Test 3 Flashcards
Positivism
Science should only be concerned with objective, publicly observable events
Agreement among neo-behaviorist a
- evolutionary assumption of continuity between species
- learning research most important
- mythological behaviorists
Logical positivism
Uninsurable mental events can be used as explanatory agents, as long as they are explanatory, operationally defined, and logically tied to observable events
Operational definition
Defines an abstract concept in terms of the procedures used to measure it
Radical behaviorism
Unobserved internal events cannot be used to explain behavior
Methodological behaviorism
It’s okay to posture internal events as explanatory agents as long as they can be validated in overt behavior
Purpose behaviorism: who and what
Edward Chace Tolman; emphasizes goal-directed behavior that ceases when the goal is reached
Tolman believed:
Behavior is purposeful; not a passive and automatic conditioned reflex
Intervening variables
Used to represent internal unobservable events
Cognitive maps
Mental representations of environment, acquired through experience
Vicarious trial and error (VTE)
Their inability to make a decision becomes less and they repeat the maZe
Place learning
Rats learn to go to a specific place rather than simply repeat a sequence of motor responses
Latent learning
Tolman beloved that reinforcement is not necessary for learning
Learning v. Performance
Learning can occur in the absence of reinforcement, but performance is affected by reinforcement
Clark hull
Disagreed with Tolman’s use of mentalistic concepts; used the hypothetico-deductive model- general postulates from existing learning research
SER
reaction potential (likelihood of learned response occurring in a given situation)
SHR
Given number of reinforcements
D
Current strength of dominant primary drive
Drive
Non-specific arousal arising from physiological need
Hull’s learning theory
Epitome of logical positivism; scientifically impeccable, but too complex; not readily applicable to real world
Frederic skinner
Behavior or organisms; wanted to observe and describe behavior unfettered by cognition or physiology
Behavior-skinner
The movement of an organism or its parts in a frame of reference provided by the organism itself or by various external objects or fields of force
Explanatory fiction
Using a hypothetical internal factor mediating between a stimulus and response and then using that factor to explain behavior
Hypothetico-deductive model
Generated postulates from existing learning research
Skinner’s research paradigm:
Lab based; single subject; control conditions; look for easier ways to do things
Shaping
Procedure where successive approximations to a desired response are reinforced until the response is achieved
Project pigeon
First attempt to apply Skinner’s system to a real world problem; america’s answer to kamikazes
Baby-in-a-box
Developed by skinner; sound proof; curtain; got a lot of negative response
Walden II
Novel written by skinner; utopian society based on operant conditioning
Teaching machines
Mechanical teacher; focused on reinforcement; no one would manufacture these things
Applied behavioral analysis
Application of operant conditioning to modify overt behavior
Three major principles of gestalt theory
1,2,3
Wolfgang Koehler
Intelligent behavior instead of mechanized behavior; gestalt concept of insight
Mechanized behavior
Once intelligent or occurred by chances, but has come automatic by reputation
Intelligent behavior
Behavior appropriate to a new situation and relatively independent of past experience
Law of pragnanz
Minimum principle of the law of simplicity; ultimate meaning of experience and tendency to organize cognitive experience in a good and meaningful way
Figure ground
Figure is the part of the perceptual field that is attended to and the ground is the remainder
Principle of continuity
Refers to the perceptual tendency to follow elements of a figure that appear to be going in some direction
Principle of proximity
Perceptual tendency to perceive elements close to one another in space or time as a perceptual unit
Principle of similarity
Refers to the tendency to group together elements that are physically similar
Principle of closure
Refers to tendency to make an incomplete perception into a whole object
Principle of inclusiveness
Refers to the tendency to perceive only the larger figure when a smaller figure is embedded in it
Psychophysical isomorphism
Direct relationship between brain activity and mental experience; underlying brain processes mirror actual experience but are not the same
Behavior environment
What you perceive to be there
Geographical environment
What is actually there
Kurt Lewin
Field theory
Field theory
Explain behavior in terms of interaction of a person’s needs and psychological forces;
Life space
Influences acting on a person at a given time; internal, external
Foreign hull
Anything not a part of life space at a given time
Conflict
Occurs when there is a tension within one’s life space which leads to disequilibrium
Frustration-regression study
When kids were exposed to better, they become frustrated and acted out when it was taken away. All regressed
Group dynamics
Lewin’s focus late in life; groups are physical systems and the behavior of the individuals in the group is determined by the field of energy
Action research
What Lewin called his research on group dynamics; designed to promote social change
Bedlam
Asylum in London where tourists were allowed to see lunatics
Mesmerism
Gravitational attraction of the planets affect people’s well being by exerting influence on an invisible magnetic fluid; trained practitioners could manipulate magnetism
Hysteria
Believed to be due to a defective female reproductive system
Hypnotism
Modern term for mesmerism; coined by Scottish surgeon James Braid
Nancy school
Founded by Auguste liebeault; all people are suggestible, but some more than others
Charcot school
Believed patients were suffering from a hereditary neurological condition;
Pierre Janet
Psychological analysis for the treatment of hysterics; treatment consisted of discovering dissociated memories by hypnosis
Free association
Freud; asked to concentrate on a particular symptom and its origin
Transference
Redirections of feelings from one person to another
Countertransference
Redirection of a therapists feelings toward a client
Repression
Subduing desires in subconscious
Resistance
Patients directly or indirectly oppose changing their behavior or refuse to discuss
Unconscious motivation
Refers to hidden and unknown desires that are the real reasons people do things
Seduction hypothesis
Most repressed memories were of imagined sexual experiences that were perceived as real in the unconscious
Dream analysis
All dreams constitute fulfillment of some desire
Manifest content
Content of a dream that is remember upon awakening
Latent content
Some dreams have true meanings that is disguised beneath the manifest content and must be discovered
Dream work
Disguises the wish into an acceptable form that does not disrupt sleep
Myth of the solitary hero
Freud’s theory and methods were original and that he endured a solitary fight in a hostile environment
ego and the mechanisms of defense
Defined and elaborated defense mechanisms
Sublimination
Diverting the sexual goals of the ego to higher purposes valued by society
Alfred Adler
Broke away from Freud because he did not believe that the primary cause of mental illness is sexual conflict
Individual psychology
Based on premise that due to individual differences humans are unique, whole entities, interconnected biologically, philosophically, and psychologically
Social interest
What needs to be developed during childhood
Style of life
Unique but consistent psychological orientation toward goals and ideals; originally developed in childhood
Inferiority complex
Results from exaggerated feelings of inferiority partly explained by insufficient social interest
Mistaken lifestyle
Characterized by feelings on inferiority, self centeredness, concern for safety and superiority over other people
Teleological
Overriding purpose assigned to all aspects of human functioning
Self actualization
Overriding purpose of existence is to discover and understand the components of our personality and balance them into a unified whole
Personal unconscious
Things that were once conscious but are now forgotten or repressed
Collective unconscious
Deepest level of the psyche, a repository of common ancestral experiences
Archetypes
Comprise the contents of the collective unconscious
Synchronity
Believed that archetypes manifest through dreams, fantasies, hunches, or random thoughts
Every child has two basic needs:
Biological needs for nourishment and shelter; freedom from danger, fear, and pain
Neurotic needs
Excessive, insatiable, and unrealistic demands that dominate the person’s behavior
Apollonian
Rational and civilized; desires order, tranquility, and predictability
Dionysian
Irrational barbarous part; seeks chaos, adventure, and passion
Kierkegaard
Father of existentialism
Aesthetic stage
Hedonism and amorality; leads to boredom and despair
Ethical stage
Decisions based in ethic imposed by religion/society
Religious stage
Recognition of freedom to choose relationship with God, requires a leap of faith
Deficiency motivated
People are seeking specific things to alleviate deficiencies in their lives
Being motivation
Search for higher values
