Classical Roots of Psychology Flashcards
(22 cards)
Cardio-centric
The heart is the centre of the mind
Cephalo-centric
The head as the center of the mind
Renaissance (15th/16th century)
-resurgence of interest into Greek philosophy
-playful analysis of observations
-logic and reasoning was applied in novel ways
Rene Descartes
-dualism
Dualism
Which is the view that mind and body are fundamentally different things
Thomas Hobbes
Materialism
-was a materialist who thought the term ‘incorporeal substance’ was a nonsensical contraction
Materialism (Thomas Hobbes)
-countered that the mind and body must be physically linked
-soul is body
-Mental events are a product of physical events
-The view that all mental phenomena are reducible to physical phenomena
Materialism is most commonly accepted stance among modern psychologist
-the mind is linked to the brain
-when we study the brain, we study the mind
Rene Descartes
Dualism
-proposed the mind as a separate entity from the body
-soul vs body
-not subject to physical laws
-mind was an “incorporeal” or no physical substance
-which is the view that mind and body are fundamentally different things
-cannot be studied (cannot investigate what we cannot access)
John Locke
Philosophical realism (nurture)
Realism
Sensory signals -> perception
View that perceptions of the physical world are produces entirely by info from the sensory organs
Ex. Eyes, ears etc
Immanuel Kant
Idealism (nature)
Idealism
Sensory signal->brain interpretation -> Perception
Our brain interprets information before we experience it
-Mind comes hardwire with certain kind of knowledge and that it uses this knowledge to create our perception of the world
-without prior knowledge or conceptions of the world, or have a perception of it
-view that perceptions of the physical world are the brains interpretation of into from the sensory organs
John Locke (Realism)
Nurture
-empiricism
-view that all knowledge is acquired through experience
- blank state “tabula rasa”
-experience is accurate
-the “mind” reflects the true state of the environments
-perception of the world produced by sensory organs
Immanuel Kant (nature)
Experience is inaccurate
The “mind” reflect
a believe of the world
Perception is the brain’s interpretations of sensory signals
-nativism
Knowledge is innate
Humans are born with knowledge
We learn how to apply it, and build on it
Charles Darwin
evolution
-principle of natural selection
organism adapt over generations to their environments
“natural selection”
-specific attributes that promote survival/reproduction of an organism become more prevalent in the population over time
Neural Doctrine
the brain is made up of fundammental units; neurons
properties of these can be measured
e.g. reaction time
Structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt/Edward Tichener
An approach to psychology that attempted to isolate the basic unit (structure) of the mind
William Wundt in Structuralism
The mind has functional units
dependent on introspection (which is the analysis of subjective experience by trained observers)
-> focused on how things worked together
-> examined the capabilities of different parts of the mind
->use introspection to study feelings and sensations
Problem of Introspection
each person’s inner experience was an inherently private event
psychology
the scientific study of mind and behaviour
mind
refers to a set of private events that happen inside a person the thoughts and feelings that we experience at every moment but no on else can see
behaviour
refers to a set of public events– the things we say and do that can potentially be observed by others
