Chapter 1 (Book)

Chapter 1 (Book)

1. Introspection-method used by Wundt and other structuralists in which trained subjects verbally reported everything when they were in a study.

   • Structuralism- using introspection to attempt to uncover the basic elements of consciousness and the way they combine with each other into ideas
   • Functionalism- looked at explanations of psychological processes in terms of their role, or function, helping the individual adapt to the environment
   • Wilhelm Wundt= father of psychology

2. Perspectives

   • A paradigm is a broad system of theoretical assumptions employed by a scientific community that includes shared models, metaphors, and methods. Psychology lacks a unified paradigm but has a number of schools of thought, or perspectives, that can be used to understand psychological events.
   • Psychodynamic perspective
     • People's actions are determined by the way thoughts, feelings, and wishes are connected in their minds.
       • Then, many of these mental events occur outside of conscious awareness.
         • Last, these mental processes may conflict with one another, leading to compromises among competing motives.
     • falsifiability criterion- the ability of a theory to be proven wrong as a means of advancing science.
   • Behaviorist Perspecive
     • (also called behaviorism) focuses on the way objects or events in the environment (stimuli) come to control behavior through learning.
     • Giving people feedback on their biological or physiological processes (biofeedback), psychologists can help them learn to control behaviors.
     • Humans are like machines
   • Cognitive Percpective
     • A psychological perspective that focuses on the way people perceive, or process, and retrieve information.
     • "Response time" = a useful measure of memory.
     • How does memory work? How do people solve problems, or make decisions? etc.
     • Mind is like a computer.
   • Evolutionary Perspective
     • the question of the degree to which inborn biological processes or environmental events determine human behavior
     • Nature vs Nurture
     • Natural selection
       • Adaptive traits
     • Many human behavioral tendencies evolved because they helped our ancestors survive and reproduce.