Week1 History of psychology

Question 1

What is Psychology?

Answer 1

the scientific study of the mind, brain and behaviour

Question 2

Science involves two types of research

Answer 2

Basic research: reflects the quest for knowledge purely for its own sake
Applied research: designed to solve specific practical problems

Question 3

The 5 Goals of Psychology

Answer 3

To describe how people & other species behave e.g., depressed behaviour
To understand the causes of these behaviours e.g., exposure to daylight
To predict how people & animals will behave under certain conditions e.g., compare seasonal variations
To influence behaviour through control of causes e.g., control exposure to light
To apply psychological knowledge for the enhancement of human welfare e.g., phototherapy

Question 4

Different levels of explanations for behaviours

Answer 4

biological explanations
cognitive or psychological explanations
environmental explanations

Question 5

Mind-body interactions

Answer 5

Relations between mental processes in the brain & the functioning of other bodily systems

Question 6

The Mind-Body Problem

Answer 6

One of the oldest psychological questions.
Is the mind separate or part of the body’s activities?
And what is the exact relationship between the two?

Question 7

What is a mind-body dualist and one real example in history?

Answer 7

Believes that the mind is a spiritual entity not subject to physical laws.
eg Descartes saw that certain actions were reflexive (hammer - knee).

Question 8

What is the dualism advocated by Descartes

Answer 8

-Mind & body interact but are fundamentally different.
-Mind comes from God.
-The body is a machine.
-According to Descartes, the interaction occurs in the pineal gland.
-If the mind is non-physical then it can’t be studied via physical means.

Question 9

Monism and a representing person

Answer 9

The mind is not a separate spiritual entity but simply a product of physical events in the brain
Thomas Hobbes

Question 10

Empiricism and a representing person

Answer 10

Descartes’ rationalism replaced by Locke’s empiricism – pursuit of truth through observation & experience.
-All knowledge comes from the senses.
-Observation more valid than reason.
John Locke

Question 11

Psychology began in (year) in (place) by Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 11

1879, Leipzig

Question 12

Wundt believed that the mind could be studied partly by breaking it down into its basic components.

Answer 12

True as he was Interested in the elements of mind.

Question 13

Structuralism was started by ________ and structuralists used a method called ______________ to study sensations

Answer 13

Edward Titchener
introspection

Question 14

Introspection

Answer 14

Participants presented with various kinds of sensory stimuli & trained to describe their inner experiences of them.
*The method came under criticism (too unreliable) & this early school withered & died fairly swiftly.

Question 15

Darwin’s theory

Answer 15

-Behaviours best explained by understanding their role in the adaptation of an organism to its environment.
-Behaviours could be inherited.
-Continuities between different species.

Question 16

Functionalism

Answer 16

-Function of mind more important than structure.
-Inspired by Darwin’s work on evolution
-Emphasis more on overt observable behaviour than private mental sensations & memories.

Question 17

Key figure of functionalism and his achievements

Answer 17

William James
Helped broaden scope and methodologies of psychology.
Functionalism didn’t so much die out as become widely accepted by mainstream psychology.
Its tradition can be seen in modern day fields such as cognitive psychology & evolutionary psychology.

Question 18

Psychodynamic

Answer 18

Sigmund Freud
Focus on the idea of a dynamic unconscious.
Based on personal introspection & his clinical observations.
Problems must be psychological & unconscious.

Question 19

What did Freud help

Answer 19

to broaden the subject
to stimulate research in areas such as dreams & memory

Question 20

Behavioural Perspective

Answer 20

Focuses on the role of the external environment on behaviour
Behaviour is jointly determined by: habits learnt from previous experience & stimuli in our immediate environment.

Question 21

Behaviourism’s beginning

Answer 21

Rooted in the philosophical school of empiricism
Began with the work of J. B. Watson
-Human nature is shaped purely by the environment
-Psychology should stick to observable events & not use mentalistic terminology.
-Human beings are products of their learning experiences.

Question 22

John Locke argued that at birth the human mind is a

Answer 22

tabula rasa

Question 23

Behaviourism After Watson

Answer 23

-most extensive theoretical framework was developed by B. F. Skinner
-believed that the causes of human behaviour reside in the outer world: “A person does not act upon the world, the world acts upon him” (1971).

Question 24

B.F.Skinner ‘s approach is ______ behaviourism and he examined how behaviour is shaped by ________ and _______ consequences
He believed that society could harness the power of the environment to change behaviour in beneficial ways.

Answer 24

radical
rewarding & punishing consequences

Question 25

How did behaviourism restrict psychology

Answer 25

restricted psychology to observable behaviour

Question 26

Cognitive Revolution in 1950s and 1960s include main challenges from which 3 perspectives?

Answer 26

-Cognitive Behaviourism: our expectations & thoughts interact with learning & the environment to affect how we behave
-The Humanistic Perspective: emphasizes personal responsibility, personal growth & finding meaning in one’s existence
-The Cognitive Perspective: the study of mental processes & how they develop & influence behaviour

Question 27

A main study theme of sociocultural perspective in psychology ?

Answer 27

Individualism & collectivism

Question 28

What does the biological perspective in psychology examine?

Answer 28

Examines how brain processes & bodily functions regulate/influence mind & behaviour & addresses the role of genetics & evolutionary history.

Question 29

2 major fields in biological perspective

Answer 29

1. Behavioural Neuroscience: The role of brain processes & physiology on behaviour, sensation, emotion & thought.
2. Evolutionary Psychology: This field stresses that many human mental abilities & behavioural tendencies are by-products of millions of years of evolution.