PSY 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Times New Roman, Word Formation, Wilhelm Wundt
Document Summary
Plato and aristotle sparked interest in functioning of the mind. Epistemology: branch of philosophy that ponders the nature of the mind. During this time, no application of scientific method to the nature of mind: pioneers. Used several techniques to study mental processes: Analytic introspection: participants carefully trained to describe their mental experiences while performing some task. Why might introspection be inadequate: conquerors (behaviorism) Introspection is not a valid scientific method: variable from person to person, impossible to disprove. Consciousness removed from scientific endeavors to study psychology and along with it, all mental processes. The only valid way to study psychology is by observing human behavior: strongly empirical, f. skinner. Language learned through reinforcement: baby cooing, show excitement and coo back, eventually word formation only for reinforcement, then sentences and so on. No need to appeal to messy notion of mind : revolution. Children say sentences that they have never heard: i hate you mommy , not reinforced, not learned.
