INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
Structuralism
-the basic elements of consciousness
-reinforcement determines behaviour
-emphasize the importance of behaviour & stimuli rather than mental processes
Evolutionary perspective vs Cultural perspective
- identifies aspects of behaviour that are the result of evolutionary adaptations
- Investigates how cultural context (rules, values, beliefs) affects people’s thoughts and preferences
- is passed on from generation
Cognitive perspective vs Emotional perspective
Cognitive perspective:
Studies the ‘mental processes’ that underlie perception, thought, learning, memory, language, and creativity
Emotional perspective:
Examines how the human capacity to feel, express, and perceive emotions plays an important role in decision-making, behaviour, and social relationships
Biological Neuroscience Perspective
- studies biologically how we think, act, and behave
E.g. Why does stress lead to an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, etc?
Developmental perspective
- examines changes physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally as ppl age
- how diff age groups act differently
Social Perspective
-the way social context influences thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
-socially skilled than others
Personality perspective
-understand aspects of behaviour
-possess traits that make them skilled
Clinical Perspective
-focus on causes and treatments of disorders
-goal to improve human well-
being, daily functioning, and social relations
- important to considers one’s openness to change
Check your understanding 1.1
psychology is relevant to every part of the human experience
Be Skeptical When…
Newspapers & Magazines
Self assessment or quizzes
Over confidence effect
-tendency to be overly sure of what we know
E.g Zach dropping a course because its merely “common sense”
Little Albert (Watson & Rayner)
-the study of how phobias emerge by training a baby to associate with a rat with aloud scary noise
-resulted in a fear of anything furry and white
Main 2 branches of psychology
Scientific
-universities
Clinical
-medical examination rooms
-doctors use therapeutic intervention to treat people
(disorders, anxiety, depression)
Functionalism (William James)
is the study of how mental
processes enable adaptive human behaviour
Behaviourism (Skinner)
- reinforcement determines behaviour
- sought to rectify challenges with previous approaches
