week 1: history Flashcards
what is psychology?
psychology is the scientific investigation of mental processes, behaviour and the interaction between them
Wilhelm Wundt
established first psychological lab
tried to identify elements of consciousness
used trained introspection (careful, systematic observations of ones own conscious experience)
what were the 2 early theories?
structuralism
functionalism
who invented structuralism?
edward titchener
what did structuralism believe?
the task of psychology was to analyse consciousness into its basic elements and investigate how these elements were related
who invented functionalism?
william james
what did functionalism believe?
psychology should investigate the function/purpose of consciousness rather than its structure
what are the perspectives in psychology? (school of thoughts guiding psychology)
psychodynamic behaviourist humanistic cognitive evolutionary
who invented behaviourism?
John B. Watson
what did behaviourism believe?
psychology should only study observable behaviour
what did Gestalt psychology believe?
that psychological phenomena are best viewed as organised, structured wholes not analysed into component elements
who invented Gestalt psychology and why?
Max Wertheimer as a reaction to structuralism and behaviourism
who invented psychoanalysis?
Sigmund Freud
what is the psychoanalysis theory?
the unconscious contains thoughts, memories and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but exert a significant influence over behaviour
what is radical behaviourism?
is a return to Watson’s behaviourism
believed organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive outcomes and dont repeat responses that result in negative outcomes
Who invented radical behaviourism?
B.F. Skinner
What is the humanistic perspective?
an emphasis on the uniqueness of humans and the qualities surrounding it
who invented the humanist perspective?
Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
what time period saw a renewed interest in cognition and physiology?
the 1950’s
who invented the psychodynamic perspective?
Sigmund Freud
what are the 3 basic principles surrounding psychodynamic?
- actions are determined by the interplay of thoughts, feelings and wishes
- many mental events happen outside our conscious awareness
- mental processes may be in conflict with eachother and cause anxiety
psychodynamic methods
case studies
interpretation of meaning from verbal thought/behaviour
what are the 3 principles surrounding behaviourist perspective?
- environmental stimuli control behaviour through learning
- behaviour can be understood without reference to internal mind (thoughts feelings)
- behaviours can be learned through conditioning
types of conditionings in behaviourist perspective
1, classical conditioning (pavlov)
2, operant conditioning (bf skinner)
methods used in behaviourist perspective
experimentation with humans and animals
what is self-actualisation?
people are motivated to reach their full potential
humanistic perspective methods
person-centred therapeutic approach
who invented the cognitive perspective?
rene descartes
what are the basic principles surrounding cognitive perspective?
behaviour is the product of information processing
a focus on how people perceive, process and retrieve info
cognitive perspective methods
experimentation
who invented the evolutionary perspective?
charles darwin
what are the 3 basic principles surrounding the evolutionary perspective?
- human behaviours evolved to help our ancestors survive and reproduce
- some behaviour is biologically determined (sexual impulse)
- psychological processes are shaped by natural selection
evolutionary perspective methods
- deduction of explanation for traits and behaviour
- cross species and cross-cultural comparisons
- experimentation
