PSYCH 100: History of Psychology

What did Plato believe?

The mind has 3 parts: logic, emotion, and basic desires

What did Aristotle believe?

The mind and body cannot be separated, and that knowledge is gained through experience (sense and memory)

What did Hippocrates believe?

Mental health is influenced by the body, and the four bodily fluids control our moods.

What did Socrates believe?

The ability to know yourself and to be able to look inward (introspection)

Define “empiricism”

It is the belief that using our senses and observation skills will allow us to interpret reality. Aristotle’s beliefs aligned with those of empiricism. It is the opposite of rationalism (the belief in using logic)

What is the difference between the mind and the brain?

The brain is the hardware, the physical mass. The mind is the software that processes things such as thoughts, consciousness, memory, perception, and emotion.

What did Wilhelm Wundt accomplish?

Wilhelm Wundt was a structuralist and is known as the “father of experimental psychology.” He opened the first psychology laboratory, wrote foundational textbooks, and conducted research that helped conclude that the mind can be measured.

Define “structuralism”

The concept of structuralism is that the structure of the mind can be understood through analyzing its contents

Define “functional psychology”

William James’s functionalism focused on what mental processes do and how they help people adapt to the environment, rather than focusing on their structure

Define “Gestalt psychology”

Gestalt psychology began with Max Wertheimer, and it followed the belief that studying the whole was richer than studying individual parts of an experience. It proposed the idea that the mind processes information simultaneously rather than sequentially. It was also an early predecessor of cognitive psychology

Define “cognitive psychology”

The study of the internal mental processes, which include how people think, remember, and perceive information, as well as solve problems.

What did behaviorists believe in/do?

Behaviorists (such as B. F. Skinner and John Watson) focused on what was observable/measurable in the mind. Their ultimate goal was to control and predict behavior. However, this could not fully explain human behavior as it neglected mental processes.

Who is Noam Chomsky?

Chomsky proposed that we do not learn grammar through behaviorist reinforcement, but instead that grammar is instinctive through a “language acquisition device,” or a language organ. This allows us to use language more accurately without the stimuli that were deemed necessary by the behaviorist paradigm.