Psych History

Socrates

Nativism, monism, discursive method of teaching, truth is inherent and no absolute authority on truth.

Plato

Sought answers to Socratic questions, nativist, dualist, introducing the concept of Ideal Forms.

Aristotle

Dualist, Empiricist, Inductionist, emphasizing knowledge through experience and observation. First writings about perception.

Golden Age of Philosophy

A period from 500-300 BC characterized by the height of political, military power, culture, and democracy in ancient Greece.

Nativism

The belief that humans are born with innate knowledge, as espoused by Socrates and Plato.

Rationalism

A philosophical approach that emphasizes reason and logic over observation, associated with thinkers like Descartes.

Empiricism

The theory that knowledge comes from sensory experience, as advocated by Aristotle and later empiricists like Locke.

Dualism

The belief in the existence of both physical and non-physical realms, as held by philosophers like Plato and Descartes.

Tabula Rasa

The concept introduced by John Locke that the mind is a blank slate at birth, opposing the idea of innate knowledge.

Drapetomania

A term coined by Benjamin Rush to describe a supposed disease causing enslaved individuals to run away, highlighting misconceptions about race and mental health.

WEIRD

An acronym referring to the demographic focus of much psychological research:Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies.

Structuralism

A psychological approach founded by Wilhelm Wundt that focuses on the structure of the mind and conscious experience.

Functionalism

A psychological perspective that emphasizes the functions of mental processes and behavior, associated with figures like William James.

Gestalt Psychology

A school of thought that emphasizes the holistic nature of perception and experience, founded by Max Wertheimer.

Behaviorism

A psychological approach that focuses on observable behavior and the influence of the environment, associated with John Watson and B.F. Skinner.

Monism

There is one type of matter in the universe, only a physical world

Ideal Plane

Plato, Individual concepts or thing in the ideal form

• Abstract non-physical form is holding your rational soul 

  • Re-incarnation, retain information through the cycle -) nativist

Inductionist

We go from lots and lots of specific examples to try and form a general conclusion (Aristotle)

Associationist

• How ideas and items go together somehow 

• Putting things in connection and relationship to other things

• Rules that govern response: Opposites, contiguity, similarity, frequency, salience/intensity  

• Aristotle

The Middle Ages

• Controlled by people who could read -) the clergy 

  • They think the best thing to study is the divine 

  • Science, philosophy, theology all mushed together 

  • Science in service to the Divine 

• Literacy changes everything

  • Movable type vs. by hand

The Renaissance

• Humanists disrupt everything, study the essence of humans 

• Systems of knowledge disrupted

  • Astronomy 

    • Sun in middle of universe vs. earth 

  • Religion 

  • Medicine

    • More in depth knowledge and illustrations of anatomy 

Humanist Themes

• Individualism, pursuit of knowledge, personal religion and autonomy

• Intense interest in past, especially classical studies (except aristotle)  

R. Descartes

• Nativist

• Dualist

• Rationalist

• Self-consciousness, free-will, reflexes, emotions, seat of the soul, no scientific study of mind  

J. Locke

• Essay Concerning Human Understanding refutes innate knowledge 

• Mind is tabula rasa (a blank slate)

• Dualist

• Empiricist

• Non-nativist 

• Political psychology

• Scientific study of the mind 

Benjamin Rush

• Late 18th America

• Best-known physician in 18th century America

• 1799: published the effects of slavery on mental and physical health

19th and 20th Century was the age of what

Empiricism

Darwin

A theory of biological evolution developed by Charles Darwin and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.

Francis Galton

Invented statistics, Eugenist (wants to control who can reproduce)

Wilhem Wundt

Founder of experimental psychology, Functionalist

Wertheimer

Gestalt psychology: Study the mind from how humans can extract and makes sense of information, organizing information in useful ways 

Edward Titchener

Not going to include many types of psychology, mainly physiological and perception psychology, Structuralist

Psychology

Scientific study of animal and human behavior and mental process 

• Discern Patterns

  • Systematic observation

  • Description

  • Measurement

  • Using hypothesis-driven research

  • Avoiding anecdotal evidence and received wisdom 

Rational Soul

In the ideal plane, Abstract non-physical form is holding your rational soul

Mental Representation

The mental imagery of things that are not actually present to the senses

Ideal Form

Perfect being that exist independently, physical world is a reflection of a higher world.

Salience

The degree to which something stands out or is prominent.

Primary concern of Greek Philosophers

Religious to rational explanation, role of reason and inquiry

Primary concern of cleric in Middle Ages

Science, philosophy, theology all mushed together, Science in service to the Divine

Why was illiteracy high in the Middle Ages? 

Collapse of the powerful, centralized government, the depopulation of urban centers, and the collapse of trade. Writing material was also more scarce, and there were far fewer teachers.

clinical psychology versus counseling psychology

Clinical studies metal disorders, counseling helps patients