Psychology and Scientific Thinking

Question 1

What is psychology?

Answer 1

The scientific study of the mind, brain, and behaviour

Question 2

There are 3 Levels of Analysis in psychology. What are they and what do they involve?

Answer 2

1. Social Cultural Influences - social or behavioural level that involves relationships and cultures
2. Psychological - mental or neurological level that involves thoughts, feelings and emotions
3. Biological - molecular or neurochemical level that involves brain structure and molecules

Question 3

What is the main goal of psychological research?

Answer 3

To understand human behaviour and understand why people perform certain actions

Question 4

There are 3 ways how psychologists explain behaviour. What are they?

Answer 4

1. Describing
2. Categorizing
3. Measuring

Question 5

What were the 2 fields that psychology derived from when it was being developed?

Answer 5

1. Philosophy
2. Biology

Question 6

What is the difference between Monism and Dualism?

Answer 6

Monism - belief that the mind and body are connected.
Dualism - belief that the mind and the body are separate

Question 7

What is the difference between Nativism and Empiricism?

Answer 7

Nativism - belief that learning is based on genetics
Empiricism - belief that learning is gained through experiences

Question 8

Who was the father of experimental physiology?

Answer 8

Johannes Müller

Question 9

What were the 3 principles of Müller’s theory of specific nerve energies?

Answer 9

1. All nerves send an identical message through electrical impulse
2. Different kinds of information travel on different channels (e.g. visual information travels through visual channels)
3. Different areas of the brain have different functions

Question 10

Who discovered and was known for experimental ablation?

Answer 10

Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens

Question 11

What is ablation?

Answer 11

The removal or destruction of parts of the brain to observe their purposes

Question 12

What is eugenics?

Answer 12

The study that aims on improving genetic quality of humans by encouraging reproduction of those who have desirable traits, and discourages of those who have undesirable traits.

Question 13

What are psychometrics?

Answer 13

The science of measuring mental faculties

Question 14

What are the 5 Primary Schools of Thought?

Answer 14

1. Structuralism
2. Functionalism
3. Behaviourism
4. Psychoanalysis
5. Cognitivism

Question 15

What did Structuralism aim to accomplish?

Answer 15

Identifying the structures of psychological experiences and consciousness

Question 16

Who is considered to be the father of psychology?

Answer 16

Wilhelm Wundt

Question 17

Which 2 psychologists are known for forming Structuralism?

Answer 17

Wilhelm Wundt and E.B. Titchner

Question 18

What is introspection?

Answer 18

The process of self-reflection and reporting on one’s personal experiences, memories, perceptions, or motivations

Question 19

What was the main goal of Functionalism?

Answer 19

To understand the adaptive purposes of psychological characteristics

Question 20

Influenced by Darwin’s theory of natural selection, who was the founder of Functionalism?

Answer 20

William James

Question 21

Who were the founding fathers of Behaviourism?

Answer 21

John Watson and B.F. Skinner

Question 22

Why did Behaviourism reject introspection?

Answer 22

They found that this process wasn’t reliable and didn’t make much progress and instead turned to scientific principles

Question 23

Who were the two psychologists who developed Cognitivism?

Answer 23

Piaget and Neisser

Question 24

What is the goal of Cognitivism?

Answer 24

Understanding how the brain interprets different events depending on their context

Question 25

Who were the 2 main psychologists tied to Psychoanalysis?

Answer 25

Sigmund Freud and Karl Jung

Question 26

What was the goal of Psychoanalysis?

Answer 26

To uncover internal and unconscious processes in the mind