Lec. 1 (intro to psych) Flashcards
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Psychology
what does “scientific” mean in the definition of psychology?
using the scientific method
what does “behavior” mean in the definition of psychology?
everything we can “see” (ex: what I’m doing with my hands); outward behavior (HAS to be observable)
what does “mental processes” mean in the definition of psychology?
activity we can’t “see” such as thinking, feeling, and remembering (ex: thinking about what you’re going to eat for lunch); can be inferred
types of psychology fields (3):
- Counseling/Clinical psychology
- Child/Developmental psychologist
- Engineering Psychology (Human Factors Psychology)
type of psychology field: most common
Counseling/Clinical psych
type of psychology field: study child development (ex: autism), teenager, and adults
Child/Developmental psych
type of psychology field: newest field; asks how can you make a human do that; very DIFFERENT types
Engineering psych
the APA has _____ different divisions of psychology
56 (experimental, health, teaching, developmental, military, aging, engineering, sport, etc.)
the divisions of psychology are _______ and represent the major areas that psychologists study
sub-types
GOALS of psychology (4):
- describe
- understand
- predict
- control
goal of psychology: what behavior or mental process are we talking about? (ex: smoking behaviors)
describe
goal of psychology: why does this behavior occur?; create theories to understand the mechanics; theories are ideas about WHY and HOW (ex: lack of knowledge/awareness, peer pressure, media, etc.)
understand
goal of psychology: does the theory predict behavior? Can it predict behavior? (ex: experiment or surveys – does removing smoking from movies reduct smoking rates?)
predict
goal of psychology: use theory to help control unwanted behaviors (ex: increase awareness, ban advertisements, etc.)
control
believed that knowledge was INNATE (born with it) = “nature view”
Plato/Descartes (plato first tho)
believed that knowledge was acquired through EXPERIENCE; you’re born with a blank slate = “nurture view”
Aristotle/Locke
nature vs. nurture questions could be answered with ______ and ________
logic and reasoning
father of modern psychology =
William Wundt
Influenced by the techniques of “hard sciences” (ex: physics, chemistry) of the day; wanted to study consciousness scientifically; human behavior was considered a “SOFT science” at his time
William Wundt
the beginning of modern psychology started in ______ with William Wundt
1879
how did Wundt measure the speed of “thought”?
told a set of ppl to listen for a tone and hit a button as fast as they can (0.5 seconds) and another to hit the button as fast as they can (0.25); the difference is how long “perception of sound” takes
the mind (consciousness) is composed of many parts, we can study the individual parts to understand the whole
Structuralism
who came up with Structuralism?
Wundt
according to Wundt, Structuralism emphasizes on ________ and ________ of the mind
STRUCTURE and ORGANIZATION
asking ppl what they’re thinking about (ex: show ppl a red apple, then ask what are you thinking about?)
Introspection
who came up with Introspection?
Titchener
Titchner came up with _______ “elements” of the mind
44,000
how was Titchner related to Wundt?
he was his student
What’s wrong with introspection (2)?
- Ppl may lie
- Ppl dont have access to everything that’s going on in their mind
a study of the purpose of mental processes in adaptive behavior (not the elements)
Functionalism
who came up with Functionalism?
William James
William James said that consciousness cannot be dissected and studied. It must be studied as a ________.
WHOLE (must study the functions of consciousness)
a theory and a type of therapy based on the belief that all people possess unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories; patient talks about experiences, early childhood, and dreams
Psychoanalysis
who came up with Psychoanalysis?
Sigmund Freud
Freud emphasized the importance of the _______ _______ and its effect on human behavior
unconscious mind
All behavior is a result of LEARNING ; believed it is purely from nurture; our experiences with rewards and punishments shapes our behavior
Behaviorism
who came up with Behaviorism?
Watson
Where do you see behaviorism today?
training your dog
what era did dissatisfaction with behaviorism grow?
Cognitive Revolution
during the Cognitive Revolution, what did people critique Behaviorism for (2)?
- behaviorism could not explain all behavior..
- vital to talk about unseen mental processes (consciousness)
when did the Cognitive Revolution occur?
1960s
what metaphor is used to describe mental processing of the brain?
a computer (input, processing, + output)
computer metaphor: Active processes occur in “_________” that aren’t visible
software
computer metaphor: _________ is “software,” ______ is the “hardware”
Consciousness; brain
what’s an example of input and output of mental processing?
input: words we hear
output: facial expressions
