Unit 1: Psychology's History and Approaches Flashcards
critical thinking
examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
Who concluded that mind is separable from the body?
Socrates and Plato
Who concluded that knowledge is not inherent, and grows from stored memories?
Aristotle
René Descartes
1.) Agreed with body/mind seperation
2.) Concluded important discoveries about nerve paths through dissection of animals
Francis Bacon
1.) Founder of modern science, influence lingers in psychology
2.) Noted that our brains tend to seek out patterns in random events
John Locke
1.) Wrote “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”
2.) Argued that the mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) at birth
empiricism
The idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge
Whose theory set the ground work for empiricism?
Francis Bacon and John Locke
Willhelm Wundt
1.) Structuralist
2.) Createst first laboratory for psychology in 1870
structuralism
early school of psychological thought promoted by Wundt and his student, Tichener. Used INTROSPECTION to reveal the structure of the human mind.
☆ Wanted to know what elements made up consciousness
What made structuralism unreliable?
1.) Required proper articulation
2.) Results varied
3.) Err in recollection
functionalism
Early school of thought promoted by William James and influenced by Charles Darwin. Explored how mental and behavioral processes function
☆ Sought to understand the adaptive function of consciousness
William James
1.) Believed that we have traits and functions that serve a certain purpose (asked the “Why” instead of the “If”)
2.) Studied down to earth emotions and other human habits
Who first defined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior?
John B. Watson and R.F Skinner
behaviorism
The view that psychology can be explained…
1.) In terms of conditioning
2.) Without appeal to mental processes
3.) That some mental conditions are best treated by altering behavior patterns
☆ Major influence going into the 1960s
Sigmund Freud
1.) Developed psychoanalytic psychology, which sought to emphasize the unconscious mind’s influence on behavior
☆ Major psychological force
Who developed humanism?
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
humanistic psychology
A historically significant perspective that…
1.) Emphasized human growth potential after finding behaviorism & Freudian psychology to be too limiting
cognitive bias
A stalemate in accurate thinking that flaws our judgment due to favoritism to a previously held emotion
What school of psychology continues through evolutionary psychology?
Functionalism
cognitive psychology
How we enable, process, store, and retrieve information (our interpretations)
nature-nurture issue
Longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
natural selection
Claims inherited traits that beter enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a certain environment will most likely be passed on
Evolutionary psychology
The study of evolution of behavior and the mind using principles of natural selection
Behavior genetics
1.) Studied behavior and relative power/limits of genetics on it
2.) Dissolved tension in nature-nurture (nurture works on what nature provides)
How did the cognitive revolution affect psychology?
1.) Recaptured field’s early interest in mental processes and made them legitimate topics for study
positive psychology
Study of human flourishing, with goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive
biopsychological approach
Integrates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints
Biological psychology
How the body and brain enable emotions; how genes/environment influence differences
Social cultural psychology
How behavior and thinking may vary across situations and cultures
testing effect
Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information
SQ3R
Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review
Developmental psychologist
Studies changing abilities from womb to tomb
Educational psychology
Studies teacher influences on learning and teaching
Personality psychologist
Investigates persisitent personality traits
Social psychologist
Investigates how we view and affect one another
Basic research
Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
Applied research
Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
Counseling psychologists
Assists people with problems in living to achieve a greater well being
Clinical psychologists
Studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
Psychiatrists
Deals with psychological disorders, licensed to provide medical treatments
Basic Research Subfields of Psychology
1.) Cognitive
2.) Developmental
3.) Educational
4.) Experimental
5.) Psychometric and quantitative
6.) Social
Applied Research Subfields of Psychology
FEH IN SRS
1.) Forensic
2.) Enviromental
3.) Health
4.) Industrial-organizational
5.) Neuropsychologists
6.) Rehabilitation
7.) School
8.) Sport
The Helping Professions
1.) Clinical
2.) Community
3.) Counseling
