Buddha, Confucius, and other lesser known Hebrew scholars philosophized on the mind in an expansive sense.
Socrates, Descartes and Plato ~ the mind was separable from the body and knowledge is born within us.
Descartes dissected animals, believed that the fluid in our brain cavities contained animal spirits that flowed through the brain in “nerves” to muscles causing movement.
Aristotle ~ knowledge grows from experiences
Francis Bacon ~ used the scientific method to conduct experiments, he is known as a father of modern science for this.
John Locke ~ tabula rasa
Believed that we are all born with a blank slate, or tabula rasa.
This concept, along with Bacon’s ideas, helped form empiricism, knowledge comes from experience therefore science
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James allowed a woman, Mary Calkins, to enter the Harvard grad school.
Harvard would not grant her the Ph.D. she had earned.
Calkins studied memory and become the first female president of the American Psychological Association.
Margaret Floy Washburn was the first woman to receive a Ph.D and was the 2nd female APA president. was not allowed to the join the organization of experimental psychologists.
Psychological Science Develops
Psychology can be broadly defined as the scientific and systematic study of people’s behavior and mental processes.
Scientific and systematic refers to the scientific method (experiments) and to a logical, orderly way to gather and analyze information.
Behaviorists studied behavior
“Behavior” refers to something observable, like laughing or fidgeting one’s hands.
“Mental processes” refers to the biology of thinking, analysis, judgments, subjective, internal things feelings, perceptions, and beliefs.
Contemporary Psychology
Psychology’s biggest question
The nature-nurture issue is likely psych’s biggest question.
“Which influences a person the most, their genetic makeup and biology or their upbringing and
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Darwin theorized that nature selects those traits that best allow a species to reproduce and survive.
Nature gives us what we have got, but we have the power and ability to nurture things from there
Psychology’s three main levels of analysis
Different levels of analysis form the biopsychosocial approach encompasses biological, psychological, and sociocultural influences.
The main idea is that all three components influence behavior and thinking
Psychological approaches~ perspectives of psychology
Biological focuses on the body and brain being the dominant influences of behavior and thinking.
Evolutionary believes that nature selects traits that allow a species to survive.
Psychodynamic focuses on proving how the unconscious mind drives people's’ behavior.
Behavioral studies how we learn responses through reinforcement, like rewards and punishment.
Cognitive focuses on how we store information and how we perceive that information.
Humanistic Environmental influences, especially love and acceptance, determine if we become all we can in life
Social-cultural studies how behavior and thoughts vary over different circumstances and cultures.
Psychology’s
Chapter 4 discusses the several states of consciousness: the nature of consciousness, sleep and dreams, psychoactive drugs, hypnosis, and meditation. Consciousness is a crucial part of human experience, it represents that private inner mind where we think, feel, plan, wish, pray, omagine, and quietly relive experiences. William James described the mind as a stream of consciousness, a continuous flow of changing sensations, images thoughts, and feelings. Consciousness has two major parts: awareness and arousal. Awareness includes the awareness of the self and thoughts about one's experiences. Arousal is the physiological state of being engaged with the environment. Theory of mind refers to individuals understanding that they and others think,
“The term “nature versus nurture” is used to refer to a long-running scientific debate. The source of debate is the question of which has a greater influence on development: someone's innate characteristics provided by genetics, or someone's environment. In fact, the nature versus nurture debate has been largely termed obsolete by many researchers, because both innate characteristics and environment play a huge role in development, and they often intersect”. (Smith, 2010 p. 1)
Psychology is a social science that aims to study the mind and the behaviors of humans. It aims to understand what drives humans to act the way they do. It differs from sociology and anthropology in that it takes accounts the individual rather than society as a whole.
“even bodies are not strictly perceived by the senses or the faculty of imagination but by the intellect alone, and that this perception derives not from their being touched or seen by from their being understood…”
René Descartes was the 17th century, French philosopher responsible for many well-known philosophical arguments, such as Cartesian dualism. Briefly discussed previously, according to dualism, brains and the bodies are physical things; the mind, which is a nonphysical object, is distinct from both the brain and from all other body parts (Sober 204). Sober makes a point to note Descartes never denied that there are causal interactions between mental and physical aspects (such as medication healing ailments), and this recognition di...
"Nature Plus Nurture." Read "" by Begley, Sharon. N.p., 13 Nov. 1995. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
Much of the intellectual history of psychology has involved the attempt to come to grips with the problem of mind and body and how they interact.
We cannot be absolute when it comes what shapes us, yes indeed we come to this world which specific characteristic, our genes make us who we are but do not determine our future and our possible potential. Our cultural influence and our interaction with our environment make up our experience and step by step build our schemas and our perception regarding the world around us. Nature gives us the first tools in order for us to service, give us the information from generation to generation to overcome the possible obstacles. Then, nurture’s takes over, through the interaction with the averment, base to our cultural norms and rules we shape our beliefs; values; attitudes and behaviors. We learn how to behave, how to interact and how to communicate with the people around us. Thus, the answer between what side to choose, nature or nurture, I personally believe that the answer lies between the two of them. As we say, especially in the field of psychology, it depends. Yes, we born into this world we some innate information, but this information is interpreted from the stimuli we gather through the interaction we have with the
The biological approach to psychology makes the assumption that all behaviours are associated with changes in the brain function and that psychopathology will be caused by a disorder within the brain, neuroanatomy. Many biological psychologists tend to assume that most behaviours, normal and disordered, involve an inherited component from the biological parents. In theory this suggests that all behaviours can be related to changes in brain activity.
Undoubtedly, humans are unique and intricate creatures and their development is a complex process. It is this process that leads people to question, is a child’s development influenced by genetics or their environment? This long debate has been at the forefront of psychology for countless decades now and is better known as “Nature versus Nurture”. The continuous controversy over whether or not children develop their psychological attributes based on genetics (nature) or the way in which they have been raised (nurture) has occupied the minds of psychologists for years. Through thorough reading of experiments, studies, and discussions however, it is easy to be convinced that nurture does play a far more important in the development of a human than nature.
In today’s society people tend to be followers. People wear things or do things that they see others do, not knowing that everyone is born their own person. Things that make people unique and different from others is what makes them stand out. That leads me to introduce the topics to this paper. From nature-nurture, Bronfenbenner’s ecological system, and overall our culture is what makes us humans. Going through certain phases and transtions in life helps us to define ourselves over time. After reading this paper, it would give you a better understanding of my life and who I am as a person.
...tina of Sweden persuaded Descartes to go to Stockholm. The Queen insisted on receiving her instruction at 5 a.m. and Descartes broke his lifelong habit of getting up at 11 o'clock. After a few months in the cold northern climate and walking to the palace at 5 a.m., he contracted pneumonia. Within a week, the man who had given direction to mathematics and philosophy had died. By focusing on the problem of true and certain knowledge, Descartes had made epistemology, the question of the relationship between mind and world, the starting point of philosophy. By localizing the soul's contact with body in the pineal gland, Descartes had raised the question of the relationship of mind to the brain and nervous system. Yet at the same time, by drawing a radical distinction between body as extended and mind as pure thought, Descartes had paradoxically created intellectual chaos.
Rene Descartes’ Theory of Ideas has helped to shape our entire world of thought as it applies to all subjects. While it may seem to be an overstatement to say all subjects, it is not. Whether it is science, literature, or the fine arts, all of these meditations require some degree of thought. People think all day long; they are constantly and unknowingly solving problems, analyzing, detecting, observing, questioning, wondering, and sensing; yet they rarely question their ability to do so or where the knowledge comes from. In his studies, Descartes sought to discover the origin of these thoughts and abilities. Is the information in our head learned or have we had it all along and are simply remembering? Why is it that all animals, humans included, acquire a specific set of survival instincts at birth? While Descartes’ theory led to the further investigation and questioning by other philosophers, it also allowed for many discoveries in the world of psychology, as it relates to development and instinctual behavior.
The word Psychology comes from two Greek words: Psyche and Logos. The term ?psychology? used early on described the study of the spirit. It was in the 18th century when psychology gained its literal meaning: The study of behaviour. In studies today psychology is defined as the scientific and systematic study of human and animal behaviour. The term psychology has a long history but the psychology as an independent discipline is fairly new.
Have you ever wondered why you are the way you are? What makes you brave or shy? For many years, psychologists have been discussing if your genetics or your surroundings are more important to determine personalities. The debate of nature versus nurture is an enduring controversy that has survived through the ages. Many experiments, studies, and discussions have attempted in vain to determine whether biology or environment can be attributed to the way a person has developed. There are two theories about human development that explain how heredity and environment affect an individual. Some people believe that this debate is not solved by one determining force but by a combination of the two. Both heredity and environment play