Psych Outline

Chapter 1: Intro & History a) The mind as adaptive and evolved b) Where do the roots of psychology lie? a. Philosophy i. What is Mind-Body Dualism? 1. Both are distinct but they work together ii. What is meant by the term “tabula rasa”? 2. Blank slate iii. What is so important about Darwin’s notion of natural selection? 3. He explained how evolution worked – it is defined as a feedback process whereby nature favors one design over another, depending on whether it has an impact on reproduction. b. Physiology & Medicine iv. Scientific Method – OPTIC – Observing, Predicting, Testing, Interpreting, and Communicating. v. Weber – Ernst Weber did research in perception and later became known as psychophysics vi. Fechner – Gustav Fechner realized in 1850 that one could study the psychological and physical worlds. vii. Darwin – Came up with the most dominant theory in the life and social sciences. He developed the idea of evolution and natural selection, also known as “survival of the fittest. c) Historical Schools of thought viii. Evolutionary Theory (Darwin) like all biological structures, the human brain is an evolved product. ix. Structuralism (Wundt) Conscious experience is structured as elements that can be broken down and studied. x. Functionalism (James) Focuses more on consciousness and how the mind operates and its functions than its structures and elements. xi. Gestalt- Proposed that in perception a unified whole is more than compilation of parts xii. Behaviorism (Pavlov, Watson, Skinner) only observable behaviors matter for a scientific psychology. Internal state like thoughts feelings are irrelevant xiii. Psychoanalysis (Freud, Adler, Jung) Unconscious motives are brought into awareness to uncover and cure neuroses. Early childhood experience are