Psychology week 1 - Chapter 1

The question of how mental and physical events interact

The physical bases of psychological phenomena such as motivation, emotion and stress

Scientific investigation of mental processes (thinking, remembering and feeling

distinguishing between universal psychological processes from those that are specific to particular cultures

• structuralism = uncovers the basic elements of unconsciousness through introspection
• and functionalism = explains psychological processes in terms of the role or function they serve

whether we freely choose our actions or whether our behaviour is determines by things outside of our control

Wilhelm Wunat in 1879

Edward Titchener

• developmental
• social
• clinical
• cognitive
• health
• forensic
• sports psychology

• peoples actions are determined by the way thoughts, feelings and wishes are connected in their minds
• many of these mental processes occur outside the consciousness
• mental processes may conflict with each other

focuses on the way objects or events in the environment come to control our behaviour through learning

environmental consequences that either increase (reinforcement) or decrease (punishment) the likelihood of that behaviour occurring again

B.F Skinner

people are all individuals and unique and trying to reach their full potential by goal directed choices that leads them to self-actualisation.


Carl Rogers emphasised this

focuses on the way people perceive, process and retrieve information

argues that many behavioural tendencies in humans - from the need to eat, to the concern to our children has evolved to help our ancestors survive and have healthy offspring

• Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection.
• and that the most adaptive behavioural traits are those that helped our ancestors adjust and survive in their environment