Unit 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

Define psychology

A

the study of behavior, thoughts, & experience

Uses the scientific method

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2
Q

Define scientific method

A

A way of learning through observations

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3
Q

Define hypothesis and the guidelines to one

A

A testable prediction about processes that can be observed & measured
Must be falsifiable
Do not prove hypothesis, only support it
Must be stated in precise & relevant terms
Leads back to theory upon which it is based

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4
Q

Define theory

A

an explanation for a broader range of observations that also generates new hypothesis & integrates numerous findings into a coherent whole

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5
Q

Requirements for a theory

A

Built from a hypothesis
Must also be falsifiable
Has room to be possibly wrong
Can be updated to be more accurate

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6
Q

Define critical thinking

A

exercising curiosity & skepticism when evaluating the claims of others, and with our own assumptions and beliefs

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7
Q

Why is critical thinking important to psychologists?

A

Psychologists must

  • apply the scientific method
  • examine the biases of ourselves and others
  • Consider other perspective
  • tolerate ambiguity when results are inconclusive
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8
Q

Principle of Parsimony

A

the simplest of all competing explanations of a phenomenon should be the one we accept

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9
Q

What are the 2 fundamental beliefs of scientific principles?

A

Empiricism and determinism

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10
Q

Define empiricism

A

Philosophical tenet that knowledge comes through experience

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11
Q

Define determinism

A

The belief that all events are governed by a lawful cause & effect relationship

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12
Q

Define zeitgeist

A

refers to a general set of beliefs of a particular culture at a specific time in history
- this delays the advancement of science

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13
Q

Define materialism

A

the belief that humans & other living beings are composed exclusively of physical matter

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14
Q

Hippocrates

A
Father of western medicine
4 humors (fluids in body)
- blood
- yellow bile
- black bile
- phlegm
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15
Q

What did Hippocrates theorize

A

If a person’s humors were out of balance, it would affect them physiologically and behaviourally

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16
Q

Galen of Pergamon

A

4 temperaments based on the humors

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17
Q

Sanguine (blood)

A

a tendency to be impulsive, pleasure-seeking, and charismatic

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18
Q

Choleric (yellow bile)

A

a tendency to be ambitious, energetic, and a bit aggressive

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19
Q

Melancholic (black bile)

A

a tendency to be independent, perfectionist, and introverted

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20
Q

Phlegmatic (phlegm)

A

a tendency to be quiet, relaxed, and content with life

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21
Q

Aristotle

A

Wrote para psyche, the first text in psychology

believed that man started from the blank slate and gains knowledge through experience

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22
Q

Rene Descartes

A

Mind was seen as spiritual
Problem of interactionism
Pineal gland glad was the translator between mind and body

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23
Q

Gustav Fletcher

A

Psycho-physics

weight experiment

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24
Q

define psychophysics

A

the study of the relationship between the physical world and the mental representation of that world

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25
Q

Charles Darwin

A

Evo. by natural selection

Evo can select for behaviors like reading emotional expression

26
Q

Influential psychologists from medicine

A

Franz Mesmer, Sigmund Freud, Francis Galton, Wilhem Wundt, Edward Titchener, William James, and Edwin Twitmyer

27
Q

Brain localization

A

certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities

28
Q

Phrenology

A

Franz Gall & Joseph Spurzhein
Brain consisted of ‘organs’, associated with a personality trait
Size of organs corresponded to a trait
Organs then produced bumps on the skull which were felt by a phrenologist

29
Q

Brain Injury

A

Broca’s area
- Production but not comprehension of language
Wernicke’s area
- Comprehension but not production of language
Can speak but could not make meaning or sense

30
Q

Franz Mesmer

A

Magnets cure disease

mesmerized patients and induced trances

31
Q

Freud contributions

A

potential for unconscious processes
Medical model to treat psychological disorders
experiences during childhood affect adult behavior

32
Q

defintion of psychoanalysis

A

a psychological approach that attempts to explain how behvaiour and personality are influenced by unconscious processes

33
Q

Galton

A

Nature and nurture relationships

promoted use of statistical methods to quantify psychological traits

34
Q

Eminence

A

combination of ability, morality, and achievement resulting from good genes

35
Q

Wilhem Wundt

A

Opened first human behaviour laboratory

introspection, structuralism, and reaction time methods

36
Q

Introspection

A

a process of “looking within” to describe psychological sensations

37
Q

Structuralism

A

analyzing conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements & to understand how these elements work together

38
Q

Reaction Time methods

A

Participants asked to react to the sounds of metal balls hitting one another
- showed that mental activity is not instanttaneous

39
Q

Titchener

A

Described mental experiences as composed of elements

40
Q

William James

A

Wrote first modern textbook in psychology

Proposed functionalism

41
Q

Functionalism

A

the study of purpose & function of behaviour & conscious experience

42
Q

Twitmyer

A

Discovered conditioned reflex (knee reflex)

43
Q

Behaviorists

A

Pavlov, John B Watson, BF Skinner

44
Q

Classical Conditioning

A

a learning process that occurs when 2 stimuli is repeatedly paired

45
Q

Behaviourism

A

the study of observable behaviour with little or no reference to mental events or instincts as possible influences on behaviour

46
Q

John B Watson

A

All behaviour could be explained by conditioning

47
Q

BF Skinner

A

Skinner box

operant conditioning

48
Q

Operant conditioning

A

strengthening or weakening a behaviour with reward or punishment

49
Q

Humanistic Psychology

A

focuses on the unique aspects of each individual human, each persons freedom to act, his/her rational thought, & the belief that humans are fundamentally different than animals
- self actualization

50
Q

Brain and behaviour

A

karl lashley, donald hebb, and wilder penfield

51
Q

Lashley

A

tried to locate engram (memory storage
non localization
principle of mass action

52
Q

non-localization

A

exact location of damage was not important

53
Q

Principle of Mass Action

A

the size of the damage corresponded with the level of impairment

54
Q

Hebb’s law

A

ong term potentiation

Cells that fire together, wire together

55
Q

Penfield

A

electrically stimulated paitents brains

56
Q

Cognitive revolution

A

Herman ebbinghaus, Frederick Bartlett, Gestaly and cognitive psychology

57
Q

Ebbinghaus

A

forgetting curves

58
Q

Gestalt psychology

A

Emphasized the need to focus on the whole of perception & experience, rather than its parts

59
Q

Cognitive psychology

A

Modern perspective that focuses on mental processes such as memory, thinking, & language

60
Q

Social and cultural influences

A

Norman Triplett and Kurt Lewin

61
Q

Normal Triplett

A

Studied social influences

- cyclists alone vs in groups

62
Q

Kurt Lewin

A

Founder of social psychology

- behavior is a function of an individual and their environment