intro to psychology Flashcards
psychology
Scientific study of behaviour and mental processes
why is psychology considered a science
▪ Prevents possible biases from leading to faulty observations
▪ Uses precise and careful measurement and error is reduced
3 important things in psychology
Behaviour
Mental Processes
Scientific
behavior
includes all the overt or outward actions and reactions (e.g. talking, movement).
mental processes
includes all internal, covert activity of the mind (e.g. emotions, memory).
scientific
means that behavior and mental processes are studied in a systematic (step by step) and objective (evidence-based) way.
four goals of psychology
description
prediction
explanation
control
description
we want to know what is happening by giving a systematic and unbiased account of behavior.
Will then lead to an explanaton
prediction
we want to know when a behavior will happen again by identifying the conditions associated with the behavior.
are useful because if we can predict a behavior, we can prepare for it.
explanation
we want to know why and how this behavior happens by identifying the conditions that will produce the behavior.
important for theory building which allows us to collect and integrate information from different observations to form a more cohesive explanation for a wide-range of behaviors.
control
we want to know how a behavior can be changed or improved by applying what we know about that
Our ultimate goal is to control the situations that influences a behavior so that we can improve the behavior.
how old is psychology / when did it start
130 years old
384 BC
philosophers who were asking questions about the human mind
Aristotle, Plato, and Descartes
Psychology as a scientific field only came to being when and where
1879 at a laboratory in Leipzig, Germany.
wilhelm wundt (general description)
father of psychology. strong promoter of the idea that psychology could be an experimental field
wilhelm wundt (what he did)
In 1879, he complemented his lectures on experimental psychology in the University of Leipzig (Germany) with a laboratory experience: an event that has served as the popular date for the establishment of the science of psychology.
wilhelm wundt (contribution)
demonstrated that the mind could be measured and the nature of consciousness could be revealed through scientific means.
Objective introspection technique
Objective introspection technique
the goal was to identify the elements of consciousness.
- ask a group of people to report to you as objectively and accurately as they can what they are experiencing, then collect all reports to see what’s common
Edward B. Titchner
American student who was inspired by Wundt’s experiment
brought to America a brand of experimental psychology referred to as structuralism
structuralism
interested in the contents of the mind—what the mind is.
goal is to identify the basic elements of the mind that leads to our complex conscious experience of the world.
william james
Was among a group that became identified with functionalism
functionalism
interested in the activities of the mind—what the mind does and how it allows us to adapt to the world.
Max Wertheimer
believed that studying the whole of any experience was richer than studying individual aspects of that experience. (focuses on processes)
Gestalt movement
began in germany
- proposed that the mind often processes information simultaneously as a whole rather than sequentially
- They were able to demonstrate it through experiments in perception and learning.
gestalt perspective
the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Gestalt principle of Closure
states that the human visual-perception system attempts to automatically close open figures. we perceive whole objects even if we’re presented with separate pieces.
sigmund freud (g.d)
Not an academian but a medical doctor in neurology in Austria
Treated patients suffering from hysteria
thought the cause of unknown symptoms must be in the mind because doctors could find no physical cause
sigmund freud (ctb.)
proposed that there is an unconscious (unaware) mind into which we push, or repress, all of our threatening urges and desires which created the nervous disorders in his patients.
believed that we need to focus on this unknown part of the mind that is so powerful it can control our behavior and cause physical illnesses.
john b. watson
Developed behaviourism
believed that in order for Psychology to be a science, we need to study only that which can examined objectively and systematically.
behaviorism
This rejected any reference to mind.
This means that we should limit our study to overt and observable behavior as the proper subject matter of psychology.
