Chapter 1 - Thinking critically with Psychological Science Flashcards
critical thinking
thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
How do the scientific attitudes three main components relate to critical thinking?
the ideal of curious, skeptical, humble scrutiny of competing ideas unifies psychologists as a community as they check and recheck one another’s finding and conclusions
structuralism
early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the mind
functionalism
early school of thought promoted by james and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function – how they enable the organism to adapt, survive and flourish
“For a lot of bad ideas, science is society’s garbage disposal” describe what this tells us about the scientific attitude and what’s involved in critical thinking.
Many ideas and questions may be scrutinized scientifically, and the bad ones end up discarded as a result. Scientific thinking combines (1) curiosity about the world around us, (2) skepticism about unproved claims and ideas and (3) humility about one’s own understanding. This process leads us to evaluate evidence, assess conclusions, and examine our own assumptions, which are essential parts of critical thinking.
William Wundt
Wundt established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany
William James and Mary Whiton Calkins
James was a legendary teacher-writer who authored an important 1890 psychology text. He mentored Calkins, who became a pioneering memory researcher and the first woman president of the American Psychological association.
Margaret Floy Washburn
The first woman to receive a psychology P.H.D. Washburn synthesized animal behavior research in the animal mind
What event defined the start of scientific psychology?
Scientific psychology began in Germany in 1879 when William Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory
Why did introspection fail as a method for understanding how the mind works?
People’s self reports varied, depending on the experience and the person’s intelligence and verbal ability
the school of (blank) used introspection to define the mind’s makeup; (blank) focused on how mental processes enable us to adapt, survive and flourish
structuralism; functionalism
behaviorism
the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with ; redefined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior.
humanistic psychology
historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential; drew attention to ways that current environmental influences can nurture or limit our growth potential and to the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied
psychology
the science of behavior and mental processes; behavior is anything an organism does any action we can observe and record. mental processes are the internal subjective experiences we infer from behavior – sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts , beliefs and feelings.
B.F Skinner
this leading behaviorist rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior
Sigmund Freud
the controversial ideas of this famed personality theorist and therapist have influenced humanity’s self understanding.
Freudian psychology
which emphasized the ways our unconscious thought processes and emotional responses to childhood experiences affect our behavior
John B Watson
dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior
cognitive psychology
today continues it scientific exploration of how we perceive, process, and remember information and the cognitive roots of anxiety, depression and other psychological
cognitive neuroscience
the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory and language)
nature-nurture issue
the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture
natural selection
the principles that those chance inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
evolutionary psychology
the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection
behavior genetics
the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior
