Lecture 1 + Textbook ch 1 module 1 Flashcards
What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.
What are the 4 goals of psychology?
Describe - tells “what” occurred
explain - “why” it occurred
predict - “when” it is likely to occur
change - either prevent unwanted behaviour or to bring about wanted behaviour
What is critical thinking?
Critical thinking does not automatically accept arguments and conclusions; examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
What is modern psychology?
The idea of applying the methods of science to the study of human behaviour
Define “Tabula Rasa”
“blank slate”: the mind of an individual was born blank, emphasizing the freedom of individuals to author their own soul
What did John Locke believe?
Nothing can exist within the intellect that did not have its origins in the senses and all knowledge is derived via our experiences from the environment
What did Aristotle do?
Took a more naturalistic observational approach, asked questions to understand the relationship between body and psyche (made guesses), empiricism is born, and laid the foundation for today’s modern psychology
What did Willhelm Wundt do?
established the first psychology lab in Germany, main research focus was on perception and conscious experience, and added two key elements to help make psychology a science (scientific methods and experiments)
What is Structuralism?
A method of identifying the basic components or structures of conscious experience, examining things like sensation & perception via introspection (systematic self-observation)
What is the limitation of Structuralism?
No independent, objective observations of the phenomenon under study.
What is Functionalism?
Studying the function or purpose of the consciousness and not the structure
What is Behavioural Approach?
Studying the objective observable environmental influences on overt behaviour. If they (behaviourists) can’t see it, they don’t want to know
What is Psychoanalytical Approach?
In order to truly understand an individual, you need to understand the unconscious (childhood experiences, unconscious fears, dreams, memories) - think Sigmund Freud
What is Humanistic Approach?
All of us have a very great potential to grow, to prove ourselves, to become fully functioning human beings. Optimistic view on human behaviour, positive psychology.
What is Cognitive Approach?
Seeks to understand the mental processes involved in accumulating knowledge and focuses on thought, perception, and information processing
What is Biological Approach?
Places an emphasis on linking the brain, the mind, and behaviour together
What is Evolutionary Approach?
The study of the human mind and behaviour process as a product of natural selection. Emphasizes the importance of natural selection, adaptation, and evolution on why certain behaviours are formed, modified, and survive over time.
What is Behaviour Genetics?
The study of relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influence on behaviour. Similar to evolutionary psychology but it’s more recent
What is Social-cultural Approach?
The recognition of social interaction, context, and cultural determinants of mental processes and behaviour, focuses on how culture shapes our mind and behaviour.
What is Biopsychosocial Approach?
This approach builds on multiple perspectives, it’s not just about one type of influence on behaviour or mental processes.
What is Natural Selection?
From among chance variations, nature selects
traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a specific environment.
What is Empiricism?
The theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience
