H&S Finals Exam Questions Flashcards
(13 cards)
What makes psychology a scientific discipline?
-empiricism (how do research, not topic of research or who does it, experiments, observation, sci method)
-to the extent that use scientific evidence and study, can make scientific claims
-science of behavior because cannot directly observe mind
-“Science”:
Is: seeking understanding (vs. achieving results), an interaction of data and theory, an evolution that grows in fits and starts
Is Not: technology, a collection of facts, a finished product, an objective search for truth
Is there a paradigm in psychology? (be aware of points and counterpoints)
- Paradigm shifts arise when the dominant paradigm under which normal science operates is rendered incompatible with new phenomena, facilitating the adoption of a new theory or paradigm
- When enough significant anomalies have accrued against a current paradigm, the scientific discipline is thrown into a state of crisis
- If psychology has a paradigm, it’s not about how one thing works, it’s an agreed upon knowledge on why it works
Points that is has gone through one:
You could potentially argue that the various schools of thought have brought about paradigm shifts (for example, going from Behaviorist to Cognitive) because they changed the scope of psychology at that time
Points that it has not gone through one:
Per Dr. P, psychology has gone through micro-paradigms (“small p” paradigms, not large P Paradigms)
Per Kuhn, psychology has not gone through a cohesive paradigm shift
There has not been one way of thinking about psychology long enough for it to be considered the worldview of psychology at that time
What leads to a scientific revolution?
Result of a paradigm shift.
Scientific paradigm: a model, a pattern of something, a worldview underlying the theories and methodology of a particular scientific subject.
Term coined by Thomas Kuhn; healing influenced by female philosophers (Helene Metzger and Annaliese Mair)
When new information does not fit into the existing paradigm, a scientific revolution takes place. Ex: planets and stars revolving around the earth vs. planets and stars revolving around the sun.
For ex when the heliocentric model replaces the Ptolemaic model of the universe
Who is one ancient philosopher who influenced psychology as we now know it and what were their contributions?
Plato: idealist
Theory of ideas/forms
Believed that soul is the combination of an unruly steed (appetite) and obedient steed (spirit), which are managed/driven by a charioteer (reason) → ancient bases for psychoanalyses id, ego, and superego
When a conflict between spirit and appetite that reason fails to control, the result is what today we would consider ambivalence
also distinction between mind and body and lifting up of the mind and theoretical over the body and physical
Hippocrates - disease has biochemical causes. Stressed diet and exercise.
Started theorizing of biochem causes of disease. Talked about humors. This was wrong but huge idea. Fluids in body AND BIOCHEM REACTIONS that impact thoughts feelings and mental health
What were two of Descartes’s major contributions to psychology?
Discovered “animal spirits” which flow from the mind to muscles and other areas of the body to facilitate movement - the first person to describe the mechanism of what would later be known as a reflex where external stimuli cause the body to move in a certain way
Classified “passions” (similar to how we now classify basic emotions) and said there were six primary ones. He said that we should divert our attention when these passions/emotions become too intense so that we can then respond better (predated DBT)
How did Darwin’s theories impact psychological theory and research?
-Some of Darwin’s theories that influenced psychology:
Doctrine of the evolution of instinct and the part played by intelligence in the process
Evolution of the mind from the lowest animal to the highest men
Expression of emotions.
Natural selection – struggle for existence
Sexual selections – struggling for mates
-Darwin was the 1st person to scientifically explore influence of emotion; stated that emotions evolved because they lead to useful actions and increase a creature’s chance of survival, which are derived from their animal precursors with similar values and expressions. He believed emotions had an evolutionary history and can be traced across cultures and species.
-Emotions or psychological states that arouse them are often what power motivation, and motivation often generates emotions, almost impossible to separate the two
-This theory greatly influenced and development of comparative psychology, studying animals to learn about human behavior (Behaviorism) such as learning, memory, emotions, and social interactions based on these observations and experiments
-Led to studies:
On somatic theory (James-Lang theory)
Physical needs of emotion
Autonomic Nervous System and Central Nervous System Theory with aspect of emotion and motivation
Cognitive Theory:
o Cognitive process and brain activation
Also prompted psychological research on subjective experience of emotion with
Focus on physical change accompanying an emotion,
Focus on subjective experience of how an emotion feels
Focused on understanding why they feel an emotion
Describe the difference between structuralist and functionalist schools of thought and experimentation, using one illustration with a classic figure in each
structuralism focuses on different brain elements and their capacities. The theory of structuralism was first described by Wilhelm Wundt. He studied the mind by introspection to understand inner experiences, like feelings, thoughts, behaviors and sensations, and breaking them down into their most fundamental components and then exploring how these components connect to create a more complex system and phenomena.
functionalism studies the functions and roles of the human mind rather than its structure. Functionalism was introduced by William James.
Wundt would train his associates to introspect and time how long it would take to perceive a stimulus like the sound of a ball dropping and press a button - measuring basic unit of perception
James proposed that consciousness serve a functional purpose that allows humans to survive better by considering their pasts, presents, and futures and be able to plan for the future based on past experience.
Who is one unsung minority in the history of psychology and what did they contribute?
Francis Cecil Sumner, PhD
First African-American to get a PhD in psychology (1920)
The “Father of Black Psychology”
A student of Hall at Lincoln University
Focused on understanding racial bias and supporting educational justice
Focused research on refuting racism and bias in the theories that asserted the inferiority of African Americans
One of the founders of the Psychology department at Howard University (a historically black university)
Mamie Phipps Clark, PhD
Educational Psychologist
First Black woman to receive a doctorate in Psychology from Columbia University
Research helped testify in Brown v. Board of Education (desegregation)
Showed that separate but equal was not in fact equal
Doll study with white and black dolls where children regardless of their race tended to prefer the white dolls and identified the black dolls as less desirable
Showed racism, racial identity, and self-esteem related especially in segregated schools
Name 3 major contributors to psychoanalytic thought, as well as 3 ideas each of them contributed to psychological understanding
Sigmund Freud
Transference
Id, Ego, Super-ego
Defense mechanisms → ways to cope and protect the ego from life’s stressors - includes projection attributing ones own unacceptable thoughts or actions onto someone else (“I’m not cheating, you’re the one cheating!”)
Carl Jung
Theories of Introversion vs extroversion
introvert is more comfortable with the inner world of thoughts and feelings, so they will see the world in terms of how it affects them. They depend on their “me time” to recharge; they become immersed in their inner world and run the risk of losing touch with their surroundings or their outer world.
extrovert feels more at home with the world of objects and other people and is more concerned with their impact upon the world. are actively involved in the world of people and things; they are socially active and more aware of what is going on around them
Collective unconscious → It refers to the idea that a segment of the deepest unconscious mind is genetically inherited and is not shaped by personal experience; the collective unconscious is common to all human beings and is responsible for a number of deep-seated beliefs and instincts, such as spirituality, sexual behavior, and life and death instincts
Psyche Archetypes - including The Persona → the outward face we present to the world. It conceals our real self and Jung describes it as the “conformity” archetype
Karen Horney
Developed the idea of basic anxiety, which is a child’s perception of being helpless and alone in a dangerous world. This can be influenced by how parent takes care of their child and can result in defense mechanisms depending on parent’s level of warmth, consistency, and consideration of child’s emotional experience
Developed idea of 10 neurotic needs that everyone has. If people handle these needs effectively and can resolve interpersonal conflicts and see themselves as they are (healthy person), there does not develop a difference between the despised self and ideal self (neurotic person) that perpetuates anxiety and neurosis
Reworked some of Sigmund Freud’s theories
More concerned with social roles and relationships that underlie his theories as opposed to biology and sexual drives
Penis envy → is really an issue of power and relative cultural acceptability of males vs. females
Oedipus complex → is really struggle for attention (not sexual)
Imagine you are the head of the Student Government Alliance of a school with questionable academic or administrative practices. How could you use behaviorist techniques to effect policy changes? What behaviorist developed them?
Watson - classical conditioning applied to humans
Every time administrators implement decision or process that adversely affects students (e.g. reduce student support staffing, change registration system, cheapen supplies for the student lounge, raise salaries for administrators who are already the highest paid) the SGA would storm the offices of administrators loudly banging pots and pans for several hours. effectively conditioning admin to associate those kinds of decisions with unpleasant sound/interference.
Name two key players and their contribution to the founding or expansion of: (Per Dr. P: won’t need too much detail; aim to say someone’s name and 1-2 contributions)
Structuralism Functionalism Psychoanalysis Behaviorism Gestalt Cognitive Personality Developmental Social Clinical I/O School Forensic
Structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt
Founded the first formal laboratory for psychology research
Introspection as an experimental method
Edward Titchener
Brought Wundt’s structuralism to the USA
Was focused on the structure of memory; how do we break down elements to study the structure of the mind
Functionalism
William James
First professor of psychology in the USA; “father of American psychology”
James-Lange Theory of emotion: an event triggers a physiological reaction which we then interpret. These interpretations are what we call emotions
James McKeen Cattell
Intelligence testing
Used quantitative methods in psychology
Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud
Father of psychoanalysis
Transference
Carl Jung
extroversion & introversion
Collective unconscious
Behaviorism
Pavlov
classical conditioning
Skinner
operant conditioning
Gestalt
Max Wertheimer
did a series of experiments (as a response to structuralism) led to the theory of phi phenomenon: seeing a series of still images in rapid succession leads to the illusion of motion; looks at identifying a set of sensations are important when you perceive their meaning as a whole, as opposed to breaking them down into pieces
Wolfgang Kohler
“the whole is different than the sum of its parts”; set of famous experiments with chimpanzees that showed insight learning does not depend on rewards (contrary to Thorndike’s cats experiment) and that desire of animals/humans to solve problems are not always brought on by a reward
Cognitive
Helen Thompson Woolley
first experimental method used to assess sex differences
Leta Stetter hollingworth
Disproved belief that women had cognitive deficits during certain times in their menstrual cycle
Disproved variability hypothesis. Variability hypothesis: men could vary in skill set but women were all the same
Personality
Katherine & Isabel Briggs
Borrowed from Jung’s introversion/extraversion distinction to develop Myers-Briggs Type Indicator the personality inventory
Helped push forward research on individual differences and personality
William Sheldon
body types and their relation to personality
Developmental
Jean Piaget
4 stages of development (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, formal operations)
Harry Harlow
study with mother monkeys - power of emotional attachment and affection
Social
David Rosenhan
challenged the effectiveness of diagnosis in psych hospitals; did the experiment “Being Sane in Insane Places”; proposed seven parameters for abnormality; looked at how well jurors followed court-ordered mandates to ignore inadmissible evidence
Stanley Milgram
infamous study on authority and the urge to obey
Clinical
Sigmund Freud
Belief that talk therapy could help people
Virginia satir
family therapy
underlying issues under presenting problem
Industrial/organizational
Lillian Gibreth
“First I/O” psychologist”; utilized applied psychology to help with everyday problems (including inventing the step trash can) and was a consultant who would use psychological theory to help increase effectiveness in workplaces
Franziska Baumgarten
Studied refugees and the lasting effects of war and German occupation on children
School
Mamie Phipps Clark
“The Dolls Test”: famous doll study with black children in segregated and integrated schools; showed the direct impact that segregation was having on the children’s self-esteem and racial identity; challenged Plessy vs. Ferguson separate but equal theory and helped lead to it being overturned
Carol Dweck
fixed mindset vs. a growth mindset;
important to give feedback as a means to promote learning
Forensic
Mamie Phipps Clark
Provided expert testimony in Brown v. Board of Education
Challenged the notion of separate but equal
Elizabeth Loftus
misinformation effect: being exposed to misinformation can lead to false memories being implanted in one’s mind. Led to increased scrutiny on the effectiveness of eyewitness testimony
Who is your favorite influencer on contemporary psychotherapy (after Jung’s era) and why?
Virginia Satir - saw issues that weren’t being addressed in therapy and worked on them hands on - foundation of family therapy, system of family can be addressed, self-esteem and self-acceptance, presenting problem and its connection to deeper issues, wanted therapeutic techniques to be accessible and trained others in therapy too
What is the problem with qualia and what does it have to do with our understanding of the human mind?
Qualia are individual instances of subjective, conscious experiences. The problem with qualia is they cannot be communicated to anyone else and they can only be understood by direct experience. Qualia are private experiences so comparing one person’s qualia with another person’s qualia is impossible. When we think of qualia in terms of the human mind, a question arises: How shared can experiences really be? We cannot truly know how someone else is experiencing something because everyone is seeing the same thing in a different way. For example, with regards to the picture of the dress we looked at in class, some people saw the dress as white and gold while other people saw the dress as blue and black.
The problem with qualia is its essential privacy and non-communicability of mental states. All of our inner mental states (hopes, triumphs, pain) arise from the activity of neurons in our brain.
