Unit 0 : Foundations Flashcards
What did Socrates and his student Plato claim about mind and knowledge?
The mind is separable form body and continues after the body dies
Knowledge is innate- born within us
Socrates and Plato derived principles from ________
logic
Plato’s student, Aristotle, had a different view on how knowledge is obtained. What was it?
Aristotle believed knowledge was not preexisting and instead came to be through growing from the experiences stored in our memories.
Rene Descartes (1595-1650) agreed with Socrates and Plato about what concept? Descartes dissected animals and discovered what about their brains?
Descartes agreed with the concept that the mind was separate from the body and could survive after death.
Descartes discovered fluid in the brain’s cavities containing “animal spirits” which would flow through what we call nerves to the muscles and provoke movement.
Aristotle derived principles from _____________
observations
How did Rene Descartes believe memories formed?
Memories formed as experiences opened pores in the brain into which the animal spirits also flowed.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) claimed what about knowledge?
Knowledge is claimed through observations and utilizing inductive reasoning (empiricism)
John Locke (1632-1704) argued that the mind at birth was a what? Combining Bacon’s ideas, the formation of what concept occurred?
The mind at birth was a tabula rasa- a “blank slate” on which experience writes on
The formation of empiricism occurred; what we know comes from experiences and that observation and experimentation enables scientific knowledge.
Wilhelm Wundt sought to measure “_____ __ ____ ______” the ________ and __________ mental processes.
“atoms of the mind”
fastest
simplest
Wilhelm Wundt founded the first what in Germany?
Psychological laboratory
In 1892, together, Wundt’s student, Titchener, and himself established what early school of thought?
Structuralism
What is structuralism? What were some cons of this method?
The method of using introspection; getting patients to look inward
It was unreliable and we often don’t know why we feel what we feel and do what we do
Psychologist William James, influenced by Charles Darwin’s ideas, developed what early school of thought?
Functionalism
What is functionalism?
The belief that our mental processes enable organisms to adapt, survive, and flourish.
James assumed that thinking, like smelling, was adaptive and contributed to our survival.
Who is Mary Whiton Calkins?
A woman who was denied her degree from Harvard, was tutored by James, was APA’s first female president in 1905
Who was Margaret Washburn?
She was the first woman the receive a psychology Ph.D.
What are experimental psychologists?
Psychologists that explore behavior and thinking with experiments.
What is behaviorism?
The view that psychology should study behavior without reference to mental processes
What is Freudian psychology?
Emphasizes our unconscious thought and emotional responses to childhood experiences and how they affect our behavior
What are humanistic psychologists? Who were some people who supported it?
Psychologists that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people. They recognized how environmental influences can nurture of limit our growth potential, and the important for having our needs for love acceptance satisfied.
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
What is cognitive psychology?
Psychology that explores how we perceive, process, and retain information.
What is cognitive neuroscience?
Study that helps us understand the brain activity that underlies mental activity and cognition (perception, thinking, memory, etc.)
What is psychology?
The science of behavior and mental processes
What is the nature v nurture issue?
nature: genes/biological/hereditary that impact your traits and behaviors
nurture: your environment effects your traits and behaviors
What did Charles Darwin claim about natural selection?
Natural Selection; organisms that are more/better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive. It is a mechanism in evolution and shapes behaviors and bodies.
What is biopsychosocial approach?
An approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.
Offers a more complete understanding
What is psychometrics?
The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.
What are educational psychologists?
The study of how psychological processes affect teaching and learning
What are personality psychologists?
Studying the characteristics of an individual’s pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
What is applied research?
Study aiming to solve practical problems.
What are industrial organizational psychologists?
Psychology to optimize human behavior in workplaces.
What is counseling psychology?
Help people cope with challenges, crises, in order to achieve a greater well-being
What are clinical psychologists?
Assess and treat people with psychological disorders
What are psychiatrists?
Medical doctors licensed to prescribe drugs in addition to psychotherapy.
What is positive psychology?
Attempts to discover and promote traits that help people to thrive.
What are community psychologists?
Work to create healthy social and physical environments.
What are human factors psychologists?
Focus on the interactions of people, machines, and physical environments.
What are forensic psychologists?
Apply psychological principles to legal issues
What are health psychologists?
Promote health and prevent disease
What are neuropsychologists?
Investigate the relationship between neurological processes (structure & function of the nervous system) and behavior.
What are rehabilitation psychologists?
Work with people who have lost optimal functioning after an accident, illness, etc.
