Lesson 1 Flashcards
State the 4 main goals of psychology.
(1) to describe how people and other animals behave
(2) to explain and understand the causes of these behaviors
(3) to predict how people and animals will behave under certain conditions
(4) to control behaviour through knowledge of its causes to enhance human and animal welfare
Give a description of the theory of humorism.
Early greek interpretation of emotions and behaviours, divided into four main categories (called humours), each associated with an element and emotional complication. These were Black bile (earth/melancholic), yellow bile (fire/choleric), blood (air/sanguine) and phelgm (water/phelgmatic). Each of these personalities and corroborating disorders was assumed to be caused by different amounts of these four substances in the body.
The theory of humorism was brought about by __________.
Hippocrates.
Describe Descartes and the mind-body problem.
Rene Descartes was a mathmetician and philosopher that argued for substance dualism - the concept that the mind and the body are different substances that interact with each other (minds being immaterial and bodies being material). The mind-body problem debates how a mind and body can interact, and questions how they function chemically and physiologically.
What did Wilhelm Wundt do, and what was his connection to introspection? Define introspection.
Wilhelm Wundt distinguished “psychology” from physiology and philosophy, and believed that psychology should be modeled after physics and chemistry. he said that psychology was the study of consciousness, and relied heavily on introspection in his work, which is the examination of one’s own mental and emotional processes.
What is structuralism? Which two people pioneered the concept?
Structuralism is a school of thought believing that the goal of psychology was to analyze both the basic elements of consciousness and how they are related. The idea relies heavily on introspection and was pioneered by William Wundt and his student, Edward Titchener.
What is functionalism? Who pioneered the concept, and what theory was it based on?
Functionalism is a school of thought believing that the goal of psychology was to analyze the function of consciousness, not its structure. It was pioneered by William James but overall inspired by Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
Who coined the term “stream of consciousness”, and why?
William James came up with the term because he believed that consciousness should not be seen as a discreet thing, but rather as a continuous flow.
Describe the idea of psychodynamics/psychoanalysis. Who came up with the term, and what was his fundamental belief?
Psychodynamics/psychoanalysis is a treatment method coined by Sigmund Freud that tried to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behavior. He believed that everyone had unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories that were undetectable to oneself.
Define “unconscious” as a psychological term.
Thoughts, memories, and/or desires that are below the surface of awareness and exert influence over behavior.
Explain the concept of Occam’s razor. What other names does it possess?
William of Occam declared that, when confronted with two or more equally good competing explanations, the one that is most parsimonious is preferred. This essentially means that in a situation as such, it is always preferred to choose the situation in which there are fewer assumptions to be had, as there is less room for error. This principle is also called the principle of parsimony, and the law of economy.
Describe the behavioural perspective. Who was it pioneered by?
The behavioural perspective comes from an experimental branch of science. where the goal is to ultimately predict and control the behaviour of man. It was pioneered by John B. Watson, who believes there was no difference between man and brute.
