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(69 cards)
Structuralism
was founded on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness and break it down into its basic elements or pieces, while investigating how these elements are related.
Structuralists wanted to identify and examine the fundamental components of conscious experience, such as sensations, feelings and mental images.
To examine these components, the structuralists depended on introspection, the careful, systematic self-observation and recall of one’s own conscious experience.
The creation of this school of thought, as well as the use of introspection, is attributed to Wundt’s student, Edward Titchener.
Gestalt Psychology
Emerging from Berlin, Germany in the early 20th century, Gestalt Psychology studies the whole or entirety of consciousness, which includes the component parts of perception, sensation, learning,& problem-solving. Think of Gestalt Psychology like a puzzle that is viewed as its completed work, and not broken down into its separate pieces. Consciousness is the completed puzzle, made up of perception, sensation, learning and problem-solving. With Gestalt, we look at the entire picture, to help understand how we perceive and make sense of the world around us. Integrate the pieces into a meaningful whole! This was a rejection of Wundt and Titchener’s structuralist psychology.
functionalism
was based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure.
Sigmund Freud & The Psychodynamic Perspective of Psychology
The Psychodynamic perspective of psychology focuses on our unconscious thoughts (we are not aware of them, nor can we willfully recall anything related to them) and the impact of childhood experiences in shaping our future, emotional responses to the world around us and our adult personalities. Free association, a method of exploring the unconscious, is employed by having the patient relax and freely say whatever comes to mind after being prompted. No matter how trivial or embarrassing in nature one’s thoughts may be, the psychodynamic practitioner looks for patterns of thought to help the patient gain insight into what is troubling them or interfering with their daily lives. Sigmund Freud, a Viennese physician who practiced in the late 19th to mid 20th centuries, is the founder of this perspective of psychological thought.
Psychology
which can be defined as the scientific study of individual human behavior and mental processes, can trace its origins back to early philosophers (“lovers of wisdom”) such as Plato, Rene Descartes, and John Locke. These philosophers, as well as countless others before and after them, were curious about what made humans behave and think the way they did (and still do!!!). How one learns, processes and recalls information were also points of wonder for these people who predate formal psychology as we know it today.
Early physiologists (study the functions and systems of living creatures) and doctors took interest in these topics as well.
Introspection Vs. Free Association
Structuralist Introspection
Participants would carefully observe their own conscious experiences, reporting sensations, feelings, and thoughts in response to stimuli. The goal was to identify the basic elements of consciousness and how they combined to form complex experiences.
It emphasized precision and control, often taking place in highly structured laboratory settings. Researchers aimed for detailed, objective descriptions of immediate conscious experience.
Freudian Free Association
Patients were encouraged to speak freely and say whatever came to mind without censorship or filtering, allowing their unconscious thoughts and feelings to emerge spontaneously. It was an open-ended process, allowing for exploration of the psyche without constraints.
This method focused on uncovering latent, often unconscious material. Freud believed that unconscious conflicts and desires significantly influenced behavior, so free association was used to explore underlying psychological issues.
Key Differences
Structuralist introspection aimed to dissect the conscious mind, while Freudian free association sought to uncover unconscious thoughts.
Introspection was controlled and structured, focusing on immediate conscious experience, whereas free association was unstructured, emphasizing free-flowing, uncensored thought to access deeper, unconscious material.
Additional Psychological Perspectives
Behavioral
Humanistic
Cognitive
Biological / Neuroscience
Evolutionary
Sociocultural
Biopsychosocial
Behavioral Perspective
The behaviorists rejected unobservable traits or characteristics (unconscious mind and consciousness)to determine how we are shaped, mentally and behaviorally. The focus of behaviorists is on our environment and how it teaches and molds us.
Behaviorism looks at objective, observable behaviors in order to determine how we learn and navigate the world around us.
A system of rewards and punishments is used to encourage desirable behaviors, while discouraging undesirable ones (Operant Conditioning).
Key figures include John B. Watson (Considered the founder of Behaviorism), Ivan Pavlov, BF Skinner
Humanistic Perspective
The Humanistic perspective arose from the belief that both the psychodynamic and behavioral lenses of viewing psychology were too myopic (limited) in nature. There is more to behavior than the influences of childhood and the altering of behaviors through reward and punishment, as well as conditioning.
The Humanistic perspective views human beings as being free, rational creatures with the potential for personal growth and psychological maximization. Humans are set apart from the remainder of the animal kingdom in that we are consciously aware of our potential for personal growth and our abilities to rise above our personal situations.
Human nature is positive and we possess free will. It is a perspective of optimism.
Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers are central figures of the Humanistic perspective.
Key terms include free will and self actualization.
Maslow created a “Hierarchy of Needs”, which was his blueprint for achieving “Self Actualization”, or satisfaction / fulfillment with one’s self.
The Cognitive Perspective
The Cognitive perspective seeks to understand human behavior by examining how we encode, process (make sense out of), store and retrieve information.
Focus is on conscious thought.
Cognition refers to the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge.
Proponents of the Cognitive perspective point out that the ways people think about events has an influence on behavior.
How do our thoughts affect the ways we interpret different situations?
Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky, and Herbert Simon are key figures.
Biological / Neuroscience Approach
This perspective places its emphasis on the brain and genetics, as well as how the body is affected by mental and emotional states.
How does our biological state affect our social state? (Epigenetics is the study of how the environment and other factors can change the way that genes are expressed.)
How does stress affect our immune system?
Important words and terms include genes, brain, nervous system, hormones, neurons and neurotransmitters.
Heavy emphasis on using medication for treating symptoms.
Evolutionary Perspective
The evolutionary perspective is driven by the belief that natural selection and adaptation has given humans specific behavioral traits that will improve the likelihood of survival.
If certain behaviors had a highly negative impact on our ancestors’ chances of survival, they disappeared or were viewed as maladaptive
Those behaviors that significantly increased the likelihood of survival flourished and continue on with us today.
Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution and natural selection is the foundation of this theoretical belief.
Social-Cultural Perspective
the Sociocultural Perspective looks at how social interactions and culture influence behavior and thoughts. How, possibly, does behavior and thinking vary across situations and people / populations?
(Culture can be defined as the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.)
Key terms and words include norms, gender, race, ethnicity and socioeconomic class.
How does poverty influence health and mental illness?
Biopsychosocial Approach
This is an integrated viewpoint which considers the Biological, Psychological, and Social-Cultural factors that make up the behavioral and mental processes of individuals.
As humans are made-up of complex systems, this integrated, multi-level approach intends to offer a more comprehensive understanding of any particular behavioral or mental process.
Critical thinking
scientific approach
is the type of thinking that does not automatically accept arguments and conclusions at face value, but rather examines assumptions and appraises (evaluates and analyzes) )the sources of information. Critical thinking, and critical thinkers, also look for hidden biases while evaluating the evidence and conclusions presented in a research study or experiment.
Peer Review
scientific approach
is also a major component of the scientific approach and critical thinking. Peer review takes place when an expert or group of experts evaluate a research article’s theoretical conclusions, originality, and accuracy.
If the peer review process determines that something is suspect or incorrect, the experts will see if the theory or conclusions presented in a paper can be disproven by observation or experimentation. Are the original findings falsifiable, or capable of being disproved?
Cognitive biases
are illogical thoughts or errors in thinking, which are often the result of heuristics.
Heuristics
are mental shortcuts that the brain uses to quickly process information.
Hindsight bias
(also known as the I knew it all along phenomenon) is the tendency for one to believe after learning an outcome that they would have been able to predict it from the outset. I knew that was going to happen!
overconfidence
is simply the human tendency to think we know more than we actually do and/or to overestimate our abilities to complete a task or challenge.
illusory correlation
is the phenomenon of perceiving a relationship between two variables (typically people, events, or behaviors) even when no such relationship exists.
“Every time the New York Rangers play the Edmonton Oilers, they blow a lead and lose the game.”
“Someone always gets trampled to death in a stampede at Walmart on Black Friday.”
Authority bias
is defined as the tendency to attribute greater accuracy, credibility, or value to the opinions, suggestions, or decisions of an authority figure, simply because of their position or status.
The tendency for people to fall victim to authority bias is why we often see people that are well known or in positions of power an authority advertising products or serving as spokespeople for groups and organizations.
One historical example of this bias was the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. From 1932-1972 the U.S. Public Health Service conducted a study on black men in Tuskegee, Alabama, to observe the effects of untreated syphilis. Although penicillin was already established as a cure and readily available to treat these men, the researchers withheld treatment. Authority bias played a role in allowing this unethical study to continue for decades, because many people believed–falsely–that the medical community would not allow such harm to take place.
Hypothesis
an assumption that is created or stated before research has been conducted. A testable prediction.
Theory
supported by data from research that has been completed and explains a question, thought, or phenomena, and helps predict future behaviors or events.
