Ch 1 Psych Notion Notes - PDF

Ch 1 - Welcome to Introduction of Psychology: There are 3 levels of analysis: the brain: how brain structure and brain cell activity differ from person to person and situation to situation...

Ch 1 - Welcome to Introduction of Psychology: There are 3 levels of analysis: the brain: how brain structure and brain cell activity differ from person to person and situation to situation the person: how the content of the individual’s mental processes form and influence behaviour the group how behaviour is shaped by social and cultural environments francis bacon: creator of empiricism established & popularized the scientific method, gathering & analyzing data, and performing experiments Rene descartes: created mind-body dualism a philosophical idea that the mind and body are separate and distinct. john locke: we are born with our minds as a blank slate and we learn through experience - this philosophy is called “tabula rasa” Ch 1 - Welcome to Introduction of Psychology: 1  Wilhelm Wundt: father of experimental psychology established first psych lab studied psych through empirically-driven experiments focused on the study of consciousness developed the psychological paradigm of voluntarism and structuralism structuralism: structuralism: psychological theory that studies the structure of the mind and consciousness. considered the first school of thought in psychology. considered developed by wilhelm wundt. edward titchener expanded on wundt’s work he developed structuralism. introspection: careful, reflective, and systematic observation of the details of mental processes. functionalism: william james: Functionalism is a school of thought in psychology that focuses on how mental processes help us adapt to our environment. It was developed as a reaction to structuralism, which aimed to break down mental processes into their most basic elements, like a list of ingredients in a recipe. The key idea in functionalism is that mental processes are not static or fixed. Instead, they are fluid and constantly changing, much like a stream of water that flows continuously. This is what William James, a prominent functionalist, referred to as the "stream of consciousness." believed consciousness served an important function and argued the need to discover it Ch 1 - Welcome to Introduction of Psychology: 2  functionalist scientists used empirical methods that focused on the causes and consequences of behaviour and also placed emphasis on studying animals, children, and individuals with mental illness. Gestalt psychology: argued that consciousness CANNOT be broken down into elements and that we perceive things as whole perceptual units. the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (holism) psychoanalysis: sigmund freud the belief that peoples’ behaviours are based on their unconscious desires and conflicts. freud developed a form of therapy, psychoanalysis, that aimed to resolve unconscious conflicts. humanistic psychology: takes an optimistic view of human nature and seeks to give greater prominence to the special and unique features of human functioning. humanism focuses on the potential of people, highlighting the following: subjectivity consciousness free will cognitive psychology: the study of information processing what is the role of mental processes in how people process information, develop language, solve problems, and think Ch 1 - Welcome to Introduction of Psychology: 3  psychobiology neuroscience: the study of brain structure and activity and how this relates to/controls behaviour which areas of the brain are responsible for memory, learning, and other functions? how do neuronal networks work? Values of psychology: theory driven: use theories to explain behaviour empirical: based on research multi-level: explained by the brain, the individual, and the group contextual: psychological perspectives continue to evolve, which impacts work in psychology Ch 1 - Welcome to Introduction of Psychology: 4