The Science of the Mind (CH. 1)

Question 1

Wilhelm Wundt (1832 - 1920)

Answer 1

Developed the idea of introspection

Question 2

What is Introspection?

Answer 2

The mind can be understood by carefully looking inward and reporting on inner sensations and experiences

Question 3

William James (1842 - 1910)

Answer 3

Proponent of functionalism: studying the mind by asking “what will it do?” and “what is its function?”

Question 4

What is Functionalism?

Answer 4

Emphasis on understanding functions of the mind rather than structure

Question 5

Hermann von Ebbinghaus (1850 - 1909)

Answer 5

First attempt to study mental functioning empirically; he was interested in memory

Question 6

Definition of Empirically?

Answer 6

Through experimentation and observation of behaviour

Question 7

B.F Skinner (1904 - 1990)

Answer 7

Believed introspection was unscientific; but rather, responses (behaviours) to stimuli are learned through association, reward, punishment (classical and operant conditioning) – mental processes are irrelevant

Question 8

Observable vs. Unobservable

Answer 8

Observable: stimulus and response
Unobservable: the in-between; things that the individual thinks about before response is made

Question 9

What is Tabula Rasa?

Answer 9

(“blank slate”): all behaviours are learned and shaped through simple conditioning

Question 10

Noam Chomsky (1928 -)

Answer 10

Behaviourism could not easily account for the generative, flexible nature of language

Question 11

How Do We Study Mental Processes Scientifically Without Observing Them?

Answer 11

Empirical Approach: measure behaviour and make careful inferences about the nature of the mental processes necessary to carry out that behaviour

Question 12

Central Assumptions of Cognitive Psychology?

Answer 12

1. Mental Processes Exit
2. People are active information processors
3. Mental processes can be studied scientifically

Question 13

How to Conduct Laboratory Research in Cognition

Answer 13

• Controlled setting
• Minimize influence of extraneous nuisance factors
• Can control stimulus properties
• Precise measures of behaviour

Question 14

How to Measure Behaviour

Answer 14

1. Accuracy/completeness: examine cognitive abilities by observing where people do and do not make mistakes
2. Reaction time (RT): reflects time needed for mental processes to transpire

Question 15

What is the Behaviourist Movement?

Answer 15

Emphasized broad principles concerned with how behaviour changes in response to different configurations of stimuli (including stimuli that are often called “rewards” and “punishments”

Question 16

John B. Watson (1878 - 1958)

Answer 16

Was a prominent advocate for the behaviourist movement

Question 17

What is the Transcendental Method?

Answer 17

To use this method, an investigator first observes the effects or consequences of a process and then asks: what must the process have been to bring about these effects?

Question 18

Immanuel Kent (1724 - 1804)

Answer 18

Created the transcendental method

Question 19

Neuroimaging Techniques

Answer 19

Non-invasive methods for examining either the structure or the activation pattern within a living brain