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PSYCHOL 1000 > Chapter 1 > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Psychology

A

The scientific study of behaviour and the factors that influence it.
The goals are to:
- describe how people behave
- explain and to understand causes of behaviour
- predict how people will behave
- influence behaviour to enhance human welfare

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2
Q

Basic Research

A

Knowledge gained purely for its own sake. The goals are to describe how people behave and to identify factors that influence it. Research may be carried out in lab or real world.
i.e. “What is a thought?” “What is a memory?”

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3
Q

Applied Research

A

Knowledge gained to solve specific practical problems. Uses principles discovered via basic research to solve practical problems.
i.e. “How can we enhance memory?”

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4
Q

Four Goals of Psychology

A

Describe how people and animals behave, Explain and understand the causes of behaviour, predict how people and animals behave under certain conditions, and influence or control the behaviour through knowledge and control of causes.

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5
Q

The Biological Perspective

A
  • Focuses on the physical side of human nature (role of the brain, biochemical processes).
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6
Q

Mind-Body Dualism

A

The belief that the mind is a spiritual entity not subject to the physical laws that govern the body.

  • No amount of research on the body could ever explain the mind
  • Ancient widely-held view
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7
Q

Monism

A

The belief that the mind and body are one, and mental events are a product of physical events
- Modern viewpoint

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8
Q

Scientific Study of Behaviour and the Mind

A
  • Actions
  • Thoughts
  • Feelings and emotions
  • Reactions
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9
Q

Behaviour

A

Directly observable actions and responses.

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10
Q

Mind

A

Internal states and processes that cannot be seen directly, but inferred from observation.

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11
Q

Roots of Psychology

A

Philosophy: study ideas about how knowledge can be acquired

Natural Science: progress in understanding the brain, nervous system, senses, and biological processes

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12
Q

Philosophical Perspectives

A
  • *Nativism: knowledge is innate (i.e. inherited)
  • Focus on hereditary factors
  • Nature side of the nature vs. nurture debate
  • *Empiricism: knowledge is gained through environment, observation, and our senses
  • Experiences more important than heredity
  • Study only what could be observed
  • Nurture side of the nature vs. nurture debate
  • *Rationalism: knowledge gained through logic
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13
Q

History of Studying Behaviour: Philosophers

A

Aristotle

John Locke

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14
Q

Aristotle

A
  • Empiricism is born

- Believed environment and upbringing shape cognitive abilities

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15
Q

John Locke

A
  • Empiricism
  • Said nothing can exist within the intellect that did not have its origins in the senses (meaning taking information from environment was important)
  • Referred as tabula rasa (born as a blank slate) meaning knowledge is acquired through experience
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16
Q

History of Studying Behaviour: Natural Science

A

Gall
Flourens
Charles Darwin
Ivan Sechenov

17
Q

Gall

A
  • Phrenology: complex mental faculties all localized in discrete areas of the brain
  • bumps in the skull indicate overdeveloped brain regions
  • Cranioscopy: technique used to understand and to determine someone’s personality and intellect from these bumps
  • the larger the bumps the more developed it was
  • localized brain regions for behaviour
  • Believed different brain regions have different functions
18
Q

Flourens

A
  • Believed functions were not localized

- Entire brain worked in synchrony to produce general functions (behaviour is distributed across many areas)

19
Q

Charles Darwin

A
  • Theory of natural selection
  • Survival of the fittest: individuals who are most suited for the environment reproduce and pass on their genes to the next generation
  • Nothing special about humans
  • Humans can be studied scientifically
20
Q

Ivan Sechenov

A
  • Physiologist

* Believed all complex behaviour can be explained by simple reflexes

21
Q

History of Studying Behaviour: Cognitive Psychology

A 
Wilhelm Wundt
Hermann von Ebbinghaus
William James
John Watson
Wolfgang Kohler
22
Q

Wilhelm Wundt

A
  • Founder of Structuralism
  • studied structure and components of the consciousness and the mind in terms of basic elements
  • Started the 1st psychology lab in 1879 in Germany
  • Uses a technique called introspection (focus inward and describe experience; problems: subjectivity, honesty, validity)
  • Studied the same phenomena cognitive psychologists study today
23
Q

Hermann von Ebbinghaus

A
  • First to study memory
  • First rigorous empirical study of the cognitive phenomena
  • memory and forgetting
24
Q

William James

A
  • Founder of functionalism (a school of thought)
  • Studied “function or purposes” of consciousness and mental process
  • in adapting to the environment
25
Q

John Watson

A
  • Rise of Behaviouralism
  • Believed psychology was a failure because of the emphasis of unseen concepts
  • Empiricist
  • Only study observable behaviour (what we can see)
  • All behaviour is learned (nothing is innate or inherited)
  • None is genetic; we know nothing we must learn everything
26
Q

Wolfgang Kohler

A
  • Gestalt Psychology: looks at how the elements of experiences are organized into whole experiences (not interested in basic components)
  • idea that the mind perceives things as a whole rather than parts
  • whole is greater than the sum of its parts
27
Q

History of Studying Behaviour: Psychodynamic Perspective

A

Sigmund Freud:

  • Australian physician that focused on mental illnesses
  • Developed psychoanalysis (analysis of unconscious psychological forces)
  • Psychoanalytic theory of mental disorders
  • the importance of unconscious processes (influence of behaviour)
  • stressed the impact of early childhood experiences (shaped who we become as an adult)
28
Q

Cognitive Revolution

A
  • Returned to scientific study of mental processes, thoughts and feeling
  • before only focused on studying behaviourism based on what can be observed
  • Social influences:
  • WWII: many were on war trial regrading the atrocities of concentration camps (under oath said they were ordered to do so)
  • desegregation: research on prejudice and racism
  • multiculturalism: study cultural differences
29
Q

What do Psychologists do?

A
  • Majority work in private practice
  • must first be a clinical psychologist trained to do assessments, diagnoses and treatments
  • certified with college of psychologists
  • Some work in colleges/universities
  • Teaching
  • Research
  • Administration (i.e. dean of social science)
  • Other workplaces include human services, hospitals (general and mental), industry and government.
30
Q

Six Different Perspectives

A 
Biological
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Behavioural
Humanistic
Sociocultural
31
Q

Biological

A
  • Understanding behaviours in perms of biological processes, evolution and genetics (i.e. function of brain and nervous system)
32
Q

Cognitive

A
  • Humans are information-processing problem solvers

* Thoughts/thinking influence emotions and behaviours

33
Q

Psychodynamic

A
  • Pioneered by Freud
  • Behaviours as unconscious processes, conflicts and defences
  • Stresses the importance of early childhood experiences
34
Q

Behavioural

A
  • External environment shapes our behaviour
  • Learning and consequences of behaviour
  • Discusses how behaviour changes under various conditions
35
Q

Humanistic

A
  • Humans are free agents seeking self-actualization and personal meaning
  • Conscious motives, freedom, choice
  • Innate tendencies towards growth
36
Q

Sociocultural

A
  • Humans are social beings who live and work in social groups
  • How culture (values, beliefs, behaviour, traditions) are transmitted to its members
  • Cross-cultural differences and how these differences affect behaviour, thought and feelings
37
Q

Conflicting Perspectives: Biopsychosocial integrated approach

A
  • We are physical, biological beings
  • We are affected by unconscious processes
  • Our thoughts influence our behaviour
  • Innate tendencies towards growth
  • We are impacted by our culture
38
Q

Major Themes in Psychology

A
  • Psychology is empirical
  • favours direct observation rather than intuition
  • Out of view of the world is subjective
  • our thought, motives and expectations shape out perception of reality (difficult to be unbiased observer)
  • Nature vs. Nurture
  • biological vs. environmental factors
  • traced back to nativism vs. empiricism
  • Mind vs. Brain (monism & mind-body)
  • Behaviour is determined by multiple casual factors
  • biopsychosocial factors to different behavioural phenomena

PSYCHOL 1000 (3 decks)

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