Lecture 2 Flashcards
what did Wundt believe psychology is
believed that psychology is the discipline studying conscious experience, i.e. the awareness of immediate experience
what did Wundt work to establish psychology as
worked to establish Psychology as an independent discipline, outside Philosophy and Medicine
who Established the first psychological research lab. in Leipzig in 1879
Wundt
what was Wundt’s view of psychology
structuralism
wundt believed that conscious mental states could be scientifically studied through ____
the systematic manipulation of antecedent variables (those that occur before some other event)
what technique was proposed by wundt to go with structuralism
introspection
what is introspection
the technique requiring intensive training to analyze conscious experience into its basic elements (sensations and feelings)
what are sensations thought to be
sensations are the raw sensory content of consciousness, without meaning.
what was thought to be a combination of sensations
All conscious thoughts and perceptions were thought to be combinations of sensations
what did william james call his course in 1875
“The relations between physiology and psychology”
who established first psychological research lab. in 1875
william james
who wrote one of the first textbooks “principles of psychology”, in which he famously defined psychology as “the science of mental life”
william james
what idd william james name his textbook
vwrote one of the first textbooks “principles of psychology”, in which he famously defined psychology as “the science of mental life”
what position did william james inspire
inspired the position later leading to functionalism
what is functionalism
(as opposed to structuralism): the emphasis in psychology should be on the purpose and utility of behaviour
what is structuralism
Structuralism: the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and investigate god these elements are related
what is the method for structuralism
the method for this analysis is introspection. systematic self-observation
what was the problem with introspection
Problem of introspection: there is no objective, independent evaluation and reproducibility is low. This was one factor is demise of structuralism
what did functionalism argue
Functionalism argues that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure
what was functionalism influenced by
this view was influenced by Darwin’s work on natural selection
what is a big difference between functionalism and structuralism
Structuralists normally worked in laboratories, while Functionalists were more interesting in how people adapt their behaviour to the demands of the real world surrounding them
functionalists introduce new subjects into the field, such as…
mental testing, developmental patterns in children, education, behavioural differences between the sexes
John b Watson shifted the focus away from ___ to _____
philosophy to biology
who did watson do research on
Watson did research on non-human animals, and logically opposed the view that the proper approach to psychology is the method of proper introspection
why did watson not agree with introspection
Criticized the introspection as based on rotate experiences, which are inaccessible to the investigator
where did watson redefine psychology
behavioural manifesto
what were 3 main points in the behaviourist manifesto
Psychology must be purely objective, excluding all subjective data or interpretations in terms of conscious experience. It is not the science of mental life, but the science of behaviour
The goal of psychology should be to predict and control behaviour, as opposed to describing and explaining mental states (later on, skinner endorsed this in his radial behaviouralism)
There is no qualitative distinction between human and non-human behaviour. Human behaviour, in line with Darwin thought, is just a more complex form of behaviour of other species. The difference is quantitative, not qualitative. Consequently, the most convenient animals were used in psychology laboratories devoted to this view
what does Gestalt psychology argue
Gestalt psychology argues that the perception of objects is subjective and dependent on the context: Two people can look at the same object and see different things
what did Christian von Ehrenfels believe
the whole of personal experience is different from the sum of its constituent elements
what is reductionism:
attempt to explain human behaviour by recourse to its biological basis
specifically, this branch of psychology explores the relationship between behaviour and processes and structures of the central nervous system
what is reductionism apart of
Psychophysiological Model
what does Psychophysiological Model assume
psychological phenomena (experiences, consciousness), can be explained using physical and biochemical processes
what are the general principles of reductionism applicable to human behaviour
general principles of reductionism applicable to human behaviour: complex phenomena can be explained by reducing them to more elemental phenomena on more basic levels of analysis
according to the Psychophysiological Model how can experience modify behaviour
experience can modify behaviour by changing the physical and biochemical structures and processes that underpin behaviour
how did Eric candle apply the reductionist principle to explain the neurobiology of memory
Eric candle applied the reductionist principle to explain the neurobiology of memory, using the sea slug Aplysia California as a model organism
what does the Psychodynamic Model say about explaining behaviour
all behaviour can be explained in terms of drives or other intra-psychological forces
what does human behaviour arise form according to the Psychodynamic Model
human behaviour arises from inherited, biologically inflexible drives and reflexes, and the attempt to solve conflicts between the individuals and society’s demands for social adapted behaviour
what does behaviour result from according to Psychodynamic Model
behaviour results from tension and conflict, and reflects the attempt to reduce of these negative states
what term is the key concept of the psychodynamic approach
motivation
who founded the first major movement in clinical psychology in modern history
Sigmund Freud
what did Sigmund Freud’s work focus on
his work focused on the unconscious, as the main motor of behaviour, as the seat of desires, wishes, drives
what did Sigmund Freud develop
he developed psychoanalysis
what were the 3 elements freud proposed that the psyche consisted of
He proposed that out psyche consist of 3 elements: Id, Ego and Superego
what is the Id
Id: follows the pleasure principle
attempts to avoid pain and increase pleasure
Primal drives, basic nature (the wild animal within)
what is the superego
Superego: mortality
conscious, ideals, aspirations (your perfect self)
what is the ego
Ego: reason
and self control, tries to meditate superego and id
is our psyche conscious or unconscious
Most of our psyche is unconscious
(hidden and inaccessible to the thinking mind)
there are parts that are precocious (we can make them conscious in we try)
and there are aspects, of which we are fully aware
what does the psychoanalysis aim for
psychoanalysis aims to make the unconscious conscious
so that its influence on behaviour can be controlled
what does psychoanalysis say about human nature
The theory assumes that humans are by nature aggressive and evil and driven by sexual impulses
societies need to control this potential for violence and protect humans from their destructive nature
what does the psychoanalysis theory propose about humans
the theory proposes that humans pass through psychosexual phases of development
and most “neurotic” behaviours and psychological problems of the adult arise from traumatic experiences during these phases
what does the Behaviourist model say about analysis
the overt and observable behaviour is the proper level of analysis
what is the Behaviourist model
Behaviourism tries to determine what factors in the environment control behaviour. Inner factors, such as motivations and emotions, cannot be subject of analysis because they cannot be directly observed
what are the ABC’s of psychology (in the behaviourist model)
Antecedent conditions that precede behaviour
the Behavioural response
the Consequences that follow
The basic model is the relation between _____ and ____ (behaviouralism model)
The basic model is the relation between stimulus and response (S-R model)
classical behaviouralism assumes that behaviour is completely determines by antecedent conditions
what does behaviouralism say about humans
humans are neither good nor evil, they just react to these conditions
humans can be controlled by controlling antecedent conditions and consequences of behaviour
what was pavlova experiment
conditioning the dogs with a bell
who did the little albert experiment
John B Watson
what was the little albert experiment
conditioning a child to be scared of anything
what did the Cognitive Model replace
replaced behaviourism as the most influential model
what was a flaw in behaviouralism
behaviours could not explain certain phenomena easily (e.g.language acquisition)
what are cognitions
cognitions are all structure and processes that used to be labelled “mental”, such as perception, thinking, decision making, memory, problem solving, etc
what is Information-processing perspective
Brain (and so memory) is like a digital computer
what is a memory representation
A memory representation (memory trace, memory record) is a unit of information, that can be processed
according to Information Processing Account of memory, what is memory stored like
Short-term store: like RAM of computer – restricted capacity; holds information for a short time
Long-term store: like the hard disk of a computer – nearly infinite capacity; holds information almost forever
what is the humanistic model a response to
Alternative in the field of personality and clinical research (a) to the pessimistic view espoused by the psychodynamic model, and (b) to the environmental determinism of behaviourism
what does the humanistic model assume
Assumes that humans are neither motivated by strong deterministic biological drives nor environmental factors. Rather, they are active beings, naturally good and equipped with free will
what does the humanistic model say about humans
Humans strive for the good and to realize their potential fully, they seek change and self-realisation
what does Humanistic psychology concentrate on
Humanistic psychology concentrates on the phenomenological world (the world experienced by the subject), not the objective world of the external observer
what are the steps to mallow’s hierarchy of needs
physiological, security, social, self esteem, self actualization
“why do humans act aggressively” according to the Physiological Model:
Physiological Model:
discover brain revision involved in aggressive behaviour. E.g., stimulate these areas and observe aggressive behaviour. Describe networks and signalling pathways involved in producing the behaviour. Or study brains of highly aggressive subjects
“why do humans act aggressively” according to the Psychodynamic model
Psychodynamic model:
aggressive actions are the result of frustrations. For example, poverty or unfair authorities block access to means to satisfy id desires, this results in aggression
“why do humans act aggressively” according to the Behaviorism
Behaviorism:
to determine the causes of aggressive behaviour, one needs to identify reinforcers and antecedent conditions. For example, one could analyze what the consequences had been to aggressive behaviour (reinforcement, punishment
“why do humans act aggressively” according to the Cognitive Model
Cognitive Model:
one would study the cognitions that go along with aggressive behaviour to analyze what information processing leads to
“why do humans act aggressively” according to the Humanistic model
Humanistic model:
one would explore what personal values and social conditions led the individual to engage aggressive behaviour, and not to engage in activities that would further personal growth
