PSYC121 Study Guide - Final Guide: Balise, Existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre
Wednesday, 21 June 2017
Psych121 Last Study Notes
History & Philosophy
-During the height of classical Greece there were 3 major philosophers…
1. Socrates 470-399 BC
•was interested in the study of knowledge —> we only have the knowledge of what
we know
•to know something you have to be able to justify it, believe it is true AND it must be
true
•was interested in the perception of good —> what does it mean to be good?
2. Plato 428-348 BC
•3 part structural/dynamic view of a person
•Intellectual should be dominant —> they should be in charge
•used lots of mathematical truths
•brings reason to knowledge —> rationalism
3. Aristotle 384-322 BC
•all things have a purpose —> TELOS
•Distinctive telos of human is rational
-A distinctive development in this period was the ability to critically seperate the person
from the argument and therefore began to study society, people, theories of
knowledge, what is good/bad, etc. This also allowed them to evaluate using reason.
-Some other views after this period are…
•The christian view derives from Aristotle’s view of telos —> Aristotelian christian —>
Thomas Aquinas’ view was the purpose of man is to know god
•Darwin’s view was based on evolution which removed telos from nature and
naturalised human nature
•Balise Pascal defined nature as specific and different to each culture
•J-P Sartre, an existentialist, said that humans have no nature and we create what
we are
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Wednesday, 21 June 2017
-Neo-Aristotelian ideas were introduced through the renaissance and period of the
scientific revolution
•this helped people to investigate the natural world and allowed for independent
thought to occur
•the mechanical view of the natural world helped to put it into perspective —> how
do we fit in? —> view from Descartes
-The five main perspectives in psychology are…
•psychodynamic perspective —>
•behaviourist perspective —>
Motivation & Emotion
-Theories Of Motivation
• drive theories —> how things such as homeostasis make us do things
•incentive theories —> how external stimuli pull people in certain directions
•evolutionary theories —> motives are the product of evolution in humans
-Motivation Of Hunger And Eating
•brain regulation —> hypothalamus
•stomach regulation —> sends signals from stomach walls to the brain to say it has
eaten enough
•Environmental Factors In The Regulation Of Hunger
-food availability
-quantity available
-variety available
-presence of others (likely to consume more when others are around)
-learned preferences and habits
-Sexual Motivation
•women place higher value on a mans status and financial prospects while men
place higher value on a womens physical appearance
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Wednesday, 21 June 2017
•parental investment theory (an evolutionary explanation) —> men aren't as invested
as a women. Males will sleep with more women to maximise their success while
women maximise theirs by looking for a man that will provide for them.
-Achievement Motivation
•achievement goal theory (Nichollas) —> concerned with how people interpret
competence —> task-goal (personal improvement) vs ego-goal (superiority over
others)
-Self determination
•SDT is a theory of autonomous motivation
•Motivation varies from intrinsic (internal rewards) to extrinsic (external rewards)
-Three basic psychological needs that govern motivation are
•autonomy
•relatedness
•competence
-Emotion
•emotions require a stimulus/trigger
•the physical component —> emotions are accompanied by physiological arousal
-heart rate, breathing, and perspiration may change due to this
-different emotions can effect the body in similar ways —> such as a heart rate
increase for excitement and anxiety
•autonomic arousal
-challenge and threat
-biopsychosocial model created by Blascovich and Tomaka
•Behavioural Component
-six fundamental emotions are: happiness, sadness, fear, surprises anger and
disgust
-facial expressions that accompany emotions are a largely innate —> they are the
same for everyone
•Gender Differences
-Women
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Document Summary
A distinctive development in this period was the ability to critically seperate the person from the argument and therefore began to study society, people, theories of knowledge, what is good/bad, etc. This also allowed them to evaluate using reason. Some other views after this period are : the christian view derives from aristotle"s view of telos > aristotelian christian > The ve main perspectives in psychology are : psychodynamic perspective , behaviourist perspective > Theories of motivation: drive theories > how things such as homeostasis make us do things, incentive theories > how external stimuli pull people in certain directions, evolutionary theories > motives are the product of evolution in humans. Motivation of hunger and eating: brain regulation > hypothalamus, stomach regulation > sends signals from stomach walls to the brain to say it has eaten enough, environmental factors in the regulation of hunger. Presence of others (likely to consume more when others are around)
