Topic 1 - Science & History of Psychology Flashcards
Define psychology.
The scientific investigation of mental processes and behaviour.
What is cross-cultural psychology?
Attempts to distinguish universal psychological processes from those specific to particular cultures.
What is positive psychology?
Positive psychology focuses on understanding and harnessing positive emotions and creating valued experiences that help people flourish.
What are 5 topics in positive psychology?
Gratitude, mindfulness, hope, optimism, creativity, wellbeing, resilience.
Define biopsychology.
The physical basis of psychological phenomena.
Define localisation of function.
the extent to which different areas of the brain control different aspects of functioning.
What does free-will or determinism refer to?
Do we freely choose our actions or do things outside our control determine our behaviour?
Who is Wilhelm Wundt? What method did Wilhelm Wundt use?
Founded first psychology lab.
Introspection.
Define introspection.
Looking inward and reporting on the conscious experience.
What were the two early schools of thought?
Structuralism and Functionalism
Define Functionalism.
Who Founded it?
Explain psychological processes in terms of the function they serve in helping individuals adapt to their environment.
William James.
What does structuralism refer to?
Who founded it?
Uncovering the basic elements of consciousness through introspection.
Edward Titchener.
What are the 5 main perspectives?
Psychodynamic, evolutionary, behaviourist, humanistic, cognitive.
What are the three key premises of the psychodynamic perspective?
- All behaviour has an underlying cause.
- The causes of a persons behaviour originate in their unconscious.
- Different aspects of a persons unconscious struggle against each other.
What is the primary method of the psychodynamic approach?
Case study analysis.
Clinicians observe dreams, fantasies, upbringing, wishes, etc
What are 5 of Freud’s key contributions to psychodynamic theory?
- Childhood experiences impact on later life.
- Mental representations of self guide relationships & interactions.
- Unconscious mental processes can be conflicting.
- Personality development involves sexual and aggressive regulation and maturation
- Much of mental life is unconscious
What is the key premise of the behaviourist theory?
That objects or events in the environment control behaviour through learning.
Through reinforcement or punishment.
What is the primary method of behaviourism?
Experimental.
What are the two main contributions of behaviourism?
- Reward and punishment as a mechanism for learning.
2. Emphasis on empiricism.
What is the focus of the humanistic perspective?
Focuses on the uniqueness of the individual, it assumes that people are motivated to become self-actualised .
What is the main method of the humanistic perspective?
Person centred - relies on therapists empathy
What is the focus of the cognitive perspective?
Focus on the way people perceive, process and retrieve information.
What is the primary method of the cognitive perspective?
Experimental.
What is the metaphor of cognitive perspective?
Mind is a computer. Thinking is information processing, the environment provides inputs, which are transformed, stored and retrieved using various mental programs, leading to specific response outputs.
What is the main premise of evolutionary theory?
That most behavioural tendencies in humans evolved because they helped our ancestors survive and rear healthy offspring.
What is natural selection?
Natural forces select traits in organisms to adjust and survive in their environment.
What is nature-nurture debate?
Nature - behaviour is determined by biology.
Nurture - behaviour is learned
Define sociobiology.
Explores possible evolutionary and biological bases of human social behaviour.
What is inclusive fitness?
Natural selection favours animals whose concern for kin is proportional to their degree of biological relatedness.
What is the primary method of the evolutionary perspective?
Deductive. Start with an observation and try to explain it logically.
