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
“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…”
A common dispute that has left people speechless for years is the debate between nature and nurture. Are humans influenced by their environments or their genetic make-up? This theory has not gone unnoticed while many theorists attempt to sway the opinions of their audience. Nature is comprised of our genetic and biological components that make us who we are while nurture is founded on the principle that humans are influenced by experience. I believe nature and nurture fall on a spectrum. Within the spectrum environmental, cultural, and genetic influences comprise a person’s unique
"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.
The term psychology has many meanings to different people, even to those who work within the psychological field. The word psychology derives from two Greek roots; 'psyche' refers to 'soul' or 'mind' and logo refers to 'the study of'. A more update definition of the word psychology can be found from Atkinson, et al (1991) “The scientific study of behaviours and mental processes.” However on Google Definitions the definition of psychology is “the mental characteristics and attitudes of a person” [accessed 16 September 2011], which gives somewhat of a contradiction. In this assignment I will be outlining and evaluating four key psychological perspectives. The psychological perspectives I have chosen are the behavioural approach, biological approach, cognitive approach and the psychodynamic approach.
“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 an ever growing field in today’s job field. Psychology comes from the Greek words “psych” meaning soul and “ology” meaning logic, it translates to “the science of the soul” (Ferguson). It was founded by a man named Wilhelm Wundt, he founded experimental psychology which later led to others discovering more in psychology Psychology is both a science and a profession, it is counted as a science because it’s about understanding people's behavior (Ferguson). Psychology is a great and interesting career choice for many generations
Noted psychologist Jerome Kagan once said "Genes and family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form" (Moore 165). The debate on nature versus nurture has been a mystery for years, constantly begging the question of whether human behavior, ideas, and feelings are innate or learned over time. Nature, or genetic influences, are formed before birth and finely-tuned through early experiences. Genes are viewed as long and complicated chains that are present throughout life and develop over time. Nature supporters believe that genes form a child's conscience and determine one's approach to life, contrasting with nature is the idea that children are born “blank slates,” only to be formed by experience, or nurture. Nurture is constituted of the influence of millions of complex environmental factors that form a child's character. Advocators of nature do not believe that character is predetermined by genes, but formed over time. Although often separated, nature and nurture work together in human development. The human conscience is neither innate from birth or entirely shaped through experience, instead, genetics and environmental influences combine to form human behaviorism, character, and personality traits that constantly change and develop throughout life.
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.
...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.
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...
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.
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
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.
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