PSYCH101 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Donald O. Hebb, Franz Mesmer, Gustav Fechner

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH101
• Professor: Richard Ennis

Document Summary

Psychology = scientific study of behaviour, thought and experience and how they are influenced by physical, mental, social and environmental factors. Scientific method = learning about the world thru collecting observations, developing and using theories to explain and predict patterns; involves dynamic interaction btw hypothesis testing + theory construction. Hypothesis = testable predication about processes that can be observed + measured; Biopsychosocial model = means of explaining behaviour b/c of 3 interrelated factors. Principle of parsimony simplest of all competing explanations should be the one we accept. Genetics of psychological disorders, brain-behaviour relationships, drug effects. Empiricism = philosophical tenet that knowledge comes thru experience, seeing is believing . Based on observation instead of common sense/speculation; theories must be logical explanations of how observations fit together. Determinism = belief that all events are governed by lawful, cause-and-effect relationships. Social sciences measuring + comparing humans economics, sociology, anthropology. Zeitgeist = general set of beliefs at a specific time in history.