The Science of Mind

define psychology

scientific study of behavior, mental processes and brain functions

define mind

brain and its activities, including thought, emotion and behavior

define introspection

personal observation of own thoughts, feelings and behavior

psychology combo of which 2 greek words

psyche (mind) logos (study of)

define behavior

observable actions

recent terms added to the definition of psychology

mental processes and brain functions

why were early attempts to study mental processes unsuccessful

relied on introspection

psychology is one of the 7 maj:

hub sciences

how many introductory psych undergrads in the US per year

1.2 to 1.8 million

what % of high school graduates completed a psych course

30%

What % of psychologists are American today

21% - 24%

what % of psychologists were american in the 1980s

80%

advantages of studying psychology

• deeper understanding of ourselves and other ppl

• improve critical thinking

• answer questions out of curiosity

why do ppl stare at numbers in the elevator

when personal space is violated, we cope by pretending no one is there

psychology dates back to

1870s

ppl living in Assyria during 6000-5000 BC did what

described dreams

most common dream theme

being chased

roots of psychology

philosophy, natural sciences

define philosophy

examines basic concepts, including source of knowledge

define natural sciences

sciences that study physical and biological events that occur in natures

aristotle believed that knowledge is gained thru:

sensory experience

the idea that knowledge is gained through sensory experience flourished in which philosophical school

british philosophical school of empiricism

define empiricism

mind is a blank slate filled w/ ideas via observation

philosophers and psychologists had what interests in common

• nature of self

• effects of early experience

• free will

• origin of knowledge

• nature vs. nurture

• unconscious & abnormal behavior

philosophers and psychologists both tried to determine the relationships b/w:

• self interest and community welfare

• body vs. mind

• humans vs. other species

ancient ppl tried to cure headaches, seizures and psychological disorders by

trepanation

scientists in the 17th and 18th centuries discovered what to prove that the mind is physical

sensory neurons carried one type of info rather than multiple

what did von Helmholtz observe which helped reinforce that the mind as something physical

ppl reacted faster when their thigh was touched vs. their toe, b/c signals from the toe required more time to reach the brain as it’s further from the brain

RBC were discovered in 1676 using

van Leeuwenhoek’s light microscope

Fechner was interested in knowing

how soft a sound a person could hear

who believed that observations can be accounted for by natural, not supernatural, explanations

ancient greek philosophers

who believed that knowledge is the result of experience

british empiricists

who believed that the brain is the source of mind

ancient physicians

whose discoveries about sensation and mvmt showed that the mind is physical

17th and 18th natural scientists

who conducted reaction time studies that reinforced the mind as something physical

von Helmholtz

former research assistant of von Helmholtz considered the first psychologist:

Wundt

what experiment did Wundt conduct

reaction time to see how quickly after hearing a ball drop onto a platform could a person respond by striking a telegraph key

define structuralism

mind is broken into the smallest elements of mental experience

define gestalt psychology

experience is not the sum of its elements

define functionalism

behavior is purposeful and contributes to survival

Wundt viewed reaction time as:

mental chronometry

what decisions did Wundt’s participants have to make

when you see this light, press the button on the left, but if you see that light, press the button on the right

Wundt believed reaction time provided a measure of

amnt of mental processing required to carry out a task; complex tasks increased reaction time

how are Wundt’s and von Helmholtz’s experiments different

Wundt’s experiments on choice are more psychological

who saw mental experience as a hierarchy

Wundt

overall perception according to Wundt =

separate sensations + emotional responses

who established structuralism

Titchener

major gestalt psychologists

Koffka, Wertheimer, Kohler

why were gestalt psychologists against structuralists

breaking a whole perception into elements results in loss of important psychological info

James’ textbook on functionalism

principles of psychology

functionalists were inspired by

Darwin’s The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man

term stream of consciousness coined by

James

James emphasized the role of

evolution

what is stream of consciousness

flow of ideas experienced when awake

preferring to eat sugary things best explained by

functionalism

most common approach to psychological disorders throughout history

supernatural approach

two scientific approaches to psychological disorders that appeared in the 17th-19th ce

medical, psychological

medical model to psych disorders

physical causes and medical treatments

psych model of psych disorders

result from traumatic life experiences, wide variety of treatments

theory that dominated first half of 20th ce

psychodynamic

who founded study of personality

Freud

who developed techniques of psychoanalysis for treating mental disorders

Freud

spinning device in the 18th ce meant to do what

calm patients

1960s psych dominated by

behaviorism

first african american to receive a doctorate in psychology for psychoanalysis studies

Francis Cecil Sumner

Sumner’s later work focused on

religion & racism

define humanistic psychology

ppl are inherently good and motivated to learn and improve

dissatisfaction w/ psychoanalysis caused psychologists to propose this new approach

humanistic

what is the third force of psychology

humanistic; other two are behaviorist and psychodynamic

Freud, like James, was heavily influenced by who

Darwin

moral view of humans according to Freud

society has a civilizing function on humans who are innately selfish and aggressive

moral view of humans according to humanistic psychologists

innately good, motivated to improve and behave badly only when corrupted by society

define behaviorism

study and measurement of observable behaviors

what is a direct application of humanistic beliefs

unconditional love for children

who did behaviorists use for their studies

animals

what approach did Watson believe in

blank slate

Watson’s principles applied where

advertising industry

Watson restricted psychology to the study of:

observable behavior

according to Watson, what needs to happen for a product to be successful in selling

needs to be associated w/ an appealing image

what did Pavlov discover

dogs learned to associate a certain stimulus w/ incoming food

what did Pavlov and Watson focus on

focused on relationships b/w environmental cues

what did Thorndike and Skinner focus on

effects of consequences on behavior

consequences of behavior is derived form

functionalism

what did Thorndike propose

law of effect

how did Thorndike come up w/ the law of effect

observing cat behavior in a puzzle box

what belief did Watson and Skinner share

psychology did not benefit from consideration of consciousness or internal mental states

how has Skinner’s behaviorism been beneficial

• smokers attempting to quit

• doctors/nurses in self paced education courses

• treating ASD in children

what happened in the 1950s

cognitive revolution

who coined the term cognitive psychology

Ulric Neisser

what did cognitive psychologists study that behaviorists didn’t

internal mental processing like info processing, thinking, reasoning, problem solving

why did the cognitive revolution happen

behaviorists’ lack of interest in mental states

who challenged the behaviorists

linguistics and comp science

strict behaviorism referred to as

black box model

black box model

stimuli enter and responses exit, but how the info is processed doesn’t matter

what book did Neisser write in 1967

Cognitive Psychology

who wrote AI programs using human info processing as their model

Alan Newell & Herbert Simon

by the 1980s, most university psych departments offered

cognitive psych courses

by the 1990s, what happened and what did it lead to

collaboration b/w cognitive and biological psychologists led to cognitive neuroscience

cognitive neuroscience

identify brain structures and functions involved in processing info

first psychology laboratory: who, where and when

Wundt, University of Leipzig, 1879