Chapter 1 Flashcards by Shana Iqbal

Psychology Definition

The study of behaviour, thought and experience, and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social and environmental factors.

Examines the individual as a product of multiple influences (biopsychosocial)

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The Scientific Method?

A way of learning about the world through collecting observations, making theories to explain them, and using the theories to make predictions.

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Theories:

-generate hypotheses
-explain phenomenon
-not the same as beliefs (are tested)

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Hypotheses

-testable prediction about process that can be observed and measured
-is falsifiable
-cannot technically be proved (only confirmed and reinforced)

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Scientific Literacy

Knowledge Gathering-What do we know?
Critical Thinking- Can we critically evaluate the evidence?
Application- Is this important?
Scientific Explanation- How can science explain this?

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Empiricism

Knowledge about the world gathered through careful observation.
We understand behaviour by making observations and testing hypotheses (empirical research)

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Determinism

Events are governed by cause and effect relationships.
Occur at different levels (biological, motivational, habitual…)

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History of Studying Behavior

-Ancient Egyptian doctors described behavioural changes following head trauma
-Greek (Hippocrates) and Roman (Galen of Pergamon) physicians developed 4 humours/ temperaments theory of personality
-Adoption of scientific method
-Materialism/Dualism

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Materialism

Belief that humans and other living beings are composed exclusively of physical matter

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Dualism

There are properties of humans that are not material

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Gustav Fechner (Influences from Physics)

Psychophysics- Study of relationship between the physical world and the mental representation of the world

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Charles Darwin (Influences from Evolutionary Theory)

-Natural Selection
-Genetically inherited traits that contribute to survival and reproductive success are more likely to be passed on
-Traits will differ across environments

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Localization of Brain Function (Influences from Medicine)

-Idea that certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities and personality characteristics
-Phrenology
-Brain Injuries

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Phrenology

Mental traits and dispositions can be determined by examining the surface of the skull (27 organs)

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Brain Injuries

Paul Broca- Left frontal lobe: Spoken language production
Karl Wernicke- Left hemisphere: Language Comprehension
Phineas Gage- Frontal lobe damage: impulsiveness, child like behaviour

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Sigmund Freud (Influences From Medicine)

-Intrigued by hypnosis
-Psychoanalysis
-Believed unconscious mind contained
-forgotten memories
-sexual and aggressive urges
-Psychoanalysis allowed direct access to mind
-Recognized unconscious mental activity
-Used medical model to treat disorders of thought, emotion and behaviour
-Recognized evolutionary influences
-Recognized importance of early life experiences

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Psychoanalysis

Attempts to explain how unconscious processes influence behaviour and personality

Sir Francis Galton (Influence of Social Sciences)

-Measured perception, used statistical analysis to study behaviour
-Interested in individual experiences of people
-Nature vs Nurture (on nature side)
-Eminence
-Theories used to justify eugenic movements

Eminence

Combination of ability, morality and achievements that ran in family

Wilhelm Wundt (Beginnings of Contemporary Psychology)

-First laboratory dedicated to study of human behaviour
-Used introspection (to look within)
-Sensation and Perception
-Reaction time studies
-Measured how experimental manipulations affected mental events
-Mental activities not instantaneous

Edward Titchener (Beginnings of Contemporary Psychology)

-Structuralism
-Analysis of conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements, and to understand how these elements work together
-Mental experiences are made of a limited number of sensations

Structuralism

-Analysis of conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements, and to understand how these elements work together

William James (Beginnings of Contemporary Psychology)

-Wrote first psych textbook (The Principles of Psychology)
-Interested in how our thoughts and actions help us adapt to our environment
-Functionalism

Functionalism

-Study of the purpose and function of behaviour and conscious experience
-Behaviour is understood by determining the purpose it served over the course of evolution
-Why do we behave the way we do?

Edwin Twitmyer (Behaviourism)

-Classic conditioning -Behaviourism

Behaviourism

-Singular focus on studying only observable behaviour -Little or no reference to mental events or instincts

Edward Thorndike (Behaviourism)

-Behavioural changes based on the type of consequences

John B.Watson (Behaviourism)

Only observable changes in the environment and behaviour appropriate for scientific study

B.F. Skinner (Behaviourism)

Radical behaviourism: Foundation of behaviour is the response to reward and punishment

Hermann Ebbinghaus (The Cognitive Revolution)

Studied memory; remembering and forgetting (used himself to train memory with lots of words)

Frederick Bartlett (The Cognitive Revolution)

Cultural knowledge and previous experience influence our memories

Noam Chomsky (The Cognitive Revolution)

Aspects of language are too complex for behaviourism

Gestalt Psychology (The Cognitive Revolution)

Emphasizes focus on the whole of perception and experience rather than its parts

Cognitive Psychology

Modern psychological perspective focusing on processes such as memory, thinking and language

Social Psychology

-Study of influence of other people on our behaviours -Behaviour is a function of the individual and the environment

Personality Psychology

Study of how different personality characteristics can influence how we think act

Humanistic Psychology

-Focuses on the unique aspects of each individual human, beyond their conditioning (behaviourism) and unconscious motivations (psychoanalysis) -Freedom to act, rational thought -Meaning of personal experience

Donald Hebb (Brain and Behaviour)

Hebb’s law: Cells that fire together wire together

Wilder Penfield (Brain and Behaviour)

-Mapping of sensory and movement brain regions -Subjective experience represented in the brain

Emerging Themes in Psychology

-Psychology of Women -How human behaviour differs across cultures (WEIRD) -Brain imaging -Psychology in the ‘real world’ (vs all and facilities) -Psychology in the digital world