Introduction to Psychology

Question 1

what is pyschology

Answer 1

the scientific study of behaviour of overt and internal activities of an organism

Question 2

historical disciplines

Answer 2

philosophy + physiology

Question 3

previous historical interpretations of pyschology

Answer 3

1. Egyptians= heart as the organ of reasoning
2. Greek philosophers= artisostolte thought heart was center of intelligence adn theat the brain cooled blood
3. Up untill the Renaissance= human heart believed to be where the mind is

Question 4

evidence used to justify historical intepretations of pyschology

Answer 4

if heart center= death by injury there

emotional responses ‘felt’ in the chest’

many capillariies in head for ‘cooling blood’

Question 5

Plato

Answer 5

mind+ body dualism (mind controls body)

Question 6

what is cartesian dualism

Answer 6

mutual interaction between mind and body occurs in the pineal gland

Question 7

decartes

Answer 7

body as ‘interface for the soul’

Question 8

matieralism

Answer 8

all mental phenomena can be explaiend in physical terms

psych= studied scientifiically

Question 9

positivism

Answer 9

regonize only positive facts and observable phenomena (according to comte)

Question 10

empiricism

Answer 10

sensory experiences are the source of all knowleudge

locke, hume + tabula rasa

Question 11

Hermann Von Holtz influences on pyschology

Answer 11

investigated the speed of neural impulses (siginifance ot TIME in study of perception)

Question 12

Ernst Weber influences on pyschology

Answer 12

smallest diference can be noticed between 2 stimuli is relative and not absolute (we adapt conetxtually)

i.e. relative brightness of a light in a room

Question 13

Gustac Feschner influences on pyschology

Answer 13

he developed pyschophysics; measured the efects of changes in the physical world in their relation to perception

Question 14

what is Phrenoology and how does it contribute to pyschology

Answer 14

Franz Gall: a pseudoscience suggesting a link between personalities and the morphoplogy of the brain

it suggests that the brain is an organ of the mind with localized functions

Question 15

what is functional localization

Answer 15

The idea that different parts of the brain do different things

Question 16

examples of famous cases of functional localization

Answer 16

Paul Broca + Brocas Aphasia+ Patient Tan
Phigneas Gage
Wernicke

Question 17

structurualism

Answer 17

deconstruction of sensory processes into the consitutet elements

Question 18

william wundt

Answer 18

developed structuralism in Leipzig University

he used introspection to study mental state (not v scientific)

Question 19

behaviorism

Answer 19

developed in response to ‘non-scientific’ disciplines in the USA; all behaviour can be reduced to a stimulus-response association and should be studied objectively as it is the only observabe/controlalble/measurable thing

Question 20

John Watson

Answer 20

developed Behaviourism by focsing on pyschology as an objective science

Question 21

examples of other behaviourist

Answer 21

Skinner and Pavlov

Question 22

cognitive pyschology

Answer 22

• 1950s; created in response to oversimplicaition of behaviourism
• inferences of mental procesees by objecive study of behaviour
• sees brain as a ‘computer’ (input to storage to output)

Question 23

computaitonal pyschology

Answer 23

subdiscioplince of cognitive pyschology

looks at ‘selfridge-nesser pattern recognition machine’ or ‘brain preception stimuli’

Question 24

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 24

investiages neural processes in cognition using techniques such as neuroimagine (fmri, eeg, meg, pet)

Question 25

how does pyschology defy the common sense view

Answer 25

1. findings of studies SOMETIMES unexpected

2. peoples views often reflect their OWN experinces instead of objective reality (CONFIRMATION BIAS)

Question 26

aim of the scientific method

Answer 26

aims to establish lawful relationships in objective study

Question 27

process of scientific method

Answer 27

objective/goal-> theory-> hypothesis-> experiment-> observation

if observation supports experiment= replicate

if observation doesn’t support experiment= revise hypothesis/theory

Question 28

theories MUST be..

Answer 28

1. testable (explicit and clear)

2. falsifiable (karl popper)= finding events where hyopthesis can be wrong

Question 29

falsiability and freud

Answer 29

freuds ideas= aren’t falsiable as he used observation (went directly to obsrevation as opposed to starting with a theory)

case= his studies of unconscious and conscious minds influencing behaviour in pyschoanalysis

Question 30

6 steps to designing an experiment

Answer 30

1. state the question/hypothesis
2. identify the independent variable
3. identify the dependent variable
4. identify the control and confounds
5. identify the populatin/subjects of study
6. determine how you will analyze the data

Question 31

dependent variable

Answer 31

what you manipulate

Question 32

independent variable

Answer 32

what you change

Question 33

what does data acolleciton need

Answer 33

1. be systematic= multiple obsrvations, objective measrument, unbiased
2. clear and measruable variabes
3. if findings dont support theory= start again
4. if findings support theory= replicate experiment (if not replicable= reject)

Question 34

pyschoanalysis

Answer 34

by sigmuned freund; our personaltities are shaped by unconscious motives

Question 35

william james developed…

Answer 35

functionalism

Question 36

measures to DESCRIBE behaviour

Answer 36

1. case studies
2. naturalistic observation
3. surveys and questtionatires

Question 37

how to EXPLAIN behaviour

Answer 37

experiments such as:

1. double blind procedures
2. placebos
3. ethics/replication considerations

Question 38

experimental pyschology

Answer 38

collects data (not case studies)
statistically correts information in experements

Question 39

behavioural measurment tools

Answer 39

• cognitive tests
• animal conditions
• infant habituation
• quesstionatirs

Question 40

pyschophysiological measurement tools

Answer 40

• galbanic skin conductance
• salivary hormones
• eye tracking
• electro-myographs

Question 41

neurophysiological measurment tools

Answer 41

• eeg
• optogenetics
• brain manipulators