PSY 1101 Lecture Notes - Wilhelm Wundt, Scientific Method, Behaviorism

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 1101
• Professor: Mark Dallas

Document Summary

Today"s definition: the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. Scientific: answering questions objectively based on observable facts, data, and established methods. Mental processes: thoughts, feelings, sensations, motivations, dreams, subjective experiences. Rene descartes: dualism, or the idea that the mind and body are separate entities that interact. Plato: nativism, or the idea that certain kinds of knowledge are inborn or innate. Aristotle: philosophical empiricism, or the idea that all knowledge is acquired through experience. The branch of biology that studies the functions and parts of living organisms. In the 1600s, physiologists begin to study the workings of the brain and its relation to behaviour. By the 1700s, physiologists find that specific bodily functions can be traced to specific brain areas. Some early ideas, such as phrenology, did not stand the test of time. Uses scientific methods to study psychological process. Establishes first psychology research laboratory at the university of leipzig, germany.