acc kms

What is Psychology?

The study of the brain, mental processes, observable behavior, human and animal development, and social interactions.

What role did philosophers like Rene Descartes, John Locke, and Thomas Hobbes play in the history of psychology?

Speculated on human nature and were early influences on psychology.

What were Rene Descartes' key beliefs about the mind-body connection?

Believed the physical world follows observable laws and that humans possess minds that interact with the body through the pineal gland.

What were John Locke's main ideas about how the mind acquires knowledge?

Believed that the mind is under the control of rules or laws and that humans are born as a tabula rasa.

What is materialism, as believed by Thomas Hobbes?

The belief that the only things that exist are matter and energy, and consciousness is a by-product of the brain.

What is a school of thought in psychology?

Categorizing psychological theories and ideas.

Name some of the major schools of thought in psychology.

Structuralism, Functionalism, Psychoanalysis, Behavioral, Cognitive, Humanistic, Biological/Biomedical, Sociocultural, Biopsychosocial

Who set up the first psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany?

Wilhelm Wundt

What is Structuralism?

An attempt to breakdown the ‘elements’ of perception into smaller understandable units.

What is introspection?

The examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes.

In a structuralism experiment, what are subjects asked to do when presented with an object?

To report the physical characteristics of the object without referring to its name.

Who published The Principles of Psychology?

William James

What does Functionalism consider?

Mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment.

Give an example of Functionalism related to a baby's behavior.

That crying as a behavior is a successful adaptation to help the baby survive.

Who is a key figure in Gestalt Psychology?

Max Wertheimer

What is the central argument of Gestalt theorists?

That the whole is something else than the sum of its parts.

Who founded Psychoanalysis?

Sigmund Freud

What is Psychoanalysis?

A set of theories related to the study of the unconscious mind and a set of therapeutic techniques to help patients recover from psychological disorders.

According to psychoanalysts, what part of the mind influences our behavior?

The unconscious mind controls many of our thoughts and behavior.

Who is associated with Classical Conditioning?

Ivan Pavlov

What unintentional discovery did Ivan Pavlov make while studying digestion in dogs?

Dogs paired the sound footsteps with a delicious meal.

Who demonstrated that you could condition someone to fear a neutral stimulus?

John Watson

Who expanded behaviorism to include reinforcement and punishment?

B.F. Skinner

Who are key figures in the Humanistic perspective?

Abraham Maslow & Carl Rogers

What does the humanistic perspective stress?

Individual choice and freewill.

In what terms do biopsychologists explain behavior and human thought?

Hormones, genetics, neurotransmitters, disease, brain lesions, etc.

In what terms do evolutionary psychologists examine human thoughts and behaviors?

Natural selection.

In what terms do cognitive psychologists examine behavior and thought?

How we interpret, process, and remember information.

Whose theory of cognitive development focuses on how our thinking develops?

Jean Piaget

What do sociocultural psychologists study?

How our thoughts and behaviors vary from people living in other cultures.

What factors does the biopsychosocial model acknowledge?

Biological, psychological, and social factors.

According to the summary table, what biological factor influences behavior ?

Genes, hormones, physiology, brain, body

According to the summary table, what is a cognitive cause of behavior?

Personal thoughts, thinking patterns, brain processes, neural networks

According to the summary table, what humanistic factor affects behavior?

Self-concept and self-esteem.

According to the summary table, what psychoanalytic factor influences behavior?

Unconscious mind and trauma.

According to the summary table, which behavioral factors determine behavior?

S/R responses, reinforcement/punishment

According to the summary table, what sociocultural factor affects behavior?

Differences in cultural background

According to the summary table, what evolutionary factor influences behavior?

Natural selection

In the summary table, what method investigates the humanistic approach?

Talk-therapy

In the summary table, what method investigates the sociocultural approach?

Cross-cultural studies

In the summary table, what methods are used to investigate the evolutionary approach?

Genetic analysis, species comparisons

In the summary table, what methods are used to investigate the biological approach?

Brain scans, genetic analysis, investigating physiology/biology

In the summary table, what methods are used to investigate the cognitive approach?

Investigating thoughts, patterns of thinking, and making analogies with computer models about the brain

In the summary table, what methods are used to investigate the psychoanalytic/dynamic approach?

Dream analysis and talk-therapy

In the summary table, what method is used to investigate the behavioral approach?

Understanding previous reinforcement/punishment history

What does the Humanistic perspective emphasize?

Stresses individual choice and freewill

According to the summary table, what are the different schools of thought approaches to understanding behavior?

Biological, Cognitive, Humanistic, Psychoanalytic/dynamic , Behavioural, Sociocultural, Evolutionary

According to Descartes, through what gland do the mind and body interact?

The pineal gland

What is one objective of psychoanalytic therapeutic techniques?

To help patients recover from psychological disorders

Biological Approach: Behavior & Method

Behavior caused by genes, hormones, physiology, brain, body. Investigated via brain scans, genetic analysis, physiological/biological studies.

Cognitive Approach: Behavior & Method

Behavior caused by thoughts, thinking patterns, brain processes, neural networks. Investigated by examining thoughts, thinking patterns, using computer analogies for the brain.

Humanistic Approach: Behavior & Method

Behavior caused by self-concept and self-esteem. Investigated through talk therapy.

Psychoanalytic/Dynamic Approach: Behavior & Method

Behavior caused by the unconscious mind and trauma. Investigated via dream analysis and talk therapy.

Behavioral Approach: Factors & Method

Behavior determined by S/R responses, reinforcement/punishment history. Investigated by understanding reinforcement/punishment history.

Sociocultural Approach: Factor & Method

Behavior influenced by cultural background. Investigated through cross-cultural studies.

Evolutionary Approach: Factor & Method

Behavior influenced by natural selection. Investig

Social Psychology

Psychology that studies the effects of social variables and cognitions on individual behavior and social interaction.

Social Context

The real, imagined, or symbolic presence of other people, the activities and interactions that take place among people, the settings in which behavior occurs, and the expectations and social norms governing behavior in a given setting.

Major Themes of Social Psychology

The power of social situations, subjective social reality, and the promotion of human condition.

Social Roles

Patterns of behavior that are expected of persons in a given setting or group.

Social Norms

A group’s expectation regarding what is appropriate and acceptable for its members’ attitudes and behaviors in given situations.

Psychological Effects of Social Pressure

Prejudice, discrimination, blind obedience, and violence.

Conformity

The tendency for people to adapt their behaviors, attitudes, and opinions to fit the actions of other members of a group.

Normative Social Influence

Influence resulting from a person’s desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.

Asch Effect

A form of conformity in which a group majority influences individual judgments.

Factors Influencing Conformity (Asch)

The size of the majority, the presence of a partner who dissented from the majority, and the size of the discrepancy between the correct answer and the majority’s opinion.

Conditions That Increase Conformity

Feeling incompetent or insecure, being in a group of 3 or more, being impressed by the status of the group, having made no prior commitment, being observed, and cultural encouragement of respect for social standards.

Informational Social Influence

Influence resulting from one’s willingness to accept others’ opinions about reality.

Sherif's Autokinetic Effect Experiment Aim

People conform to group norms when they are put in an ambiguous situation.

Obedience

Changing one’s behavior at the command of an authority figure.

Cultural Differences in Conformity

People from western cultures are more likely to be individualistic and don't want to be seen as being the same as everyone else, whereas eastern cultures value the needs of the family and other social groups before their own.

Role of Gender on Conformity

Women tend to show more conformity than men in public.

Groupthink

The mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic view of the alternatives.

Factors That Promote Groupthink

Isolation of the group, high group cohesiveness, directive leadership, lack of norms requiring methodical procedures, homogeneity of members’ social background, and high stress from external threats.

Group Polarization

When members of a group have similar, though not identical, views about a topic and discuss them, their opinions become more extreme and pronounced.

Social Facilitation

Tendency for improved performance of tasks in the presence of others.

Social Impairment

If it is a difficult task or you are not very good at it…you will perform WORSE in front of a group

Social Loafing

Tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts towards a common goal.

Deindividuation

Loss of self-awareness and self-restraint occurring in group situations that foster arousal and anonymity.

Factors for Deindividuation

Anonymity, diffused responsibility, and group size.

Features of a Group

Roles, norms, and cohesiveness.

Social Reality

An individual’s subjective interpretation of other people and of relationships with them.

Halo Effect

A cognitive bias in which an observer's overall impression of a person, company, brand, or product influences the observer's feelings and thoughts about that entity's character or properties.

Reward Theory of Attraction

The theory that says we like those who give us maximum rewards or benefit at minimum costs; a form of social learning.

Social Exchange Theory

People help each other when there is a positive cost-benefit analysis; when the benefits outweigh the costs.

Sources of Attraction

Proximity, similarity, self-disclosure, and physical attractiveness.

Matching Hypothesis

A prediction that most people will find friends and mates that are perceived to be about their same level of attractiveness.

Expectancy-Value Theory

The theory that people decide to pursue a relationship by weighing the potential value of the relationship against their chances of succeeding in that relationship.

Cognitive Attributions

Explaining to ourselves why people act the way they do.

Attitude

A tendency to respond positively or negatively to a certain idea, person, object, or situation.

Three Components of Attitude

Affective, behavior, and cognitive.

Persuasion

The process by which one person tries to change the belief, opinion, position, or course of action of another through argument, pleading, or explanation.

Central Route of Persuasion

Focuses on facts and the content of the message in order to convince the listener.

Peripheral Route of Persuasion

Relying on peripheral factors like the personality of the speaker, or how the message was delivered.

Cognitive Dissonance

A highly motivating state in which people have conflicting cognitions (thoughts), especially when their voluntary actions conflict with their attitudes.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

When people’s cognitions and actions are in conflict (a state of dissonance) they often reduce the conflict by changing their thinking to fit their behavior.

Love

Strong affection for another person due to kinship, personal ties, sexual attraction, admiration, or common interests.

Three Components of Love (Sternberg)

Intimacy, passion, and commitment.

Situationism

Environmental conditions influence people’s behavior as much or more than their personal disposition does.

Dispositionism

Internal factors (genes, traits, character qualities) influence our behavior more than the situation we are in.