THEORY – Ch.

1 - Psychology

psychology = scientific study of behavioural and mental processes, hub science

used in: cancer research, health, climate change

mental processes = all internal, covert (hidden) activities of our mind; e.g. thinking, feeling,
remembering

Wilhelm Wundt – father of Psy – objective introspection - Leipzig 1879

Edward Titchener – Structionalism - structure of memory and sensation – died out in 1900s

William James – Functionalism – how the mind allows people to function – influenced educ. &
industr. Psy

Francis Sumner – father of African American Psy

Mary Whiton Calkins - earliest research in the area of human memory and the psychology of the self

Max Wertheimer – Gestalt Psy – influenced psy (gestalt-) therapy & modern cognitive Psy

Siegmund Freud – Psychoanalysis – disorders of nervous system -> studies on the unconscious mind
– influenced modern psychotherapy

Ivan Pavlov – Classical Conditioning – ignore consciousness - reflex in response to stimulus –

influenced behaviorism

John Watson – father of behaviorism – focus on observable, conditioned behavior, behavior =

learned

Mary Jones – practiced behavior therapy – counterconditioning

B.F. Skinner – 2nd father of behaviourism – operant conditioning

Objective introspection: process of examining and measuring one’s own thought and activities

Structuralism, Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener

- early perspective in psychology associated

- focus of study is the structure or basic elements of the mind

functionalism, Wilhelm James

- early perspective in psychology associated with, in which the

- Focus on study how the mind allows people to adapt, live, work play

Gestalt psychology

- early perspective in psychology focussing on perception and sensation

- particularly the perception of patterns and whole figures

Psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud

- disorders of nervous system, study of the unconscious mind

- insight therapy emphasizing the revealing of unconscious conflicts
- Freud’s term for both the theory of personality and the therapy based on it

Behaviourism Pavlov, John Watson

- the science of behaviour that focuses on observable behaviour only

psychodynamic perspective

- modern version of psychoanalysis, focused on development of sense of self

- focus on the discovery of motivations behind a person’s behaviour other than sexual
motivations

cognitive perspective

- focuses memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving and learning

cognitive neuroscience

- study of the physical changes in the brain and nervous system while thinking

sociocultural perspective

- focuses relationship between social behaviour and culture

- thinking and behaviour = product of learning & shaping within context of family, social group
culture
biopsychological perspective

- attributes human and animal behaviour to biological events occurring in the body
- genetic influences, hormones and activity of nervous system
- Heredity: the transmission of traits and characteristics from parent to offspring through the
actions of genes

evolutionary perspective

- focuses biological basis of universal mental characteristics that all humans share (e.g. fear)
- adaptive: behaviour that aids in survival; adjusting to circumstances

Types of Psychologists

psychologist: professional with academic degree and specialized training in one or more areas of
psychology

psychiatrist: physician specialized in diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

psychiatric social worker: social worker trained in therapy methods focusing environmental
conditions that can have an impact on mental disorders (e.g. poverty, overcrowding, stress, drugs)

PSY - VOCABS

basic research: focused on adding information to the scientific knowledge base

applied research: focused on finding practical solutions to real-world problems

scientific approach: system of gathering data so that bias and error in measurement are reduced

hypothesis: tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations

replicate: in research, repeating a study or experiment to see if the same results will be obtained in
an effort to demonstrate reliability of results

observer effect: tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal when they know
they are being observed
participant observation: naturalistic observation, observer becomes a participant of observed group

observer bias: tendency of observers to see what they expect to see

case study: study of one individual in great detail

representative sample: randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects

population: the entire group of animals in which the researcher is interested in

correlation: measure of the relationship between two variables

correlation coefficient: number that represents the strength and direction of a relationship existing
between two variables; number derived from the formula for measuring a
correlation

experiment: deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if corresponding changes in behaviour

result, allowing the determination of cause-and-effect relationships

operationalization: specific description of a variable of interest that allows it to be measured

independent variable: variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter

dependent variable: variable in an experiment representing the measurable response or behaviour

of the subjects in the experiment

experimental group: subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable

control group: subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable,
receiving either a placebo treatment or no treatment

random assignment: assigning subjects to the experimental or control groups randomly, so that each
subject has an equal chance of being in either group
placebo effect: phenomenon in which the expectations of the participant in a study can influence
their behaviour

experimenter effect: tendency of the experimenter’s expectations for a study to unintentionally

influence the results of the study, similar to observer bias

single-blind study: study in which the subjects do not know if they are in the experimental or the
control group

double-blind study: study in which neither the experimenter nor the subjects know if the subjects
are in the experimental or the control group

critical thinking: making reasoned judgements about claims

Developmental Psychology: Piaget

- sensorimotor (1-2y)
- pre-operational (2-7y)
- concrete operational (7-11y)
- formal operational (11-?y)

Dyslexia

- initial use of the right hemisphere to read (relate images to meanings)

- advanced (automatic) reading by left hemisphere
➔ no (or unsatisfactory) transition from one to the other hemisphere = dyslexia