History of Psyc

Question 1

Psychology

Answer 1

examines the range of human experience (e.g., love, sleep, memory, happiness). Not just about abnormal psychology (i.e., mental disorders).

Question 2

The reason we need a science of psychology?

Answer 2

we cannot always rely on intuition, common sense, everyday experiences, and everyday thinking to give us an accurate view of human nature.

Question 3

Why is Psychology classified is a science?

Answer 3

Relies on empiricism, systematic
experimentation, careful measurement, and is guided by critical thinking.

Question 4

Psychology is the study of?

Answer 4

the mind (i.e., mental processes). - Mental processes include perception, memories, thinking, and emotions.

Question 5

Psychological level of analysis

Answer 5

• Thoughts, learning, emotions, and other mental processes.

Question 6

Biological level of analysis

Answer 6

• Evolution, genetics, nervous system functioning, hormones, and other bodily processes.

Question 7

Social level of analysis

Answer 7

• Interpersonal (i.e., socialrelationships) and environmental factors.

Question 8

Cultural level of analysis

Answer 8

• 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?

Question 9

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

Edward Titchener

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

William James

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Introspection Problems

Answer 12

• 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.

Question 13

Functionalism

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

Behaviorism (early 1900s)

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

John B. Watson

Answer 15

The founder of the behaviorism, Watson and behaviorism stressed the importance of environmental influences on behavior.

Question 16

Blackbox psychology. (Behaviorism)

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

B.F Skinner

Answer 17

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).

Question 18

Sigmund Freud

Answer 18

Psychoanalytical Theory

Question 19

Psychoanalytical Theory (Deterministic Perspective)

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Freudian slips.- Dreams.

Answer 20

Elements of theunconscious mind can occasionally make their way to conscious awareness.

Question 21

Free association

Answer 21

technique used to bring unconscious elements into conscious awareness.

Question 22

Cognitive Revolution (1950s)

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Jean Piaget

Answer 23

(child development).
- Explored cognitive development in children and how developmental changes in cognition influence behavior.

Question 24

Ulric Neisser

Answer 24

In 1967, wrote a textbook entitled Cognitive Psychology.

Question 25

Cognition.

Answer 25

• The term used in psychology to describe higher mental processes (e.g., intelligence, thinking, memory, reasoning, and decision making).

Question 26

Cognitive psychology

Answer 26

• 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.

Question 27

Cognitive neuroscience.

Answer 27

• Examination of the relationship between brain activity and mental
  processes often using neuroimaging techniques.

Question 28

Social Psychology

Answer 28

how our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are influenced by other people.

Question 29

Developmental Psychology

Answer 29

• how people change and stay the same across the life span.

Question 30

Cultural/Community Psychology

Answer 30

• how larger societal factors influence people.

Question 31

Biopsychology

Answer 31

examines the relationship between physiological processes and psychological factors.

Question 32

Personality
Psychology

Answer 32

• examines the enduring traits of individuals and how those traits differ between us.

Question 33

Health Psychology

Answer 33

how do psychological factors influence physical heath.

Question 34

Forensic Psychology

Answer 34

examines psychological questions within the justice system and uses psychological knowledge and measurements to aid in legal decision making.

Question 35

Research
Psychologists.

Answer 35

• Conduct research in a specific subdiscipline of psychology. - Publish research findings in scientific journals.

Question 36

Basic research.

Answer 36

• goal is to generate knowledge and understanding for its own sake.

Question 37

Applied research.

Answer 37

• goal is to generate practical solutions to realworld issues.

Question 38

Clinical Psychologists

Answer 38

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.

Question 39

Counselling
Psychologists.

Answer 39

• help people cope and manage with life challenges.

Question 40

School Psychologists

Answer 40

help students with issues that interfere with learning.

Question 41

Psychiatrist

Answer 41

diagnose and treat mental disorders.
- earn a M.D. followed by specialized training in psychiatry.
- able to prescribe medication.

Question 42

Nature vs Nurture.

Answer 42

• 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.

Question 43

Epigenetics

Answer 43

(our environment influences how our genes are expressed).

Question 44

• Niche picking

Answer 44

(our genes influence our environments).

Question 45

Free will vs
Determinism.

Answer 45

• 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)?

Question 46

• External determinism.

Answer 46

Environmental influences outside of your control determine your behavior. -

Question 47

Internal determinism

Answer 47

Behavior is determined by internal factors outside of your control (e.g., biological determinism and psychic determinism).

Question 48

Hard determinism.

Answer 48

• 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.

Question 49

Soft determinism

Answer 49

• 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).