History and Philosophy Flashcards
(38 cards)
Why is history important?
can only understand present with understanding of past, can learn from mistakes that were made
Potential problems/biases with historical accounts
- memory is a reconstruction, subject to interference and decay, misinformation
- Political bias
- Presentist bias = tendency to discuss and analyse past ideas, in terms of the present
What did Ibn Al-Haytham suggest
science only advances through rigorous experimentation, we must challenge previous beliefs
Define Zeitgeist
“spirit of the time” = collective mindset of society at a particular time which shapes psychological thinking
*theories are only shaped by what society is ready to accept, influences what gets researched e.g. cognitive revolution
When did psychology start and who officially started it?
Psychology has ancient roots, however, Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory in 1879, marking the official start of psychology as a seperate scientific discipline
What is introspection and how was this performed
*Wilhelm Wundt founded STRUCTURALISM
Introspection aimed to break down the mind into basic elements/building blocks
Why was academic networks and interactions important? Who brought structuralism to America
Edward Titchener was a student of Wundt and introduced structuralism/introspection to the Americans
Who founded functionalism and what did they think was wrong with structualism?
William James
we have a stream of consciousness and you can’t freeze/divide our thoughts, emphasise mind as a functional tool
What is psychophysics
looks at how physical stimuli affects our mental processes
Explain Just Noticeable Difference (JND) and who came up with this law
the just noticeable difference (JND) between two stimuli is a constant proportion of the original stimulus
e.g. if you are in a loud room, you need to whisper louder than when you are in a silent room
What is trepanation and what was it used for?
trepanation = hole drilled into human skull, there were no written records so can only speculate based on skulls
- spiritual reasons
- medical treatment
- letting out “evil spirits”
- healing diseases
What did the Ancient Egyptians believe about the Brain
thought that feelings/thoughts came from heart and completely disregarded the brain
*however, Edwin Smith Papyrus found that there was some knowledge about localisation, such as the brain being responsible for speech
Explain the 3 Cell Ventricles/Doctrine
3 seperate cells responsible for a different function
- information from senses
- thinking and cognition
- memory
*think STM
What did Flourens, Broca and Wernicke contribute to functional localisation in the brain?
Flourens = animals and found that there is localisation but brain works together
Broca = localisation of speech function (patient tan)
Wernicke = localisation of speech comprehension
What is phrenology and why was it line with the “Zeitgeist”
feeling different parts of the skull
scientific advancement
What happened to Phineas Gage
iron rod straight through his skull
personality completely changed (bad mouthed), suggests that personality is localised to frontal lobe
Contrast lobotomy and fMRI
lobotomy = cutting brain connection
fMRI = non-invasive, uses blood oxygen levels to measure activity in the brain to look at specific parts
what is “good” and “bad” science and explain the concept of ‘demarcation’
good science = scientific method, empirical, falsifiable, replicable
bad science = bias, poor methodology
demarcation = drawing the line between good and bad science
Explain the implications of the Clever Hans experiment
*horse supposedly good at maths
appearances can be misleading and that scientific claims required carefully controlled methodology
explain subliminal presentation/perception.
subliminal perception = processing information/stimuli without conscious awareness
e.g. flashing the words drink coke and eat popcorn during a movie (too quick to reach consciousness) = sales increased
Contrast Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn’s ideas
Karl Popper = blacks swans experiment - importance of FALSIFIABILITY
Thomas Kuhn = paradigm shifts about the “zeigeist”
e.g. Skinner (behaviourist) - resisted new evidence and ideas until finally paradigm shift into cognitive psychology
What is William Molyneux’s Problem/Question
Can someone who gains sight later in life recognize shapes by sight that they knew by touch?
Contrast nativism and empiricism
nativist approach = knowledge is innate and present at birth
empiricism = mind is a blank state and knowledge comes from experience
What is tabula rasa
“blank slate” the mind is empty at birth and all knowledge comes from experience and input
