Prologue Flashcards
Behavior
Any observable/recordable action done by an organism
ex: yelling, smiling, blinking, sweating
Psychology
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Mental Processes
Internal, subjective experiences inferred from behavior
ex: sensations, perceptions, dreams, beliefs
Empiricism
The view hat knowledge originates in experience and that science should rely on observation/experimentation
Structuralism
Early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
Functionalism
School of psychology that focuses on how mental and behavioral processes function; how they enable adaptation, survival, and flourishing
William James
Functionalist influenced by Darwin
Wrote “Principles of Psychology” after 12 years
Taught Mary Calkins at Harvard
John Locke
Believed that the mind at birth was a tabula rasa (blank slate) that experiences will fill. Formed modern empiricism
Wilhelm Wundt
First to experiment in psychology at the University of Leipzig with a reaction time test. He sought to measure the “atoms of the mind” and launched the first psychology lab.
Edward Bradford Titchener
Wundt’s student. First to bring structuralism to the USA at Cornell University.
Mary Calkins
Taught at Harvard by William James; was the only student in the class due to men dropping out. Was denied a PhD despite outscoring all men; became a memory researcher and the first female president of the American Psychological Association.
Margaret Floy Washburn
Became the first female to get a PhD in psychology and the second female president of the APA. Wrote “The Animal Mind”.
Plato
Socrates’ student, agreed with the dualist idea proposed by Socrates.
Socrates
Concluded that the mind is separable from the body, continuing after death, making knowledge innate. He derived his principles by logic.
Aristotle
Believed the soul isn’t separable from the body, that knowledge isn’t preexisting but grows from experiences; rejected dualism. Derived his principles from careful observations.
René Descartes
Agreed with Socrates and Plato. He dissected animals, saying the fluid in their brains contained “animal spirits” which flowed through hollow nerves throughout the body. Believed memories and experiences formed holes in the brain for the spirits.
Francis Bacon
One of the founders of modern science; said human understanding easily supposed a greater degree of order/equality than it finds. He introduced the scientific method, disliking superstition.
