History Of Psychology Exam 1 Flashcards

The doctrine that natural processes are mechanically determined and capable of explanation by laws of physics and chemistry

The doctrine that acts are determined by past events. The belief that every act is determined or caused by past events. In other words, we can predict the changes that occur in the operation of a clock - as well as on the universe - because we understand the order and regularity with which its parts function.

The doctrine that explains phenomena on one level (such as complex ideas) in terms of the phenomena on another level (such as simple ideas). For example,the workings of machines such as clocks could be understood by reducing them to their basic components

sophisticated mechanical contraptions, built to imitate human movement and action, were offered for popular entertainment. They were capable of performing marvelous and amusing feats with precision and regularity.

created a machine/ calculator that he called the "difference engine", and referred to himself as "the programmer" (page 27) His calculating machine marked the first successful attempt to duplicate human cognitive processes and develop form of artificial intelligence.(page 29)

One of Babbage's loyal supporters (and one of the few people who understood the machine's operations) was the 18 year old math prodigy.Babbage called her his "Enchantress of Number." She referred to herself at the "Bride of Science." She was fascinated by Babbage's machine and published a clear explanation of how the calculating machine functioned & its potential uses & philosophical implications.

The pursuit of knowledge through observation of nature and the attribution of all knowledge to experience.

His most important work for the development of modern psychology was his attempt to resolve the mind-body problem. He believed that that the mind and body were indeed different essences. But he deviated from tradition by redefining the relationships.

The idea that an external object (a stimulus) can bring about an involuntary response. This theory is a precursor of modern behavioral stimulus-response (S-R) psychology, in which an external object (a stimulus) brings about an involuntary response, such as the jerk of your leg when the doctor taps your knee with a hammer. Reflexive behavior requires no though or cognitive processes; it appears to be completely mechanical or automatic

According to Descartes, the mind is nonmaterial—it lacks physical substance—but it is capable of though and other cognitive processes. Consequently, the mind provides human beings with information about the external work. In other words, while the mind has none of the properties of matter, it does have the capacity to think, and it is this characteristic that sets the mind apart from the material or physical world. Descartes conceived of the mind as unitary, which meant that it must interact with the body only at a single point. He believed that this point of interaction was located somewhere within in the brain because research has shown that sensations travel to the brain and movement originates within the brain; Descartes believes that the pineal body of conarium is the logical site for interaction because is the only singular part on the brain that is not divided into hemispheres.

arrives from direct application of an external stimulus such as the sound of a bell or the sight of a tree.

are not produced by objects in the external world impinging on the senses but develop instead out of the mind or consciousness

The doctrine that recognizes that only natural phenomena or facts that are objectively observable.—Auguste Comte supported this idea

his positivistic approach referred to a system based exclusively on facts that are objectively observable and not debatable.

The doctrine that considers the facts of the universe to be sufficiently explained in physical terms by the existence and nature of matter. Focused on physical properties—the anatomical and physiological structures of the brain.

became the philosophical foundations of the new science of psychology.

Major British Empiricists include:

Tabula Rasa= blank slate. He was an empiricist. He recognized two kinds of experiences: one deriving from sensation, and the other deriving from reflection. Ideas deriving from sensation= from direct sensory input from physical objects in the environment. The mind operates on these sensations by reflecting on them.

are elemental ideas that arise from sensation and reflection

are derived ideas that are compounded of simple ideas and thus can be analyzed or reduced to their simpler components

The notion that knowledge results from linking or associating simple ideas to form complex ideas.

are characteristics such as size and shape that exist in an object whether or not we perceive them

are characteristics such as color and odor that exist in our perception of the object.

argued there were no primary qualities; there were only secondary qualities. To him, all knowledge depended on the experiencing or perceiving person. His position was given the name mentalism (perception is only one reality)

the doctrine that all knowledge is a function of mental phenomena and dependent on the perceiving or experiencing person.

Berkeley applied the principle of association to explain how we come to know objects in the real world. This knowledge is essentially a construction or composition of simple ideas (mental elements) bound by the mortar of association. Complex ideas are formed by joining the simple ideas that are received through the senses, as he explained in An Essay Towards a New Theory Of Vision.

His fundamental law of association is contiguity, by which he attempted to explain the process of memory, reasoning, emotion, and voluntary and involuntary action. Ideas or sensation that occur together, simultaneously or successively become associated so that the occurrence of the other. Further, he proposed that repetition of sensation and ideas is necessary for associations to be formed.—he agreed with Locke that all ideas and knowledge are derived from experiences conveyed to us through the senses; there are no innate associations, no knowledge presented at birth.

Hartley viewed the world in mechanistic terms. He suggested that the nerves were solid (not hollow tubes, as Descartes believed) and that vibrations of the nerves transmitted impulses from one part of the body to another. These vibrations initiated smaller vibrations in the brain, which were the physiological counterparts of ideas.

He believed that the empiricists who argued that the mind was merely similar to a machine in its operations had not gone far enough. The mind WAS a machine - it functioned in the same predictable, mechanical way as a clock. It was set in operation by external physical forces and run by internal physical forces. According to this view, the mind is totally passive entity that is acted on by external stimuli. We respond to these stimuli automatically; we are incapable of acting spontaneously. He therefore had no place I his theory for the concept of free will.—He believed that the mind had no creative function because association is a totally automatic, passive process.

(Mental chemistry) He argued against the mechanistic position of his father, James Mill, who viewed the mind as passive, something acted upon by external stimuli. To him, the mind played an active role in the association of ideas. He proposed that complex ideas are not merely the summation of simple ideas through the process of association. Complex ideas are more than the sum of the individual parts (the simple). According, to this view, which came to be known as creative synthesis—the proper combining of mental elements always produces some distinct quality that was not present in the elements themselves

the proper combining of mental elements always produces some distinct quality that was not present in the elements themselves

The principles, methods, and philosophical issues of historical research

the general spirit of the time

the view that progress and change in scientific history are attributable to the ideas of unique individuals

The view that progress and change in scientific history are attributable to the Zeitgeist, which makes a culture receptive to some ideas but not to others.

Refers to a group of psychologists who become associated ideologically, and sometimes geographically, with the leader of a movement.

early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

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

A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior

early perspective in psychology focusing on perception and sensation, particularly the perception of patterns and whole figures

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

an approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings

Focuses on the process of knowing, on how the mind actively organizes experiences

The doctrine that natural processes are mechanically determined and capable of explanation by the laws of physics and chemistry.

The idea that people's behavior is produced primarily by factors outside of their willful control.

the reduction of complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study

the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation

The question of the distinction between mental and physical qualites

- Descartes explained the mind-body problem by stating that the mind influences the body but the body exerts a greater influence on the mind than previously supposed

- Descartes introduces an approach to the long-standing mind-body problem that focused attention on a physical-psychological duality

the idea that an external object can bring about an involuntary response

Arise from the direct application of an external stimulus such as the sound of a bell or the sight of a tree

Develop out of the mind or consciousness of an individual and are independent of sensory experiences or external stimuli

- The Mechanistic conception of the body

- The theory of reflex action

- The mind-body interaction

- The doctrine of innate ideas

- The localization of mental functions in the brain

the belief that knowledge should be derived from scientific observation

stated that the facts of the universe could be described in physical terms and explained by the properties of matter and energy

- Was concerned primarily with cognitive functioning

- Mind acquires knowledge through experience

- Rejected the existence of innate ideas and argued that humans are born without knowledge

elemental ideas that arise from sensation and reflection

Compounded simple ideas and thus can be analyzed or reduced to their simpler components

the notion that knowledge results from linking or associating simple ideas to form complex ideas

Characteristics such as size and shape that exist in an object whether or not we perceive them

characteristics such as color and odor that exist in our perception of the object

doctrine that all knowledge is a function of mental phenomena and dependent

notion that more frequently two ideas occur together, the more readily they will be associated

the proper combining of mental elements always produces some distinct quality that was not present in the elements themselves

A technique for determining the function of a given part of an animal's brain by removing or destroying it and observing the resulting behavior changes.

Posthumous examination of brain structures to detect damaged areas assumed to be responsible for behavioral conditions that existed before the person died.

- Developed by Paul Broca which would later name the part of the brain referred to as "Brocas area"

A technique for exploring the cerebral cortex with weak electric current to observe motor responses.

Herman von Helmholtz

threshold at which two points of stimulation can be distinguished as such

The smallest difference in the amount of stimulation that a specific sense can detect.

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

point of sensitivity at which the least amount of change gives rise to a change in sensation

scientific study of the relations between mental and physical processes

consists of having subjects adjust a variable stimulus until they perceive it to be equal to a constant standard stimulus

involves two constant stimuli, and the aim is to measure the stimulus difference required to produce a given proportion of correct judgments.

many of his papers and letters will not be publicly available until later in the 21st century

Ernst Weber

the motor strip of the brain

that thought and movement are not simultaneous

personalistic

postivism

the mind influenced the body

John Stuart Mill

absolute threshold

Reverend Nevil Maskelyne's personal assistant . He was fired, because his observation of the time required for a start to pass from one point to another were slower than Maskelyne's- he was warned but the differences increased (difference was 5/10 of a second)

Investigated Kinnebrook's incident; interested in errors in measurement suspected that the so-called mistakes made by Maskelyne's assistant were attributable to individual differences-personal differences among people over which they have no control

Astronomers would have to take into account the nature of the human observer, because personal characteristics and oerceptions would necessarily influence the reported observations.

If the role of the human observer had to be considered in astronomy, then surely it was also important in every other science that telied on observational methods.

Differences into observation times would be found among all astronomers

Advocated the use of the experimental method. Proposed that the stimulation of a particular nerve always leads to a characteristic sensation, because each sensory nerve has its own specific energy.

Concluded that different levels of behavior arise from different parts of the brain. Observed that decapitated animals continued to kove for some time when he stimulated various nerve endings

Destroyed parts of the brain and spinal cord in pigeons and observed the consequences. Concluded that the cerebrum controls higher mental processes, parts of the midbrain control visual and auditory reflexes, and other vital organs.

Research attempts to determine the function of a given part of the brain by removing or destroying it and observingthe resulting changes in the animal's behavior.

Post humous examination of brain structures to detect damaged areas assumed to be responsible for behavioral conditions that existed before the person died.

Performed an autopsy on a man who for many years had been unable to speak intelligibly. Revealed a lesion in the third frontal convulsion of the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex. Named this area, "Broca's Area"

Technique for exploring the cerebral cortex with weak electrical current to oberve motor responses

Found that stimulating certain cortical areas in tabbits and dogs resulted in motor responses, such as movement of the front and back legs.

Dissected the brains of deceased animals and humans. His work confirmed the existence of both white and gray metter in the brain, the nerve fibers connecting each side of the brain to the opposite of the spinal cord, and the fivers connecting both halved of the brain.

Later known as phrenology, proposed that the shape of a person's skull revealed his or her intellectual and emotional characteristics. Bulges and dents in the bony surface of your skull reveals a lot about your intellectual or emotional functioning.

Suggested that nerve impulses were electrical. Believed that the nervous system was essentially a conductor of electrical impulses and that the central nervous system functioned like a switching station, shunting the impulses onto either sensory or motor nerve fibers.

Direction of travel for nerve impulses in the brain and spinal cord

Former students of Johanes Mueller; all phenomena could be accounted for by the principles of physics. Connected physio with physics (physio in the framework of mechanism)

Paved the way for an experimental science of physiology. Experimental psychology was firmly established and recognized to a degree not yet achieved in France and England.

They plunged ahead unconstrained, using the tools of science to explore and measure all facts of life.

Well equipped labs, many universities, highly paid faculty and state of the art laboratory equipment.

mind and body are not regarded as a real dualism, but are different sides of one reality. They are separated in the form of sensation and stimulus; that is, what appears from a subjective viewpoint as the mind, appears from an external or objective viewpoint as the body

(sensation intensity = C log stimulus intensity)

The point of sensitivity below which no sensations can be detected and above which sensations can be experienced

The point of sensitivity at which the least amount of change in a stimulus gives rise to a change in sensation.

The scientific study of the relations between mental and physical processes.

Recorded the delay between stimulation of the nerve near the muscle and the muscle's response, and did the same for stimulation farther from the muscle. These measurements yielded the conduction speed of the neural impulse: 90 feet per second

Suggested that thought and movement follow each other at a measurable interval and do not occur simultaneously, as had been thought.

Investigated external eye muscles and the mechanism by which internal eye muscles focus the lens.

Perception of tones, the nature of harmony and discord, and the problem of resonance.

Research in higher senses of vision and hearing

The threshold at which two points of stimulation can be distinguished as such

The smallest difference between two physical stimuli

Reverend Nevil Maskelyne's personal assistant . He was fired, because his observation of the time required for a start to pass from one point to another were slower than Maskelyne's- he was warned but the differences increased (difference was 5/10 of a second)

Investigated Kinnebrook's incident; interested in errors in measurement suspected that the so-called mistakes made by Maskelyne's assistant were attributable to individual differences-personal differences among people over which they have no control

Astronomers would have to take into account the nature of the human observer, because personal characteristics and oerceptions would necessarily influence the reported observations.

If the role of the human observer had to be considered in astronomy, then surely it was also important in every other science that telied on observational methods.

Differences into observation times would be found among all astronomers

Advocated the use of the experimental method. Proposed that the stimulation of a particular nerve always leads to a characteristic sensation, because each sensory nerve has its own specific energy.

Concluded that different levels of behavior arise from different parts of the brain. Observed that decapitated animals continued to kove for some time when he stimulated various nerve endings

Destroyed parts of the brain and spinal cord in pigeons and observed the consequences. Concluded that the cerebrum controls higher mental processes, parts of the midbrain control visual and auditory reflexes, and other vital organs.

Research attempts to determine the function of a given part of the brain by removing or destroying it and observingthe resulting changes in the animal's behavior.

Post humous examination of brain structures to detect damaged areas assumed to be responsible for behavioral conditions that existed before the person died.

Performed an autopsy on a man who for many years had been unable to speak intelligibly. Revealed a lesion in the third frontal convulsion of the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex. Named this area, "Broca's Area"

Technique for exploring the cerebral cortex with weak electrical current to oberve motor responses

Found that stimulating certain cortical areas in tabbits and dogs resulted in motor responses, such as movement of the front and back legs.

Dissected the brains of deceased animals and humans. His work confirmed the existence of both white and gray metter in the brain, the nerve fibers connecting each side of the brain to the opposite of the spinal cord, and the fivers connecting both halved of the brain.

Later known as phrenology, proposed that the shape of a person's skull revealed his or her intellectual and emotional characteristics. Bulges and dents in the bony surface of your skull reveals a lot about your intellectual or emotional functioning.

Suggested that nerve impulses were electrical. Believed that the nervous system was essentially a conductor of electrical impulses and that the central nervous system functioned like a switching station, shunting the impulses onto either sensory or motor nerve fibers.

Direction of travel for nerve impulses in the brain and spinal cord

Former students of Johanes Mueller; all phenomena could be accounted for by the principles of physics. Connected physio with physics (physio in the framework of mechanism)

Paved the way for an experimental science of physiology. Experimental psychology was firmly established and recognized to a degree not yet achieved in France and England.

They plunged ahead unconstrained, using the tools of science to explore and measure all facts of life.

Well equipped labs, many universities, highly paid faculty and state of the art laboratory equipment.

mind and body are not regarded as a real dualism, but are different sides of one reality. They are separated in the form of sensation and stimulus; that is, what appears from a subjective viewpoint as the mind, appears from an external or objective viewpoint as the body

(sensation intensity = C log stimulus intensity)

The point of sensitivity below which no sensations can be detected and above which sensations can be experienced

The point of sensitivity at which the least amount of change in a stimulus gives rise to a change in sensation.

The scientific study of the relations between mental and physical processes.

Recorded the delay between stimulation of the nerve near the muscle and the muscle's response, and did the same for stimulation farther from the muscle. These measurements yielded the conduction speed of the neural impulse: 90 feet per second

Suggested that thought and movement follow each other at a measurable interval and do not occur simultaneously, as had been thought.

Investigated external eye muscles and the mechanism by which internal eye muscles focus the lens.

Perception of tones, the nature of harmony and discord, and the problem of resonance.

Research in higher senses of vision and hearing

The threshold at which two points of stimulation can be distinguished as such

The smallest difference between two physical stimuli

Founder of modern psychology; • Relied on the experimental methods of the natural sciences, particularly the techniques used by the physiologists. He adapted these scientific methods of investigation for the new psychology and proceeded to study its subject matter in the same way physical scientists were studying their own subject matter.

derived from the word volition defined as the act or power of willing. Refers to the power of will to organize the mind's contents into higher- level thought processes.

provides us with information or knowledge about something other than the elements of the experience

unbiased or untainted by any personal interpretations

examination of one's own mental state "internal perception"

1. Observers must be able to determine when the process is to be introduced.2. Observers must be in a state of readiness or strained attention

3. It must be possible to repeat the observation several times

4. It must be possible to vary the experimental conditions in terms of the controlled manipulation of the stimuli

Sensations and feelings

aroused whenever a sense organ is stimulated and the resulting impulses reach the brain. Can be classified by intensity, duration, and sense modality.

subjective complements of sensations but do not arise directly from a sense organ

Wundt's explanation for feeling states based on three dimensions: pleasure/displeasure, tension/relaxation, and excitement/depression. The feeling state could be located on a continuum ranging from highly agreeable to highly disagreeable.

The process by which mental elements are organized. Process of organizing mental elements into whole is a creative synthesis, which creates new properties from the building up or combining of the elements. "Whole is different than the sum of the parts"

1. Analyze conscious processes into their basic elements

2. Discover how these elements are synthesized or organized

3. Determine the laws of connection governing the organization of the elements.

First to investigate learning and memory experimentally

revolutionized the study of learning, syllables presented in a meaningless series to study memory processes. The nonsense syllables he created, typically formed of two consonants with a vowel in between.

showed that the material is forgotten rapidly in the first few hours after learning and more slowly thereafter.

focused on mental activities (e.g. seeing) rather than on mental contents (e.g. that which is seen)

• Acts cannot be accessible through introspection.

• The study of mental acts require observation on a larger scale.

1. Through memory (recalling the mental processes involved in a particular mental state)

2. Through imagination (imagining a mental state and observing the accompanying mental processes)

established a center for the collection of recordings of primitive music from many countries throughout the world.

examined experience as it occurred and did not try to reduce experience to elementary components. Also, an approach to knowledge based on an unbiased description of immediate experience as it occurs, not analyzed or reduced to elements.

studied conscious experience as it occurred, not the memory of it after it had occurred.

used retrospective reports of subjects' cognitive processes after they had completed an experimental task.

represents the idea that meanings in thought do not necessarily involve specific images.

expand Wundt's conception of psychology's subject matter to encompass the higher mental processes and to refine the introspective method.

found that sensations and images play no part in the process of judgment, subjects retain a mental image of the first weight and compared it with a sensory impression of the second weight.

demonstrated in word association task (asking subjects to respond to a stimulus word), subjects had little relevant information to report about their conscious process of judgment. This finding reinforced Kulpe's contention that conscious experience could not be reduced solely to sensations and images

studies were most prominent in memory. He studied indistinct and distinct images effect on memory. He theorized that thinking of indistinct images made memorization and learning more effective.

a device used for verbal learning research.

unrelated material makes it difficult to learn new material