lesson 1 intro Flashcards
what is psychology?
the science of the elementary laws of the mind and behavior
what is empiricism
the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation
what is evolution
saying genes make brains, and evolve over time
what is materialism
brains make minds
what is modularity
the mind is a collection of parts
constructivism
the mind makes reality
what are the 5 foundations of psychological science
empiricism, evolution, materialism, modularity, constructivism
what are the different types of psychology
experimental and clinical
what kinds of psychology fall under experimental
social, personality, cognitive, developmental, psychopathology
where does the word psychology come from
greek “psyche” which means soul and “logos” which means to study
father of psychology
william james
what does the word mind refer to
a set of private events that happen in a person, which no one else can see
what does the word behavior refer to
a set of public events; what we say and do that can be observed by others
what is philosophical dualism
the view that the mind and body are different, that the mind is immaterial and the body material
philosophical materialism
all mental phenomena are reducible to physical phenomena; anything we experience in our mind is attributed to brain structure
philosophical realism
view that perceptions of the physical world are produced entirely by information from the sensory organs
philosophical idealism
view that perceptions of the physical world are the brain’s interpretation of information from the sensory organs
philosophical empiricism
view that all knowledge is acquired through experience
philosophical nativism
some knowledge is innate rather than acquired
helmholtz studied what
reaction time
what is reaction time
the amount of time between the onset of a stimulus and your response
what was helmholtz able to do with reaction time
calculate the speed at which nerves transmit information
structuralism
an approach to psychology which tries to isolate and analyze the mind’s basic elements