Psychology 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Wilhelm Wundt, Gestalt Psychology, Sociobiology

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Laura Fazakas- De Hoog

Document Summary

Chapter 1 - psychology: the science of behaviour basic research. The quest of knowledge purely for its own sake. Goals are to describe how people behave and to identify the factors that influence or cause a particular type of behaviour. Research can be completed in labs or real-world setting applied research. Psychologists consider potential causes at 3 levels of analysis: (c) environmental (a) biological (b) psychological. 6 major perspectives characterize contemporary psychological thought: (1) biological (4) behavioural (2) cognitive (5) humanistic (6) socio-cultural perspectives (3) psychodynamic. An early german school of psychology established by wilhelm wundt that attempted to study the structure of the mind by breaking it down into its basic components, thought to be sensations (2) functionalism. Influenced by darwin"s evolutionary theory, which emphasized the importance of adaptive behaviour in helping organisms to respond successfully to their environment and survive. Focused on the functions of consciousness (3) gestalt psychology.