History of Psychology Lecture Notes

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the history of psychology globally and within Aotearoa New Zealand, including major schools of thought and key figures.

Psyche

A Greek word meaning 'soul' or 'mind' used in the etymological origin of the word Psychology.

Logos

A Greek word meaning 'study of' used in the etymology of Psychology.

Psychology

The scientific investigation of mental processes (thinking, remembering, and feeling), behaviour, and the interaction between them.

Structuralism

The 1st 'school' of experimental psychology, established by Wilhelm Wundt, which focused on mapping the structure of the mind.

Functionalism

The 2nd 'school' of experimental psychology, established by William James, which argued that consciousness serves an evolutionary purpose.

Behaviourism

The 3rd 'school' of experimental psychology, associated with John Watson, which focuses on the study of observable behavior rather than the mind.

Wilhelm Wundt

Known as the founder of modern psychology, he established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig in 1879.

Introspection

The method used by Wilhelm Wundt in laboratory experiments to analyze the elements of conscious processes.

Purkinje effect

The observation by Jan Evangelista Purkyně that reds appear darker relative to other colors as light levels decrease.

Just-noticeable difference

A concept introduced by Ernst Heinrich Weber referring to the smallest difference perceived between two similar stimuli.

Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory

A theory of colour vision stating that the retina's three types of cones are sensitive to blue, green, and red.

Franciscus Donders

A Dutch ophthalmologist who used reaction times to study the speed of mental processes, often called the 'speed of thought'.

Tridimensional theory of feeling

Wundt's theory of emotion stating that feelings vary along three dimensions: pleasantness–unpleasantness, excitement–calmness, and arousal–relaxation.

Gestalt Psychology

Founded by Wertheimer, Köhler, and Koffka, this school challenges structuralism with the principle that 'the whole of anything is greater than its parts'.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process discovered by Ivan Pavlov through experiments with dogs, involving the association of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.

Law of Effect

Edward L. Thorndike's principle that responses producing a satisfying state of affairs will become associated with that situation and are more likely to reoccur.

The Little Albert experiment

A study conducted by John Watson that demonstrated classical conditioning in humans by inducing fear responses to animals in a 9-month-old infant.

Operant conditioning

A theory by B. F. Skinner focusing on behavior and its consequences, stating that pleasant consequences make a behavior more likely to be repeated.

Lillian Gilbreth

An industrial engineer considered to be the first industrial/organizational psychologist, known for conducting 'motion studies'.

Psychodynamic perspective

A view positing that conscious and unconscious forces interact to control thoughts and behaviours, often using the iceberg metaphor.

Humanistic perspective

A perspective focusing on the uniqueness of the individual and the motivation to reach full potential, also known as self-actualisation.

Cognitive perspective

A view that focuses on how people process, store, and retrieve information, using the computer as a metaphor for the mind.

Evolutionary perspective

A view that human behaviours evolved because they helped ancestors survive and reproduce, based on principles like natural selection.

Thomas Hunter

Regarded as the 'father of New Zealand experimental psychology', he established the first laboratory at Victoria College in 1907.

Ernest Beaglehole

The first professor of psychology in Aotearoa New Zealand, appointed at Victoria University in 1948.

Susan Schenk

The first female psychology professor in Aotearoa New Zealand, appointed in 2001.

Te Whare Tapa Whā

An influential holistic Māori model of health developed by Mason Durie.