, careful measurement, and is guided by critical thinking.
Psychology is the study of?
the mind (i.e., mental processes). - Mental processes include perception, memories, thinking, and emotions.
Psychological level of analysis
- Thoughts, learning, emotions, and other mental processes.
Biological level of analysis
- Evolution, genetics, nervous system functioning, hormones, and other bodily processes.
Social level of analysis
- Interpersonal (i.e., socialrelationships) and environmental factors.
Cultural level of analysis
- Cultural influences on psychological phenomena (e.g., is depression as prevalent in other cultures as it is in the West. If not? What factors influence those differences?
Wilhelm Wundt
Established the first experimental psychology lab at the University of Leipzig (1879).
- For this reason, he is often view as the founder of experimental psychology.
Argued that psychology should study mental experiences (i.e., consciousness).
- Used the technique of introspection to study people’s mental experiences.
Introspection involved having highly trained individuals describe their own mental experiences.
Edward Titchener
Titchener was a British student of Wilhem Wundt.
Titchener is the pioneer of the historical psychological perspective called Structuralism. - He believed the goal of psychological science was to identify the most basic elements (i.e., structures) of all mental experiences.
William James
Functionalist believed the goal of psychological science was to determine the adaptive purposes of different mental processes (e.g., what is the adaptive purpose of memory?).
American psychologist William James was the pioneer of Functionalism
(often referred to as the Father of American Psychology). - James believed structuralist were wasting their time trying to
Introspection Problems
- Too subjective. No way to confirm the accuracy of an individual’s report. - No way to confirm, even with extensive training, that participants were
‘introspecting’ in the same way. - Participants would often produce very different reports. - Many mental experiences happen outside of conscious awareness.
Functionalism
heavily influenced by Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution.
Also, short lived as a psychological perspective.
- The main issue was that functionalism was interested in the study of mental experiences and the field of psychology suddenly moved away from the study of mental experiences.
Lasting impact.
- The basic tenants of functionalism are found today in evolutionary psychology.
Behaviorism (early 1900s)
John B. Watson. B.F Skinner.
The behaviorist perspective argued that the only proper subject matter of psychology was observable behaviors. Subjects like consciousness and mental experiences should not be studied scientifically because they could not be objectively observed.
John B. Watson
The founder of the behaviorism, Watson and behaviorism stressed the importance of environmental influences on behavior.
Blackbox psychology. (Behaviorism)
The mind is a black box. We have no way of objectively seeing what is happening inside of it. - To understand behavior, we do not have to concern ourselves with what is happening inside of the mind. Mental experiences (thoughts) have no influence on how we behave. - Environmental influences determine how we behave. Therefore, the goal of psychology is to understand how environmental factors influence behavior.
B.F Skinner
influential behaviorist. - Mental experiences are just another type of behavior.
- Behavior can be explained by the consequences from our environment (e.g., reinforcements and punishment).
- Free will is an illusion. Environmental factors determine how we behave not conscious
thought (i.e., environmental determinism).
- Identified key learning principles that are critical to our understanding of behavior today (e.g., operant conditioning).
Sigmund Freud
Psychoanalytical Theory
Psychoanalytical Theory (Deterministic Perspective)
Part of the human mind is unconscious (i.e., outside of conscious awareness). - the unconscious mind contains many of sexual and aggressive impulses. - The unconscious mind and early childhood experiences have a major influence on how we behave.
- Mental issues are caused by conflicts in the unconscious mind. Unconscious conflicts often occur as the result of repressed childhood memories.
-resulted in a type of therapy called psychoanalysis. - The goal of psychoanalysis is to is bring unconscious conflicts into conscious awareness where they can be worked on constructively.
Freudian slips.- Dreams.
Elements of theunconscious mind can occasionally make their way to conscious awareness.
Free association
technique used to bring unconscious elements into conscious awareness.
Cognitive Revolution (1950s)
Ulric Neisser, Jean Piaget.
By the 1950s, psychology was dominated by behaviorism and psychoanalytical theory. Around this time, new findings in other disciplines (e.g., child development)
reinvigorated the study of the mind in psychology.
Jean Piaget
(child development).
- Explored cognitive development in children and how developmental changes in cognition influence behavior.
Ulric Neisser
In 1967, wrote a textbook entitled Cognitive Psychology.
Cognition.
- The term used in psychology to describe higher mental processes (e.g., intelligence, thinking, memory, reasoning, and decision making).
Cognitive psychology
- Mental processes can be studied in an objective and scientific nature. - How we think has an influence on how we behave (e.g., how we interpret environmental consequences).
- Still a major subdiscipline of psychology today.
Cognitive neuroscience.
- Examination of the relationship between brain activity and mental
processes often using neuroimaging techniques.
Social Psychology
how our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are influenced by other people.
Developmental Psychology
- how people change and stay the same across the life span.
Cultural/Community Psychology
- how larger societal factors influence people.
Biopsychology
examines the relationship between physiological processes and psychological factors.
Personality
Psychology
- examines the enduring traits of individuals and how those traits differ between us.
Health Psychology
how do psychological factors influence physical heath.
Forensic Psychology
examines psychological questions within the justice system and uses psychological knowledge and measurements to aid in legal decision making.
Research
Psychologists.
- Conduct research in a specific subdiscipline of psychology. - Publish research findings in scientific journals.
Basic research.
- goal is to generate knowledge and understanding for its own sake.
Applied research.
- goal is to generate practical solutions to realworld issues.
Clinical Psychologists
diagnose and treat people with psychological disorders.
- conduct research in abnormal psychology
(i.e., the study of psychological disorders). - earn a PhD in clinical psychology.
- typically, not able to prescribe medication.
Counselling
Psychologists.
- help people cope and manage with life challenges.
School Psychologists
help students with issues that interfere with learning.
Psychiatrist
diagnose and treat mental disorders.
- earn a M.D. followed by specialized training in psychiatry.
- able to prescribe medication.
Nature vs Nurture.
- Do genes (i.e., nature) or environment (i.e., nurture) determine who we are and how we behave?
- Most psychologist recognize that most psychological traits are influenced by both genes and environment, and that genes and environment interact in unique ways to produce outcomes.
Epigenetics
(our environment influences how our genes are expressed).
- Niche picking
(our genes influence our environments).
Free will vs
Determinism.
- Do we have conscious control over our behaviors (i.e., free will) or is our behavior controlled by forces that we have no control over (i.e., determinism)?
- External determinism.
Environmental influences outside of your control determine your behavior. -
Internal determinism
Behavior is determined by internal factors outside of your control (e.g., biological determinism and psychic determinism).
Hard determinism.
- We have no control overour own behavior. Free will is a complete illusion. Genetic and
environmental influences interact in determining how we behave and there is nothing more to you than that.
Soft determinism
- Although behavior is under internal (i.e., genetic) and external forces (i.e., environment), people retain some autonomy in determining how they behave.
Even if free will is an illusion, psychology must recognize that people feel as if we have free will and society operates as if we do (e.g., the justice system).
