Psychology 1200 Ch1

psychology

the scientific study of behaviour, thoughts, and experiences.

The scientific method (3)

1) observation => facts

2) theories to the observation=> hypothesis/explanation

3) make a prediction using theories

scientific hypothesis

a testable prediction that must be falsifiable, precise and relevant

theory (3)

1) built from MANY hypotheses, (a broad range of observations)

2) must be falsifiable but could be updated with new observations

3) validity is not determined by the number of people who believe it

what is the order of scientific method (what leads to another?) (4)

1) facts

2) hypothesis

3) theory

4) prediction

law

detailed mathematical description of something like Keppler’s law of attraction or Hebb’s law

critical thinking (what can achieve it?)

by being curious and skeptical

how to critically think (3)

1) examining biases and assumptions

2) being able to alternate view point (open minded)

3) be able to accept where evidence takes us even and have your opinions challenged

parsimony

having the simplest explanation be the accepted explanation

the two fundamental beliefs to scientific thoughts

1) Empiricism

2) Determinism

Empiricism (1)

knowledge about the mind that comes through experience and evidence

Determinism (2)

1) all thoughts feelings and behaviour was effected from prior cause like environmentally, biologically, or psychologically

2) free will and gives us the freedom of free will

zeitgeist

a set of views and beliefs in a culture at a specific point in time

what is the effect of zeitgeist

1) delayed psychology as being a science because it was not yet accepted as a part of materialism

materialism

the belief that humans and other living things are composed of exclusively physical matter (like no soul)

why wasn’t materialism accepted?

because religious individuals believed in soul and heaven which completely goes against materialism.

Hippocrates

father of western medicine

what did Hippocrates propose and why was it important to psychology?(3)

the four humours, which were 4 fluids that were important and flowed through our body,

in which contributed to our health and personalities,

it was the first biological explanation to psychological things (personality)

what are the four humours?

1) blood

2) phlegm

3) black bile

4) yellow bile

what did Aristotle propose? (2)

1) tabula rasa- an analogy/idea

2) para psyche- a text

Tabula rasa

tabula rasa=> mans begins life with a blank slate, who you become is up to your individual life experience

Para psyche (3)

translates to about the mind,

the first text of psychology,

No differentiation between mind and soul

in the early days what was the purpose of the heart and brain in theory

heart- where memory was stored

brain- where the blood was cooled

Rene Descartes propose?

1) The mind and body debate

2) Cartesian dualism

the mind and body debate

=> is our mind just a part of our body or is it different fundamentally?

Cartesian dualism ( 1 what is it + 2 def + 1 what is it driving)

a solution to the mind and body debate=> they are different

1) body = physical/ material

2) mind= mystical/non material

the interaction of both drove behaviour

What did Gustav fechner study

Relationship between the physical world and the mental represensation of that world- we are subjective creatures that can make errors

What was Charles Darwin’s theory

Theory of evolution by natural select

How does Charles Darwin theory of evolution relate to psychology

Evolution can also select for behaviours, (survival instincts for example)

What did franz Mesmer claim

That he had magnetic healing powers, believed magnets could redirect the flow of magnetic liquid in the body to cure diseases

What happened to Franz mesmers patients, how did he treat them and how did they respond

He treated them using magnetized water, iron fillings, and a wooden tub , caused dramatic physical reactions “crises”

How did they disprove mesmerism

Blind trials, patients only reacted when they expected the treatment even if it was a placebo- imagination not magnetic fluid drove his results

What did mesmerism evolve to

Hypnotism

What is brain localization

Certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities

What did franz Joseph gall and johann spurzhein suggest

The brain consists of 27 “organs” each associated with personality traits- the size of ‘organ’= the development of trait

What did Paul Broca identify

The brain region associated with speech production

What did carl wernicke identify

Brain regions associated with speech comprehension

What did sigmund Freud do

Founded psychoanalysis

What is psychoanalysis

Psychological approach that attempts to explain how behaviour and personality are influenced by unconcious processes (outside of our awareness)

What three parts did sigmund Freud divide the personality into

I’d, Ego, and superego

What is the Id

Basic instincts driven by basic urges and pleasures (devil on the shoulder)

What is the ego in sigmund freuds definition

The rational part that moderates between the desires of the id and superego

What is the super ego

The moral and critical or ethical thinking (angel on the shoulder)

What did sir Francis Galton do

Investigated the nature and nurture relationships, believed heredity explained psychological differences, founded eugenics

What is eugenics

Set of beliefs and practices aimed at improving the genetic quality of human population

What were the primary contributions of sir Francis Galton

Initiated debate about nature and nurture, promoted use of statistical methods to quantify psychological traits

Who is Wilhelm Wundt and what were his key theories and research methods

Father of experimental psychology, structuralism, the study of thought

What is structuralism

Analyzing conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements and to understand how these elements work together

What did Wilhelm wundts study of thought consist of

Reaction time methods, he discovered mental activity is not instantaneous

What did Edward tichner do

Adopted Wundts method of introspection, though criticism of approach was growing.

He described mental experiences as composed of ‘elements’ much like the elements of the periodic table

Wha did William James do and what did he propose

Wrote the first modern textbook in psychology, the principles of psychology.

Proposed functionalism

What is functionalism

The study of the purpose and function of behaviour and conscious experiences

Who discovered conditioning reflex’s

Edward twitmyer

What did Ivan Pavlov do

Trained dogs to salivate in response to a metronome (study of conditioning)

What did the study of conditioning become the focus of

Behaviourism:the study of observable behaviours

What did john b Watson revolutionize

The principles of marketing (could sell a produce either if you induce a feeling in the consumer)

What did B.F. Skinner believe in

Fundamental rules of learning shared among all animals operant conditioning: strengthening or weakening a behaviour by reward and punishment

What is humanistic pyschology

The unique aspects of each individual human, each persons freedom to act, his or her rational thought, and the belief that humans are fundamentally different from animals

What did carl rogers and Abraham Maslow focus on

Positive aspects of psychology, the meaning of experience, self actualization

What did Karl lashley do

Attempt to locate the ‘engrame’= where our memories are stored in the brain by studying rats

What was Karl lashleys study on rats

He made them study the way out of a maze, once they remembered he made lesions in their brain to find the ‘engrame’

What did Karl lashleys principles of non localization mean when he made lesions in rats brain to locate the ‘engrame’

Exact location of damage was not important as the rats did not lose their memory no matter where he made a lesion

What is the principle of mass action in relation to Karl lashleys study on rats

The size of the damage to the brain corresponds with the impairment suffered after

What did Donald hebb come up with

Hebbs law “cells that fire together, wire together” (brain cells communicate through electricity)

What did wilder pen field do

Mapped the sensory and motor vortices in the brain- electrically stimulated brains of patients with severe epilepsy under local anesthetic (if you can locate the electrical storm origination point you can remove that area to dampen the effects of the seizure)

What did Hermann ebbinghaus do

Pioneered the experiemental study of human memory

What did Frederick Bartlett say

Memory is an interpretive process

What is gestalt psychology

Emphasized the need to focus on the whole of perception and experience rather than its parts

What is cognitive psychology

Modern perspective that focuses on mental processes, such as memory, thing, and language

Who was Kurt lewin and what did he establish

Founder of modern social psychology, behaviour is a function of individual and environment