Lecture 1 - From Philosophy to Psychology

Question 1

What was the precursor to psychology?

Answer 1

Philosophy

Question 2

How did psychology develop in Ancient Greece?

Answer 2

People made up stories, beginning with Homer

Gods explained behaviors and personality

Question 3

What were Socrates and Plato’s contributions?

Answer 3

Psychological forces = cause of mental disturbances
Madness was the animal psyche overtaking the intellectual mind
Nature vs. nurture on intelligence and personality

Question 4

What were Aristotle’s contributions?

Answer 4

Empiricism

Psychological ideas about sleep, dreams, sensation and memory

Question 5

What were Goclenius’ contributions?

Answer 5

Credited with term “psychology”

Question 6

What does psychology mean?

Answer 6

Psyche = soul
Ology = science

Question 7

What is ontology, and what is its importance?

Answer 7

Study of being/existing

Asked key q - “what exists?”

Question 8

What are the steps to asking “what exists”?

Answer 8

1. Define existence
2. Have a perceiver
   How is that which exists changed by perceiver?

Question 9

What did ontology contribute to psychology?

Answer 9

Study of sensation and perception

Question 10

What occurred between 1400-1500?

Answer 10

The Renaissance in Europe
Arts, tech, science increased
Printing press dispersed information

Question 11

What were Descartes’ contributions?

Answer 11

Rationalism and Dualism
Cogito ergo sum - I think therefore I am (can be sure of nothing else)
Humans as machines: experience -> response

Question 12

What is rationalism?

Answer 12

The idea that our knowledge comes from reasoning

Question 13

What are the basic rules of rationalism?

Answer 13

1. Accept nothing as true unless there is absolutely no doubt about it
2. Take problems, analyze them, and reduce them to the fundamental
3. Go from simplest to most complex elements
4. Carefully review conclusions

Question 14

What is dualism?

Answer 14

Humans are 2 parts - physical and immaterial

Question 15

What is today’s perspective on dualism?

Answer 15

Disagree

Mind is what brain does

Question 16

What were Spinoza’s contributions?

Answer 16

Rejected Descartes’ dualism
Said that body/mind are two different aspects of the same substance
Said that free will and human nature are determined

Question 17

What is empiricism?

Answer 17

Method of knowledge derived from experience or experimens

Question 18

What were Locke’s contributions?

Answer 18

Formalized Empiricism

Tabula Rasa or blank page/slate

Question 19

What were John Stuart Mill’s contributions?

Answer 19

Supported empiricism

Helped the shift from philosophy of mind -> science of mind

Question 20

What is the significance of the guillotine?

Answer 20

People wondered how/why arms/legs moved after heads cut off
“Is brain the center of consciousness?”
Psy testing during executions
When brain was cut off, so was consciousness
Opened door to reflexes

Question 21

What is reflective action?

Answer 21

Galvani cut frogs legs
Stimulated them with electrical current
Concluded reflexes must be electrical

Question 22

What were early findings on the spinal cord?

Answer 22

Brain = center of consciousness
Reflexes = outside of brain - thru spinal cord

Question 23

Who was Whytt?

Answer 23

A scientist that found the role of the spinal cord in reflexive behaviour
Cut spinal cord and reflexes stopped

Question 24

What did Magendie discover?

Answer 24

Did dissections on live dogs
Cut posterior = no movement, feeling
Cut anterior = movement, no feeling
Cut both = no feeling or movement

Question 25

What was the Bell-Magendie Law?

Answer 25

Posterior cord = movement | Anterior cord = feeling

Question 26

What was early evidence for localization of brain function?

Answer 26

Similarities of brain sizes and structures | Could different sections = different functions?

Question 27

What were Gall's contributions?

Answer 27

Phrenology - studied shape of school mate heads Believed that brain holds emotion and intelligence Said that faculties were native Contralateral function

Question 28

What did phrenology contribute to psychology?

Answer 28

Early example of individual differences Connections btwn brain sections and functions Suggestion that brain changed with experience Anticipated modern brain scan techniques

Question 29

What did Flourens contribute?

Answer 29

Ablated sections of brain to see results Showed main brain division functions But did not find localization for memory, personality or cognition Disproved phrenology

Question 30

Give an example of early brain injury research.

Answer 30

Phineas Gage - 1848 Personality changes from frontal lobe damage Went from dependable and hardworking -> irresponsible and obstinate

Question 31

What was Broca's contribution?

Answer 31

Tan in 1861 Intelligent man who could understand and reason But was only able to respond with Tan Broca found dmg to lower left area of frontal lobe This was related to speech production ability

Question 32

What did Hitzig and Fritsch contribute?

Answer 32

Stimulated live dog brains and produced brain maps Showed which movement occurred when the area was stim'd Evidence for localization

Question 33

What did Penfield do?

Answer 33

1. Exposed conscious human brains Participants reported feeling and seeing things 2. Developed maps of motor/sensory function on cortex Frontal = motor function Parietal = sensory function Maps were topographical but not size corresponding Found that only 1/4th of cortex was involved in sensation

Question 34

What is EEG?

Answer 34

Electroencephalogram | Records electric activity of thousands of neurons

Question 35

What are CT scans?

Answer 35

Computerized axial tomography X-rays that take pictures of narrow brain slices Brain image is then reconstructed

Question 36

What are PET scans?

Answer 36

Positron emission tomography | Measures brain activity - blood flow, metabolism and NT activity

Question 37

What is MRI?

Answer 37

Magnetic resonance imaging Measures response to magnetic pulses some minutes apart More sensitive that PET/CT

Question 38

What is fMRI?

Answer 38

Functional MRI | Images taken seconds apart while brain is doing a task

Question 39

What is phrenology?

Answer 39

The study of human faculties identified and located in areas of the brain

Question 40

Who was Spurzheim?

Answer 40

Worked with Gall on phrenology, spread it Said that faculties were exercisable Later broke away

Question 41

What are the main tenets of phrenology?

Answer 41

1. Brain is the organ of the mind 2. Mind is composed of attributes/faculties (intellectual/cog and affective/emo) 3. Faculties are in specific brain areas 4. Some have more of one faculty than others 5. Doctrine of the Skull - can determine faculties from shape of skull

Question 42

Why was phrenology not successful?

Answer 42

Insufficient/weak evidence Anecdotal Ignored counter evidence

Question 43

What is the Clinical Method? Why is it used?

Answer 43

Looking at the bhvrl/mental consequences of brain damage | Easier/more ethical than ablation