psyc 4008 exam 1

What is phrenology? Who created it? Who advanced it?

The idea that bumps or grooves on the skull indicate personality traits.

Invented by Gall, advanced by Spurzheim and Combe, commercialized by the Fowler brothers.

What British empiricist had a mechanistic view to the point that he believed there was no free will?

James Mill, he believed that the mind is a machine run by internal physical forces and acted on by external stimuli

For Locke, what ideas came first as we develop as infants?

He believed that infants begin with simple ideas, coming directly from experience- like sensations of light, color, taste, or touch.

What did Locke think ideas resulted from?

All ideas result from experience: sensation (external experiences from the senses) and reflection (internal experiences from the mind, like thinking, doubting, remembering or willing)

How did Locke see the mind at birth?

He saw the mind at birth as a tabula rasa (blank slate) saying that at birth the mind has no content and becomes filled through experience.

What were Locke's thoughts on innate ideas?

He rejected the notion of innate ides (ideas we are born with) arguing that if ideas were truly innate, everyone would universally possess them, but since they don't, innate ideas must not exist.

Contrast act psychology and Wundt's approach.

Act psychology emphasizes mental activities(ex: seeing) rather than mental contents focusing on the mind (Brentano) vs the contents of the mind (Wundt)

How did Wundt view feelings?

He viewed feelings as complements of sensations and classified sensations as one of the two elementary forms of experience.

How did Wundt classify sensations?

By intensity, duration, modality (vision, hearing etc.) and quality.

Was Wundt much of a writer?

He founded the first journal of psychology, Principles of Physiology Psychology, and was an extremely prolific writer.

What did Bessel study? What were his conclusions?

He studied astronomy and explained errors in observations as "personal equation", highlighting the importance of the human observer in all sciences.

What does "Naturalistic" mean?

suggests that the times shape the individual, allowing for the recognition of their ideas.

What does "Personalistic" mean?

Attributes progress and change in science to unique individuals, asserting that no one but a specific person could have popularized certain ideas.

What law did Descartes believe applied to the human body?

He believed that the body moved like a machine, governed by the laws of physics.

What did Descartes mean by "dualism?"

The belief that the mind and body are seperate entities, with interaction occurring only in the pineal gland.

What did Descartes think the use of mathematics in science would produce?

He believed that mathematics would produce clarity, precision, and certainty in science.

To whom did Ebbinghaus dedicate his book "The Principles of Psychology?"

Fechner

Why is Ebbinghaus significant in the history of psychology?

He conducted the first true experimental study on memory, moving psychology towards empirical research.

What about Ebbinghaus's methods was impressive?

He used himself as a control variable and created 2,300 nonsense words to avoid preexisting associations.

In what ways did Ebbinghaus test higher mental processes that are still in use today?

He used tested recall, recognition, and forgetting.

How did Fechner measure the two lowest levels of sensation? Which two ways?

He measured the two lowest levels of sensation by absolute threshold (lowest detectable stimuli) and difference threshold (smallest detectable change)

How did Fechner see the relationship between a mental sensation and a material stimulus?

He saw it as mental sensation grows as a logarithmic function of physical stimulus.

What was Fechner's most important contribution to psychology?

He founded psychophysics, linking physical stimulation to mental experience.

What was Brentano's primary research method?

Act psychology, he studied mental acts (judging, remembering, loving) instead of mental contents.

What did Flourens do?

He performed extirpation on pigeons to study changes in behavior after removing parts of the brain and spinal cord.

Who was Broca? What did he do?

He was a French neurologist and discovered an area in the left frontal lobe linked to speech production.

What method of research did Broca use? How is it used today?

He used the clinical method (studying brain damaged patients) which is still used today in neuropsychology and neurology.

What did Cajal do?

He is known for his work on the structure of the nervous system and is often referred to as the father of modern neuroscience.

Carl Jung based important decisions on dreams. Who before him also did that?

Freud, he claimed dreams gave him inspiration for using math in science.

What did James Mill stand for?

He argued that humans do not possess free will and operate like machines, being an accumulation of inputs and outputs.

What did John Stuart Mill stand for?

Argues that humans are creative individuals and that mental elements can create entirely new distinct elements.

How did Kulpe oppose Wundt?

He studies higher thought processes with introspection

What was Kulpe's view known as?

Systematic Introspection

What were Helmholtz's contributions to psychology?

He showed that nerve impulses were measurable and showed that thought and movement follow each other at measurable intervals.

Why were clocks important in theories related to early psychological thought?

Clocks symbolized structured activities and the idea that humans could be understood as automatic machines governed by laws.

What is "determinism?"

Acts are determined by past events

What is "reductionism?"

The idea that everything can be reduced to simpler parts to understand complex systems.

What is "positivism?"

It recognizes only natural phenomena or fact that are objectively observable.

What is "zeitgeist?"

It refers to the spiritual/intellectual climate of a time period, also known as the 'spirit of the age.'

What is "innate idea?"

Ideas that arise from the mind or consciousness independent of sensory experiences, such as concepts of God or perfection.

Who invented the ophthalmoscope?​

Helmholtz

Why is Freud's historical impact on psychology incomplete?

Many of his ideas are scientifically untestable and some are criticized for being overly focused on sexuality.

What is the stage called when a science is still developing yet very divided in different schools of thought?

The preparing matic stage.

What is the mind-body problem?

It is the question of the distinction between mental and physical qualities.

What is the reflex action theory?

It is the idea that an external stimulus can bring about an involuntary response.

What is behaviorism?

Watson's science of behavior, which focuses solely on observable behavioral acts.

What did Newton and Galileo have to do with mechanistic theory?

They developed a philosophical view that explains the universe as a machine governed by predictable, mathematical laws.

How did Babbage's calculating machine come about?

Frustration with manual calculations and errors prompted him to desire calculations executed by steam.

What concept did psychology borrow from physics?

The idea that effects are predictable and measurable.

What was Weber's law related to change in a stimulus?

The minimum amount a stimulus must change to be noticed is a constant proportion of the original stimulus.

Who is credited with founding psychology?

Wundt

Who was David Kinnebrook and why was he important?

He was a royal British astronomer whose slow observations highlighted the importance of the personal equation in measurements.

What did Titchener say was the first significant advance in learning since Aristotle?

The development of the nonsense syllable.

What was Hartley's fundamental law of association?

It stated that contiguity is necessary for associations, and he also proposed that repetition is required for connections to form.

Why was the fundamental law of association important?

It was a foundation of associational psychology.

What else did Hartley propose?

Nerves transmit vibrations which was a physiological basis for association.

Who were Marbe and Watt and what were they known for?

They were students of Külpe known for their influential research on thought processes, including weight judgment and word-association tasks.