L01-L02 Flashcards
root of psychology
“psyche” → breath, spirit, soul + “logia” → study of
History: Disciplines contributing to the birth of psychology
Philosophers asked questions about the mind
physiologists/biologists detailed the anatomy and physiology of the brain
→ psychology = philosophy + biology
who is William James
(1842-1910) – founder of modern psych
who is Francis Bacon
(1561-1626) – developed the scientific method, an organized way of coming to knowledge.
Psychology is scientific study of what
both behaviour and mind
Scientific study: knowledge is discovered through empirical observation
Behaviour: any kind of observable action, including words, gestures, responses and biological activity
Mind: the contents of conscious experience, including sensations, perceptions, thoughts and emotions
Psychological science is a discipline concerned with what?
a discipline concerned with the study of behaviour and mind and their underpinning cognitive and physiological processes.
who is Stanley Milgram
published classic studies on obedience
what did William James do (short answer)
published principles of psychology and advanced the functionalist approach
what did B.F. Skinner develop
an apparatus now known as “skinner box” to study how behaviour is reinforced – 1930
what did Wilhelm Wundt and William James do and what is it like today?
pioneered the scientific branch of psychology in the late nineteenth century.
Sigmund Freud started the clinical branch at the turn of the twentieth century. Today, the branches have merged—scientific research informs clinical treatment.
scientific and clinical branches were the two main branches during the early developmental field.
what is Pseudoscience
a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly thought to be based on valid science
Empirical definition
based on astute observation and accurate measurement.
what is the Evolutionary perspective
psychological perspective on behaviour that seeks to identify how humans’ evolutionary past shapes certain cultural universals that all human beings share, such as the preference for fairness.
what is the cultural perspective
seeks to identify how culture affects people’s thoughts and preferences.
what is the Emotional perspective
to understand how our capacity to feel, express, and perceive emotions plays an important role in decision making, behaviour, and social relationships.
what is the Cognitive perspective
studies the mental processes that underlie perception, thought, learning, memory, language and creativity.
what is the biological–neuroscience perspective
seeks to understand the biological underpinnings of how we think, act, and behave.
what is the Developmental perspective
study how people change physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally as they age.
what is the personality perspective and the social psychological perspective?
seek to understand how human behaviour changes and stays the same across situations.
what is the Clinical perspective
use psychological science to identify the causes and treatment of psychological disorders. Their goal is to help people improve their well-being, relationships, and daily functioning.
what is Positive psychology
emphasizes factors that make people happy, keep them healthy, and help them manage stress.
→ happiness has three components: positive emotion and pleasure, engagement with life, and living a meaningful life with good relationships and a history of accomplishment
what reflects the recency effect
Working memory
what reflects the primacy effect
Long term memory
how long does information remain in the working memory for
Information remains in the working memory for approximately 20-30 seconds
what does the serial position effect involve
two different relative positions within a list, we refer to the phenomenon of better recall of the items at beginning as the primacy effect and that of better recall at the end as the recency effect.
what is the mind-body problem
a debate concerning the relationship between thought and consciousness in the human mind, and the brain as part of the physical body.
what is Materialism (monism)
brain = mind (brain is mind and mind is brain)
what is Dualism (ex. Rene descartes)
brain does not equal mind (how can they interact)
- mind substance vs. brain substance
what is epiphenomenalism
brain activity produces mind, but mind cannot influence brain activity
what is interactionism
mind can influence matter (ex. Brain) and vice versa
when it comes to the nature of the mind what assumption do most psychologists work under
mind is a result of brain activity and that observable behaviour can inform us about the mind and brain
who is Jill Bolte Taylor: A stroke of insight ted talk
Left hemisphere stroke. Taylor describes this as losing her “linear” mind, or conceptual mind. Loss of language, planning, concepts, certain analytical functions, notable loss of “ego”/”self’
Promoted dominance of right hemisphere functions. Taylor describes this as a “nirvana” experience (loss of object/subject separation)
what does the dorsal visual stream do
determines “Where is it”
what does the ventral visual stream do
determines “What is it”