PSYCH FR

What is psychology?

The scientific study of mind and behaviour.

What is the mind in psychology?

Private events happening inside a person, unseen by others.

What is behaviour in psychology?

Public actions or words that can be observed by others.

What is philosophical dualism?

The belief that the body and mind are separate entities.

Who proposed that the pineal gland was the 'seat of the soul'?

René Descartes (1596–1650).

What did Gilbert Ryle call the mind in relation to the body?

'The ghost in the machine.'

What is philosophical materialism?

The belief that the body and mind are one; all mental phenomena are reducible to physical phenomena.

According to materialism, what is the mind?

The activity of the brain.

What is philosophical realism?

The idea that perception of the world is produced entirely by sensory information — a faithful copy of reality.

Which philosopher is associated with realism?

John Locke (1632–1704).

What is philosophical idealism?

The belief that perception is the brain’s interpretation of sensory input — more like a painting than a photograph.

Which philosopher is associated with idealism?

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804).

What is philosophical empiricism?

The idea that all knowledge is acquired through experience.

What is 'tabula rasa'?

Latin for 'blank slate', meaning people are born without built-in knowledge.

What is philosophical nativism?

The belief that some knowledge is innate and hardwired into the brain.

When did psychology begin as a science?

About 150 years ago.

What were the major movements in psychology over time?

1800s: Structuralism vs Functionalism; Early 1900s: Psychoanalysis vs Behaviourism; Late 1900s: Cognitive Revolution.

What is structuralism?

An approach that analyzed the mind’s basic elements through introspection.

Who founded the first psychology lab?

Wilhelm Wundt in 1879 at the University of Leipzig.

What is introspection?

Systematic self-observation of one’s own conscious experience.

Who developed introspection further?

Edward Titchener (1867–1927).

What was the main problem with structuralism?

Inner experiences are private and subjective, making verification impossible.

What is functionalism?

The study of the functions and adaptive purposes of mental processes.

Who is associated with functionalism?

William James (1842–1910).

What concept influenced functionalism?

Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

What is 'fitness' in evolutionary terms?

The number of offspring produced, not physical strength.

What is hysteria?

A loss of function with no physical cause, often relieved by hypnosis.

Who studied hysteria through hypnosis?

Jean-Martin Charcot and Pierre Janet.

What did Freud believe caused hysteria?

Unconscious painful experiences.

What is psychoanalysis?

A therapeutic approach focusing on bringing unconscious material to conscious awareness.

Who were notable figures in the psychoanalytic movement besides Freud?

Carl Jung and Alfred Adler.

What were criticisms of psychoanalysis?

Lack of empirical evidence, subjectivity, and unfalsifiable theories.

What is behaviourism?

The study of observable behaviour and its relationship to stimuli.

Who discovered classical conditioning?

Ivan Pavlov, through his study of salivation in dogs.

Who founded behaviourism as a psychological movement?

John B. Watson (1878–1958).

What did B.F. Skinner contribute to behaviourism?

The principle of reinforcement — rewarded behaviour is repeated.

What is Gestalt psychology?

The idea that we perceive the whole rather than the sum of its parts.

Who founded Gestalt psychology?

Max Wertheimer (1880–1943).

What did Sir Frederic Bartlett study?

Memory errors — he argued that memory is reconstructive, not a recording.

What does developmental psychology study?

How psychological phenomena change over the life span.

Who proposed stages of cognitive development?

Jean Piaget.

What are schemas?

Mental frameworks used to organize knowledge.

What are assimilation and accommodation?

Assimilation: fitting new info into existing schemas. Accommodation: changing schemas to fit new info.

Who emphasized social interaction in learning?

Lev Vygotsky.

What is social psychology?

The study of the causes and consequences of sociality.

Who said behaviour depends on one’s subjective construal of the environment?

Kurt Lewin.

What did Solomon Asch study?

How people form impressions and the primacy effect.

What did Noam Chomsky argue against?

Behaviourism’s inability to explain language learning.

What is universal grammar?

An innate ability to acquire language.

What is cognitive psychology?

The study of human information processing.

How did computers influence cognitive psychology?

They provided a model for understanding mental processes like memory and computation.

What does evolutionary psychology study?

How the mind has been shaped by natural selection.

What did John Garcia’s research show?

Organisms are biologically predisposed to learn certain associations, like taste aversion.

What does the phrase 'the mind is what the brain does' mean?

Mental processes arise from brain activity.

What is cognitive neuroscience?

The study of the relationship between the brain and the mind.

What is behavioural neuroscience?

The study of the relationship between the brain and behaviour.

What technology allows us to study the brain in action?

fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging).

What is culture in psychology?

Shared values, traditions, and beliefs of a group.

What does cultural psychology study?

How culture influences mental life.

What degrees are needed to become a psychologist?

A Master’s or PhD.

What are major professional organizations in the U.S.?

APA (American Psychological Association) and APS (Association for Psychological Science).

What are major Canadian psychology organizations?

CPA (Canadian Psychological Association), CSBBCS, and CAN-ACN.

What do clinical psychologists do?

Assess and treat people with psychological issues.

What do school psychologists do?

Offer guidance to students, parents, and teachers.

What do industrial/organizational psychologists do?

Help businesses hire and improve performance.

What do sport psychologists do?

Help athletes train and perform.

What do forensic psychologists do?

Assist courts and attorneys.

What do consumer psychologists do?

Help companies market and develop products.

What do professors and researchers do?

Conduct research and teach in academic settings.

What is everyday reasoning?

Using personal observations or stories to justify beliefs.

What is scientific reasoning?

A structured, systematic process that relies on data and probability.

What do both everyday and scientific reasoning use?

Induction — drawing general conclusions from specific observations.

What is inductive reasoning?

Drawing general conclusions from specific observations.

What is deductive reasoning?

Using general rules or principles to make specific predictions.

What is falsifiability?

The idea that scientific claims must be capable of being proven false.

Who proposed falsifiability as a key feature of science?

Karl Popper (1902–1994).

What makes a claim unscientific?

If there is no way to disprove it.

What is empiricism?

The belief that accurate knowledge about the world can be acquired through observation and experience.

What is dogmatism?

The tendency to cling to one’s beliefs regardless of evidence.

What is the scientific method?

A procedure for using empirical evidence to establish facts.

What are the main steps of the scientific method?

1. Develop a theory. 2. Derive a falsifiable hypothesis. 3. Test the hypothesis by observing the world and collecting evidence.

What is a theory?

An explanation of a natural phenomenon.

What is a hypothesis?

A falsifiable prediction made by a theory.

Can a scientific theory ever be proven true?

No, theories can only be supported by evidence — not proven.

What makes a strong scientific theory?

It survives repeated attempts at falsification.

What is the empirical method?

A set of rules and techniques for observation.

What are the two main kinds of methods in science?

Methods of observation: Discover what people do. Methods of explanation: Discover why people do it.

What are the limitations of everyday observation?

It’s often inconsistent and incomplete.

What are scientific techniques that overcome these limitations?

Measurement and description.

What is an operational definition?

A description of a property in measurable terms — translating abstract concepts into measurable variables.

What is required once an operational definition is established?

A detector — a method or instrument to measure it.

Can there be multiple operational definitions for the same concept?

Yes, researchers choose based on purpose, ethics, cost, and available technology.

What is a construct?

A theoretical concept that is not directly measurable.

What is construct validity?

The degree to which a measurement truly reflects the theoretical concept it is intended to measure.

What causes poor construct validity?

When a measure is overly simplistic, narrow, or fails to capture the full concept.

What is reliability?

The consistency of a measure — producing the same result under the same conditions.

What is power?

The sensitivity of a measure — its ability to detect changes or differences when they exist.

What are demand characteristics?

Aspects of a study that cause participants to behave as they think they should.

How do psychologists reduce participant bias?

Use naturalistic observation, ensure privacy or anonymity, measure involuntary behaviours, and use unawareness.

What must researchers do after using deception?

Debrief participants and allow them to withdraw their data.