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Flashcards in 1 Central Problem of Psychology Deck (8)
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2
Q

What are Aristotle’s 4 causes?

A

Material CauseFormal Cause (mathematical, parts and their interactions)Efficient (proximal) Cause (events in sequence, Behavioural approach)Final (distal) Cause (function of system and psychological phenomena)

The material cause: “that out of which”, e.g., the bronze of a statue.

The formal cause: “the form”, “the account of what-it-is-to-be”, e.g., the shape of a statue.

The efficient cause: “the primary source of the change or rest”, e.g., the artisan, the art of bronze-casting the statue, the man who gives advice, the father of the child.

The final cause: “the end, that for the sake of which a thing is done”, e.g., health is the end of walking, losing weight, purging, drugs, and surgical tools.

3
Q

What is materialism?

A

Psychological phenomena = CNSTherefore, measuring CNS is a good way to measure mental states, and manipulating CNS would manipulate mental states

4
Q

What is objectivism?

A

A rejection of introspection. Psychology should focus on physical stimuli and overt behaviour, as opposed to mental states, which cannot be measured.

5
Q

What is the central problem in psychology?

A

Measurability of psychological phenomena

6
Q

What is behaviourism?

A

The study of psychology based on observable behaviours. Behaviour can be predicted and controlled from understanding or manipulating discriminative stimuli and consequences of behaviour.

7
Q

What is psychophysics?

A

Investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the perceptions they affect. Involves measuring detection and discrimination thresholds of conscious perception.BUT: poor relationship between nervous activity and perception, as well as physical stimuli and perception.

8
Q

What is an operant?

A

The response ‘emitted’, controlled by consequences.

9
Q

What is the different between Classical Conditioning and Instrumental-Operant Conditioning?

A

CC: stimulus learning (S-S* learning)Thondike/Pavlov - response is elicited, non-voluntary, controlled by antecedents.IC: response learning (S*-R learning)Skinner - response is emitted, voluntary, controlled by consequences.