history psych

What is history?

The study and interpretation of past events, ideas, people, and their development over time.

What is the Great Person Theory of history?

Major historical changes are largely driven by influential individuals and their ideas or actions.

What is Zeitgeist Theory?

Ideas and discoveries develop because the social and intellectual climate of the time makes them possible.

What is an example of Zeitgeist in psychology?

Freud's Psychoanalysis and Victorian Morality

What is historical revisionism?

Reinterpreting accepted accounts of history when new evidence or perspectives become available.

What is an example of historical revisionism in social psychology?

Reexamining famous studies such as Milgram or Stanford Prison using new evidence about their methods.

What is the replication crisis in psychology?

Many published psychological findings have failed to reproduce when researchers repeat the studies.

What factors contributed to the replication crisis?

Small samples, publication bias, Null Results, questionable research practices, p-hacking, and HARKING.

What is a possible reason for the replication crisis?

Researchers and journals historically rewarded significant, novel findings more than null results or replications.

Which field of psychology was strongly affected by the replication crisis?

Social psychology.

What is p-hacking?

Trying multiple analyses or manipulating decisions until a statistically significant p-value is found.

What is HARKING?

Hypothesizing After the Results are Known—presenting a post-hoc explanation as if predicted beforehand.

What are solutions to the replication crisis?

Preregistration, larger samples, open data/methods, direct replication, and publishing null findings.

What is psychology's neuro paradigm?

The growing tendency to explain psychological processes using the brain, neuroscience, and biological mechanisms.

How does psychotherapy/counseling relate to small paradigms?

Therapy contains multiple smaller theoretical approaches rather than one universally accepted paradigm.

What is Julian Jaynes' bicameral mind theory?

Ancient humans may have experienced internally generated thoughts as external voices before modern consciousness developed.

What two paradigms coexisted in early 1900s U.S. psychology?

Structuralism and functionalism

Why is the Odyssey significant for psychology?

It portrays early ideas about mind, identity, emotion, motivation, decision-making, and human behavior.

Who was Socrates?

Greek philosopher who emphasized questioning, reasoning, self-knowledge, and examination of beliefs.

What happens in Meno with Socrates and the servant?

Socrates questions an uneducated servant who solves a geometry problem, supporting Plato's idea of innate knowledge.

What is Plato's allegory of the chariot?

Reason is the charioteer trying to control competing rational/noble and impulsive desires.

What is Plato's allegory of the cave?

People may mistake limited perceptions for reality; knowledge requires moving beyond appearances toward truth.

How was Aristotle an empiricist?

He emphasized gaining knowledge through observation and sensory experience.

What major conceptual difference separated Aristotle and Plato?

Plato emphasized innate/forms-based knowledge; Aristotle emphasized observation and experience.

What was Aristotle's contribution to taxonomy?

He systematically classified living things and concepts based on observable similarities and differences.

How did Ancient Greeks believe virtues develop?

Virtues develop through practice and habit until good actions become part of a person's character.

What is Stoicism?

Well-being comes from virtue, reason, self-control, and accepting what is outside your control.

What is Epicureanism?

Happiness comes from modest pleasure, tranquility, friendship, and freedom from unnecessary fear and pain.

What is the difference between Stoicism and Epicureanism?

Stoicism stresses virtue and acceptance; Epicureanism stresses tranquility and moderate, sustainable pleasure.

What did the Epicureans contribute to psychology?

Ideas about pleasure, friendship, fear, social connection, and how these factors influence well-being.

What does current research say about loneliness?

Social connection supports well-being, while chronic loneliness is associated with poorer psychological and physical health.

How did Greek/Roman thought influence contemporary psychotherapy?

The idea that beliefs and interpretations influence emotions helped shape modern cognitive therapies.

What is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)?

Albert Ellis's therapy teaching that irrational beliefs about events—not events alone—create unhealthy emotional reactions.

What are the basic premises of REBT?

Events trigger beliefs; beliefs influence emotional consequences. Changing irrational beliefs can change emotional responses.

What techniques are used in REBT?

Identify, dispute, and replace irrational beliefs with more rational and flexible beliefs.

What is an example of REBT?

Replace "I failed, so I'm worthless" with "I failed this time, but failure does not determine my worth."

How did Ancient Greek and Marcus Aurelius's views of virtue compare?

Both linked virtue to a good life; Aurelius emphasized Stoic reason, duty, self-control, and acceptance.

How many universal virtues are identified in positive psychology?

Six.

What are the six universal virtues?

Wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.

What are signature strengths?

A person's strongest and most characteristic positive traits within the classification of character strengths.

How are virtues and signature strengths related to well-being?

Using character strengths can promote meaning, engagement, life satisfaction, and eudaimonic well-being.

What is eudaimonia?

Well-being based on meaning, virtue, personal growth, purpose, and living well.

What is hedonism?

The pursuit of pleasure, positive feelings, comfort, and avoidance of pain.

What is the hedonic treadmill?

People often adapt to positive or negative changes and gradually return toward their usual happiness level.

What is a happiness set point?

A relatively stable baseline level of happiness toward which a person tends to return after life changes.

What were Galen's four humors?

Blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm; their balance was believed to influence health and temperament.

How did Eysenck apply the four-humor idea?

mapped his two core personality dimensions—Extraversion and Neuroticism—onto a Cartesian coordinate system, creating four quadrants that directly corresponded to the ancient four-humor personality types

What role did the Church have during the Middle Ages?

It was a dominant social and intellectual force and strongly influenced explanations of behavior and mental illness.

What are contemporary prayer camps?

Places where mental illness may be treated primarily through religious practices such as prayer or spiritual intervention.

Who was Johann Weyer?

A physician who argued that many accused witches were mentally ill and needed treatment rather than punishment.

What classes of people were more likely to be accused of witchcraft?

Often socially vulnerable or marginalized people, especially women, the poor, elderly, or socially isolated.

How did social context influence witchcraft accusations?

Fear, conflict, religious beliefs, prejudice, misfortune, and social tensions could encourage accusations.

What was the Malleus Maleficarum?

A late-15th-century witch-hunting text describing supposed witchcraft and methods for identifying and prosecuting witches.

What is mass psychogenic illness (Mass Hysteria)?

Symptoms spread through a group without an identifiable physical cause, often influenced by stress and social factors.

How are witchcraft accusations related to the McMartin Preschool case?

Both illustrate how fear, suggestion, social pressure, and moral panic can contribute to extraordinary accusations.

How was abnormal behavior explained during the Middle Ages?

It was sometimes attributed to supernatural forces, possession, sin, witchcraft, or spiritual causes.

How was abnormal behavior treated during the Middle Ages?

Treatments could include prayer, exorcism, religious rituals, confinement, and sometimes physical interventions.

What was the "madness" of King George III?

His episodes of disturbed behavior have received competing historical diagnoses, showing problems with retrospective diagnosis.

What was Benjamin Rush's view of mental illness?

He considered mental illness a medical condition but supported treatments based on incorrect biological assumptions.

How did Benjamin Rush treat mental illness?

He used methods including bloodletting, purging, restraint, and his "tranquilizing chair."

What was hysteria historically?

A diagnosis involving physical or psychological symptoms without an obvious physical explanation.

Who was Jean-Martin Charcot?

A neurologist who studied hysteria and used hypnosis to investigate and demonstrate psychological symptoms.

How did Charcot use hypnosis?

He used hypnosis to produce, examine, and sometimes relieve symptoms associated with hysteria.

What did Emil Kraepelin contribute to psychology/psychiatry?

He developed systematic classification of mental disorders based on symptoms, course, and outcomes.

What did Lightner Witmer contribute to psychology?

He founded the first psychological clinic and helped establish clinical psychology as a field.

How have asylums changed from then to now?

Large institutions declined through deinstitutionalization, with treatment shifting toward hospitals and community care.

Why is Wilhelm Wundt historically significant?

He established the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig in 1879, helping establish psychology as an experimental science.

What was Wundt's introspection?

A controlled method in which trained observers reported their immediate conscious experiences under standardized conditions.

Why was training important in Wundt's introspection?

Observers needed extensive training to make precise, consistent reports and reduce interpretation or bias.

What were Wundt's two approaches to psychology?

Experimental psychology for basic processes and cultural psychology for complex processes such as language and thought.

What two key elements did Wundt examine through introspection?

Sensation and feeling.

Where did Wundt place psychology relative to other sciences?

Between the natural sciences and the human/social sciences, connecting physiological and cultural approaches.

What is mindfulness?

Purposefully attending to present-moment experiences with openness and without judgment.

What is cognitive therapy?

Therapy focused on identifying and changing distorted or unhelpful patterns of thinking.

What is principlism?

Ethical decision-making using principles such as autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice.

What is deontology?

An ethical approach emphasizing duties and rules rather than judging actions solely by their consequences.

What is utilitarianism?

An ethical approach that seeks actions producing the greatest overall benefit or happiness.

What is virtue ethics?

An ethical approach focused on developing good character and virtues rather than only rules or consequences.

What are the APA's five general ethical principles?

Beneficence/nonmaleficence, fidelity/responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect for rights and dignity.

What ethical concerns apply to psychologists' public behavior?

Psychologists should avoid misleading claims, protect confidentiality, and consider how public conduct affects professional integrity.

What is a multiple relationship in psychology?

When a psychologist has another professional, social, financial, or personal relationship with a client or related person.

What are types of multiple relationships?

Examples include therapist/friend, therapist/business partner, therapist/teacher, or therapist/romantic relationship.

What are psychologists' responsibilities when delegating work?

They must choose competent people, provide appropriate supervision, and remain responsible for delegated professional work.

What is research fraud?

Intentional deception in research, such as fabricating or falsifying data. Stapple made up numbers during studies.

What is research misconduct?

Fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, conducting, reviewing, or reporting research.

What was the Hoffman Report?

An independent review examining APA involvement with U.S. national-security interrogation policies after 9/11.

What was psychology's role in enhanced interrogation?

Some psychologists participated in or advised interrogation programs, creating major ethical controversy.

What ethical issues involve representing psychology to the public?

Psychologists should accurately represent evidence, credentials, limitations, and professional knowledge without misleading the public.

Bunn Ch. 21: What were "mad travelers"?

diagnosis involving compulsive or seemingly uncontrollable wandering or travel.

How did social history affect the diagnosis of mad travelers?

Cultural and social conditions shaped which behaviors were considered abnormal and how they were diagnosed.

What would "mad travelers" likely be diagnosed with today?

Dissositive fued

Bunn Ch. 28: How can emotions be socially constructed?

Culture, language, expectations, and social learning can influence how people categorize and experience emotions.

What did Paul Ekman argue about universal emotions?

Some basic emotions and their facial expressions are recognizable across cultures and may have biological foundations.

Bunn Ch. 6: How did Wundt and Galton differ on measurement?

Wundt measured controlled conscious processes; Galton emphasized individual differences and quantitative measurement.

How did Francis Galton influence eugenics?

He promoted selective reproduction based on supposedly hereditary traits and coined the term eugenics. Looked at the size of peoples heads to determine their smartness.

Written: Give 3 solutions to psychology's replication crisis.

Preregister hypotheses/methods; use larger, well-powered samples; encourage direct replications and publication of null results.

Written: Greek/Roman contribution #1 in its original form?

Stoicism: well-being comes from reason, virtue, self-control, and accepting what cannot be controlled.

Written: How did Stoicism influence contemporary psychology?

It influenced CBT and REBT ideas that beliefs and interpretations strongly affect emotional reactions.

Written: Greek/Roman contribution #2 in its original form?

Virtue ethics: a good life develops through practicing virtues until good behavior becomes part of one's character.

Written: How did virtue theory influence contemporary psychology?

Positive psychology studies virtues, character strengths, meaning, flourishing, and eudaimonic well-being.