Psychology and Its Roots
Psychology
What is psychology?
The scientific study of mental processes and behaviour
To understand a person a psychologist must investigate an individual’s...?
Biology, psychological experiences, and cultural context.
What are two aspects which create possibilities and limitations to an individual’s psychology?
Biology and cultural experience. Biologically the structure of the brain sets the parameters or limits of human potential. Cultural experience shapes the groundwork for different kinds of thinking, reasoning and acting.
What is biopsychology?
Biopsychology or behavioural neuroscience investigates the physical basis of psychological phenomena. It investigates the electrical and chemical processes in nervous system that underlie mental events, aiming to link mind and body. Localisation of function is a study which tries to link areas of the brain to different psychological functions.
What is anthropology and cross-cultural psychology?
Anthropology is the study of cultures. Anthropologists Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict were interested in the relationship between culture and personality. They argued that individual psychology is fundamentally shaped by cultural values, ideals and ways of thinking, as we learn ways that conform to the cultural standards.
What are three philosophical questions which have influenced the study of psychology?
Free will or determinism: do we freely control our actions or are our behaviours determined by things outside our control.
Mind-Body problem: the question of how mental and physical events interact.
Nature vs Nurture: To what extent do psychological processes reflect biological or environmental influences?
Who is Wilhelm Wundt?
He is seen as the father of psychology and started the first psychology laboratory in 1879, germany.
What was Wundt’s goal?
Wundt wanted to discover the elementary units of human consciousness that combine to form more complex ideas.
What did he deem the basic elements of
What is psychology?
The scientific study of mental processes and behaviour
To understand a person a psychologist must investigate an individual’s...?
Biology, psychological experiences, and cultural context.
What are two aspects which create possibilities and limitations to an individual’s psychology?
Biology and cultural experience. Biologically the structure of the brain sets the parameters or limits of human potential. Cultural experience shapes the groundwork for different kinds of thinking, reasoning and acting.
What is biopsychology?
Biopsychology or behavioural neuroscience investigates the physical basis of psychological phenomena. It investigates the electrical and chemical processes in nervous system that underlie mental events, aiming to link mind and body. Localisation of function is a study which tries to link areas of the brain to different psychological functions.
What is anthropology and cross-cultural psychology?
Anthropology is the study of cultures. Anthropologists Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict were interested in the relationship between culture and personality. They argued that individual psychology is fundamentally shaped by cultural values, ideals and ways of thinking, as we learn ways that conform to the cultural standards.
What are three philosophical questions which have influenced the study of psychology?
Free will or determinism: do we freely control our actions or are our behaviours determined by things outside our control.
Mind-Body problem: the question of how mental and physical events interact.
Nature vs Nurture: To what extent do psychological processes reflect biological or environmental influences?
Who is Wilhelm Wundt?
He is seen as the father of psychology and started the first psychology laboratory in 1879, germany.
What was Wundt’s goal?
Wundt wanted to discover the elementary units of human consciousness that combine to form more complex ideas.
What did he deem the basic elements of