Introduction to the science of the mind

Question 1

What is psychology?

Answer 1

it is the scientific study of the mind.

Question 2

What is a theory?

Answer 2

A generalised statement about the relationships between certain facts and events.
It is an explanation of observations in terms of general principles that can serve to predict similar observations.

Question 3

How do we seek objective descriptions of mental phenomena?

Answer 3

1. Formulate Hypothese
2. Gather relevant data through replicable experiments or naturalistic observations
3. Revise hypothesis, gather data, revise, gather, revise etc
4. Formulate theories and laws about how the mind works

Question 4

What theory was made in 1972 by Tulving?

Answer 4

Theory of memory. Episodic vs. Semantic memory systems.
It predicts that we retrieve different aspects of our past in qualitatively different ways; that there isn’t a single memory system in the brain.
(This all ties in with long term memory)

Question 5

What does episodic memory consist of?

Answer 5

This is personal experiences. The memory of particular events in specific information, such as events, names, and dates. It includes memories of things that have happened to you and information like a person’s address.

Question 6

What does semantic memory consist of?

Answer 6

This is general factual information. The memory of relationships and how things fit together. It includes the memory that you have brothers and sisters, where things are located and what they do.

Question 7

What is subjective truth?

Answer 7

This is belief and opinion. What is true for the individual (for you and me) and not confirmed by science.

Question 8

What is objective truth?

Answer 8

This is knowledge and facts. Should be anchored in reality and be true for everyone (independent of the observer).

Question 9

Why is the distinction between subjective truth and objective truth important in psychology?

Answer 9

To appreciate individual differences (the subjective) within a framework of psychological ‘truths’ (the objective reality captured by theories, laws, models).

Question 10

What are the difficulties with being objective?

Answer 10

For all sciences the decision on what to study is subjective (personal opinions) and once decided, the object or phenomena that we study can usually be studied objectively. However, in psychology we study our own subjectivity.

Question 11

What is the mind?

Answer 11

An illustration of the importance of assumptions in how we pursue knowledge.

Question 12

What did Empedocles in ~450 BCE claim the world is made up of?

Answer 12

He said that the world is made up from four elements: air, fire, water, and earth.

Question 13

What did Leucippus and Democritus in ~450 BCE claim the world is made up of?

Answer 13

They said that the world is made up from indivisible particles (atoms) and void space. Where atoms move, group together and disperse in the void to form everything that exists.

Question 14

What did Aristotle in ~350 BCE claim the world is made up of?

Answer 14

He added to Empedocles’ four elements theory claiming that aether is the fifth element.

Question 15

What was Aristotle’s theory?

Answer 15

The earthly elements have the natural place: earth at the centre of the universe, water a layer above that, air above that and fire above that.
Aether is the fifth element that holds all heavenly bodies in place within their respective celestial spheres.

Question 16

What is the moral for psychology?

Answer 16

Our assumptions and way of defining what we study fundamentally biases how we study it.
Scientific knowledge is not static but continuously changing.
Discoveries made under false premises and assumptions are ultimately the reason for realising that the premises and assumptions are false.