Psyc 4600 1st Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Chapters 4 7 Chapter 4 Psychology as an experimental science Focuses on mental illness personal well being is a historically recent phenomenon Appropriate subject matter of psychology has always been debated Methodological issues have been a consistent concern It is experimentation even possible Heisenberg Principle Heisenberg principle Just by observing something can cause it to change Basic Dimensions of Psychological Science Concept of mind unnecessary passive active Source of knowledge empirically derived or requires an experience and rationally derived which just requires a functioning brain Monistic psychology mind and body Sensory based associations english way of thinking versus innate mental processes german way of thinking Problem of discrepancy between subjective and objective reality Do our observations match the objective world Is a science of psychology based on observation even possible What exactly is the nature of human sensation and perception of the natural world Physiology of sensation and perception Bell magendie law Doctrine of specific nerve energies muller We are conscious of sensations not of physical reality Magendie law Bell Sensory nerves carry signals to the brain motor nerves carry signals to muscles and glands Suggested separate sensors and motor regions in the brain Doctrine of specific nerve energies Muller Specific nerves carry specific sensory information no matter how they are stimulated eg Vision nerves carry ONLY visual sensory information We are conscious of sensations not of physical reality Muller believed that he had found the physiological equivalent of Kant s category of thought Localization of Function Idea proposed in 19th century physiology Specific parts of the brain serve specific functions Modularity The notion that certain cognitive processes or regions of the brain are restricted in the type of information they process Physiological Research Studies movement sleep and spilt brain research Pierre Flourens Pioneered use of extirpation cut up in brain research found no evidence of localized function in cortical hemispheres laid ground work for psychosurgery Antionio Egaz Moniz Nobel prize in physiology of medicine 1949 leucotomy Leucotomy The procedure pioneered by Moniz in which the thalamus is disconnected from the frontal lobe with a special knife called a leukotome Chapter 5 Phineas Gage Pole through his head still lived with slight side effects Paul Proca Discovered localization of language function in left cerebral function in left cerebral hemisphere Broca s area inferred from the results of strokes Broca aphasia Damage to left frontal lobe imapirs the ability to produce fluent speech and to follow the rules of grammar but language comprehension is preserved Wernicke aphasia Able to produce fluent speech poor content jumble of disonnected ideas made up words impaired comprehension not aware that they have a problem Franz Gall Phenology study of bumps on the head early precursor of faculty of psychology Hermon Von Helmholtz Opposed Muller s belief in vitalism view that life couldn t be reduced to physical processes only principle of conservation of energy theory of perception auditory perception color vision and theory of signs Principle of Conservation of Energy Helmholtz Food and oxygen consumption is proportional to total energy that an organism expands Theory of Perception Sensation perception unconscious inference Sensation Derives from raw elements of conscious experience Perception Derives from sensations after they are given meaning by one s past experiences Unconscious Inference According to Helmholtz the process by which the remnants of past experience are added to sensations thereby converting them into perceptions Theory of auditory perception Resonance place theory of auditory perception vibrations of specific fibers or the basilar membrane of the inner ear cause sensations of sound short fibers high frequencies long fibers lower frequencies Color Vision Separate retinal receptors for the 3 primary colors illustration of the mismatch between physical events and psychological sensations senses actualize elements of the physical world that otherwise exist only as potentialities Mark Changizi The vision revolution color vision allowed us to see pray when we were looking for food in woods Chapter 6 Stererotaxic instrument Device for the precise placement of electrodes in the head of small animals Haptic Perception The active exploration of the environment by touching and grasping objects with our hands Theory of Signs Helmholtz How despite the limitations imposed by our sensory apparatus do we obtain knowledge about the external world Internal sensory impulses not equal to real nature of external stimuli Any individual nerve fiber excites the same sensation regardless of how it is initially stimulated sensations and perceptions are signs of external reality or the basis of which we form interpretations of external reality Psychophysics Scientific examination of how sensory stimulation is systematically related to conscious experience Methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer s sensitivity to that stimulus Weber s Law Fechner s Formula more intense stimuli require more significant change in order to be psychologically noticed first statement of a systematic relationship between stimulation and a psychological experience Fechner s Formula R R K R minimum change in physical stimulation necessary to cause a person to experience J N D just noticeable difference K a constant Functionalism 1 opposed search for elements of consciousness compare to structuralism 2 Wanted to understand the function of mental process rather than describe their contents overall function aid organism in adapting to the environment 3 wanted psychology to include research on animals children and abnormal humans 5 Focus on the why of mental processes led to a concern with questions of motivation and needs 6 Accepted both mental processes and behavior as a legitimate subject matter for psychology 7 heavily influenced by William James influenced by Darwin A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function how they enable us to adapt survive and flourish William James Pragmatic philosopher Pragmatism if an idea works then it is valid Stream of Consciousness 1 The Self empirical self material self social self spiritual self 2 self as a knower 3 Self