VL1 History of Psychology

These flashcards cover key concepts in scientific psychology, psychoanalysis, and related theories.

Scientific psychology

The empirical, data-driven study of mind and behaviour using falsifiable theories.

Popular psychology

Simplified, intuitive explanations not based on scientific evidence.

Unconscious (Freud)

A reservoir of repressed desires, impulses, and unacceptable thoughts.

Repression

The unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts or impulses.

Oedipus complex

A boy’s unconscious desire for his mother and rivalry with his father.

Electra complex

A girl’s desire for her father and rivalry with her mother.

Libido theory

Freud’s idea that sexual energy drives much of human behaviour.

Resistance (psychoanalysis)

When patients avoid threatening topics or defend against insight.

Free association

Saying whatever comes to mind to uncover unconscious material.

Dream interpretation (Freud)

A method for uncovering disguised unconscious wishes.

Inferiority complex (Adler)

A deep feeling of inadequacy that drives behaviour and compensation.

Striving for superiority (Adler)

The human motivation to overcome weakness and achieve competence.

Individual psychology (Adler)

A theory focusing on social context, goals, and compensation.

Collective unconscious (Jung)

Shared inherited structures of the psyche containing universal patterns.

Archetypes (Jung)

Universal symbolic images (e.g., shadow, hero, mother, trickster).

Analytical psychology (Jung)

Jung’s school focused on symbols, archetypes, and individuation.

Karen Horney's criticism of Freud

Emphasized culture and relationships over Freud's male-centred sexuality theory.

Neurosis (Horney)

A result of disturbed relationships and cultural pressures, not sexual drives.

Behaviour therapy

A treatment based on learning principles to change maladaptive behaviour.

Systematic desensitisation

Gradual exposure paired with relaxation to reduce anxiety.

Exposure therapy

Facing feared stimuli to reduce anxiety through habituation.

Cognitive revolution

The shift toward studying mental processes and interpretation of situations.

Common factors in psychotherapy

Insight, new relational experiences, and behavioural practice.

Catharsis myth

The false belief that emotional release alone cures problems.

Induction

Reasoning from specific observations to general laws.

Problem of induction (Hume)

We cannot justify universal laws logically from finite observations.

Deduction

Reasoning from general laws to specific predictions.

Hypothetico-deductive method

Form a hypothesis → deduce predictions → test/falsify.

Verificationism

The idea that theories are scientific only if confirmed by observation.

Falsification (Popper)

A theory must be refutable by possible observations to be scientific.

Unfalsifiable theory

A theory that cannot be tested or disproven → not scientific.

Prediction in science

A deduced statement that can be tested empirically.

Empirical evidence

Data gained from observation or experiment.

Paradigm (Kuhn)

A shared framework guiding scientific thinking, methods, and standards.

Normal science (Kuhn)

Puzzle-solving within an accepted paradigm.

Anomaly (Kuhn)

A finding that contradicts the current paradigm.

Crisis (Kuhn)

When anomalies accumulate and the paradigm loses credibility.

Scientific revolution (Kuhn)

A paradigm shift replacing one worldview with another.

Incommensurability (Kuhn)

Old and new paradigms cannot be directly compared due to different concepts.

Research programme (Lakatos)

A theory system with a 'hard core' and a flexible 'protective belt.'

Hard core (Lakatos)

The central theory that is not abandoned.

Protective belt (Lakatos)

Auxiliary hypotheses that protect the core from falsification.

Progressive research programme

One that produces new predictions that get confirmed.

Degenerative research programme

One that only explains old data and avoids risky predictions.

Methodological anarchism (Feyerabend)

The idea that no single scientific method exists — 'anything goes.'

Theory-ladenness of observation

The idea that what scientists 'see' depends on their theoretical background.

Einstein vs Newton prediction difference

Newton: 0.87 arcseconds light bending, Einstein: 1.75 arcseconds.

Eddington expedition (1919)

Tested whether Newton’s or Einstein’s prediction of light bending was correct.

Result of the Eddington expedition

Einstein’s prediction (1.75 arcseconds) was confirmed → paradigm shift.

Long past, short history

Psychology has ancient roots but became scientific only recently.

Unconscious mind (general)

Processes outside awareness influencing behaviour.

Insight in therapy

Understanding emotional patterns and their origins.

New relational experiences in therapy

Corrective emotional interactions that update old patterns.

Behavioural practice

Learning new actions to replace maladaptive behaviours.