Schacter Psychology 2nd Edition, Chapter 1 Flashcards
When did psychology first arise?
During the 19th century in Europe psychology was seen as a science that could be traced back to the beginning of human origin but remained void of any data with the focus on the central notion of what it means to be human.
Why couldn’t psychology be classed as a science before the 19th century?
No systematic attempt had been made to generate testable hypotheses.
Where did scientists begin to experiment on the mind and behaviour?
Across Europe:
- In Germany, they studied the bodies response to stimulation which led to studying unconcious processes
- In France, they studied the mind and effects of brain damage
- In Britain, they studied intelligence and individual difference
Definition of Psychology
The scientific study of mind and behaviour
Definition of mind
Our private and inner experience that is made up of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings
Definition of behaviour
Observable actions of humans and nonhumans
What is biological psychology?
The study of how biology interacts with psychological processes and how our bodies influence and respond to events
What is cognitive psychology?
The study of mental processes. Cognition refers to thinking and problem solving
What is developmental psychology?
The study of how psychological processes change across the life span
What is individual difference?
The study of how psychological processes vary from one person to the next
What is social psychology?
The study of the psychological processes which operate when we interact with others and how we behave in groups.
Are the different fields of psychology independent of one another?
No - they can have overlapping points of interest and may interact in order to fully explain a behaviour.
How are emotions adaptive?
As they function as signals that tell us when we are putting ourselves in harms way.
What is nativism?
The idea that certain kinds of knowledge are innate. Plato argued in favour of nativism.
What is tabula rasa?
The idea that a child’s mind is a blank slate in which experiences are written. Aristotle believed in this idea.
What is philosophical empiricism?
The idea that all knowledge is acquired through experience. Aristotle argued for philisophical empiricism.
What is epistemology?
The study of how knowledge is acquired. It was a major interest of the Enlightenment philosopher during the 17th and 18th centuries in Western Europe.
What is metaphysics?
A branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality - for example, the existance of God and free will. The questions that the rationalists and empricists disputed in epistemology included metaphysics.
What is distinguished between in epistemology?
The continental rationalism of Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz who argued for innate knowledge compared to the British empiricism of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume who argued that knowledge is derrived from experience.
What did Descartes argue?
That mind and body are fundamentally different things as the body is made of a material sunstance but the mind is made of a spiritual substance. However, if they are different then how do they interact - this is the problem of dualism.
Who was Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1928)?
A french doctor who thought brains and minds were linked by size. He observed the brains of people who had died of diseases or as healthy adults/children and found mental ability often increases with larger brain size and decreases with damage to the brain.
What theory did Gall develop?
Phrenology which holds the idea that specific mental abilities and characteristics are localised in specific refions of the brain. Gall took this idea to the extreme sauing that the size of bumps on the skill reflected the brain region beneath and so you could tell a person’s personality based on the bumps.
What were the issues with Gall’s theory?
It was based off anecdotes and casual observations which meant it was strong claims with weak evidence leading to phrenology being discredited.
What did Paul Broca (1825-1880) do?
Worked with a patient who had damage to a small part of the left side of the brain who could only say the word “tan” but understood other people’s speech. Broca concluded that damage to a specific part of the brain impaired a specific brain function which showed the link between body and mind.
