Unit 1 Flashcards
Describe the etymology (that is, origin and meaning) of the word psychology.
-comes from two Greek words, psyche, meaning the soul, and logos, referring to the study of a subject.
Define psychology
Simple: studies behaviour and the biological and cognitive processes underlying it. It is also a profession.
Who made psychology its own discipline? What was psychology’s date of birth? (2)
-Wilhelm Wundt
-1879
What did Wundt believe psychology should be the study of?
-conscious experience
Who pioneered structuralism?
-Edward Titchener
Who pioneered functionalism?
-William James
Describe the basic tenets of functionalism?
-focused on the function or purpose of consciousness
Describe the basic tenets of structuralism?
-psychology should use introspection to analyze consciousness into its basic elements
Did structuralism or functionalism have a more lasting effect on psychology? Why? (2)
-functionalism
-because it fostered behaviourism and applied psychology
Who was the proponent of psychoanalytic theory?
-Freud
What does psychoanalytic theory emphasize?
-unconscious determinants of behaviour and the importance of sexuality
According to Freud, what does the unconscious consist of?
-thoughts that one is not aware of but still influence one’s behaviour
Who founded behaviourism? What did he believe psychology should study? (2)
-John Watson
-only observable behaviour
Once behaviourism slowly took hold, what did psychology become?
-the scientific study of behaviour (rather than consciousness)
What two things were important to behaviourists? (2)
-importance of environment over heredity
-pioneered animal research
Who boosted behaviourism which reached its peak in the 50s?
-B.F Skinner
What did Skinner believe in? (3)
-animal research
-strict focus on observable behaviour
-importance of the environment
How did Skinner generate controversy?
-said free will is an illusion
Who began to gain influence in the 50s with the belief that behaviourism and psychoanalytic are unappealing and what theory did they support? (2)
-Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
-Humanism
What do humanists believe is important? What do they stress? (2)
-the unique qualities of human behaviour and the irrelevance of animal research
-stress humans freedom and potential for growth
What people were important in cognitive psychology? (3)
-Jean Piaget
-Noam Chomsky
-Herbert Simon
What was the subject matter of cognitive theory?
-thoughts, mental processes
What was the basic premise of cognitive theory?
-Human behavior cannot be fully understood without examining how people acquire, store and process information
The last theory to take place that is still prevalent today is behavioural neuroscience. What people played a role in this? (4)
-James Olds
-Roger Sperry
-David Hubel
-Torsten Wiesel
What is the subject matter of behavioural neuroscience?
-Physiological, genetic and neural bases of behavior in humans and animals
What is the basic premise of behavioural neuroscience?
-An organisms functioning can be explained in terms of the brain structures and bio-chemical processes that underlie behavior
When did psychology become more of a profession and why?
-starting after WW2, clinical psychology became more of a profession
In the 90s evolutionary psychology gained some interest, what was its main premise?
-behaviour patterns within a species are products of evolution
What do evolutionary psychologists argue?
-natural selection favours behaviours that enhance an organisms fitness
What did Martin Seligman launch in the 90s?
-positive psychology
What is clinical psychology concerned with?
-diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders (non-medical approach unlike psychiatry)
What is empiricism?
-the idea that knowledge should be acquired through observation
Define Hebb’s cell assembly
-a network of neurons that become linked together through repeated activation, forming a pattern of connections.
What does experimental psychology do?
-Research “core” topics established in the early twentieth century
