Psych 105 Exam 1 psu Questions and Answers

Misconceptions of Psych - Answer- -only 50% believe scientific approach benefits understanding of human behavior -good news: increased recognition of psych as science -bad news: people dont know what science is Public Paradox - Answer- people want psych to answer big questions but dont understand that science doesnt answer big questions Serious media doesnt help understand psych - Answer- -4 nat'l UK channels -560 hrs programming -- 3.5 hrs to science, mostly natural science -'The Times' (UK) .5% is science coverage -scientific sources named much less frequently when source was social rather than natural science -natural scientists more likely called scientists -social scientists more likely called writers, authors Misconceptions created by Pop media - Answer- suggests: -psych is self help -psych is for weak-minded -evangelists are experts- Dr. Phil -pop books typ. not written by scientific psychologists -they publish in journals -no law against publishing false info in a book and claiming its true Psychologists portrayed on screen - Answer- Dr. Dippy- crazier than his patients Dr. Evil- corrupt mind controller Dr. Wonderful- endless time for patients, caring/competent Dr. Rigid- strict killjoy Dr. Linecrosser- inappropriate relationships w/ patients Psychologists views on educating public - Answer- -dont take role as public commentator seriously -only few put legitimate psych research in a form accessible to common person - no incentive, few rewards Misconceptions pervasive - Answer- -children have misconceptions which carry into adulthood -mental illness in Disney animated films, 29/34 contain reference to mental illness -used to denigrate characters While discussing misconceptions of Psychology, we discussed the Public Paradox. What is it? What do people want? What do they fear? What don't they understand? - Answer- People want psychology to answer big questions but dont understand that science doesnt answer big questions. They want to know if they are normal, or how to find happiness. People fear we'll uncover things we dont want to know. Discuss 4 ways that the media promotes misconceptions of Psychology. - Answer- 1) disney 29/34 movies use psych to denigrate characters 2) social scientists more likely called authors not scientists 3)evangelist psychologists are experts 4)pop books typically not written by scientific researchers Are misconceptions of Psychology pervasive? Explain using 3 things you learned in class. - Answer- 1) 29/34 disney movies use mental illness to denigrate characters 2) faculty at Old Dominion believe psychology requires less expertise than hard sciences; associated psychology with mental illness and treatment 3) children have misconceptions of psych that continue throughout adulthood Explain 5 ways people misconceive Psychology. - Answer- 1. psych is self help recipe knowledge 2. psychologists for weak minded 3. pseudoscience/parascience part of psych 4. daily life provides adequate training 5. psychology mainly involves work w abnormal phenomena Mind/Body debate - Answer- -drives development of psychology -what is the mind and how does it interact w the brain Early religions views of mind/body behavior - Answer- -mind = soul (identity/eternal) -body = vessel for soul/spirits (ghost in machine) -good behavior- follows religious code of conduct -bad behavior- possessed by demons Saint Augustine - Answer- -God endows free will- for humans to do good, they must choose to do good -makes connection between how we think and how we act -identifies different types of thoughts in mind- devine (faith), derived (reason), tension between faith (soul) and (body) appetites (lust) Saint Aquinas - Answer- doctrine of double truths- faith and reason are separate ways of knowing something can be true in rational philosophy but false in religious belief- CAN argue about faith and reason without losing faith body and soul united- emotion understood holistically- in terms of physiological and psychological qualities Malleus Maleficarum - Answer- "Hammer of Witches" Published by Dominican monks -fuels witch hunt craze -Pope, Roman authorities approve book -1000's of mentally ill burned & executed throughout Europe Contributions of Early Religion to Psych - Answer- -mind = personality/identity -mind distinctly different from body (biology) -mentally ill need help/care (milieu therapy) -thought can come from body and affect behavior -there are different kinds of thought Contributions of Early Religion to misunderstandings of psych - Answer- -psych = paranormal ghosts, out of body experience -identity = free floating eternal spirit -therapist = spiritual leader seek spiritual counselors -mentally ill are evil and dangerous should be feared/tortured brutal therapies -- holes in head, exorcisms Early philosophy's view of mind/body - Answer- -body filters input into mind (sens/percep)- sometimes not accurate -contents of mind where does knowledge come from -functions of mind logical critical thinking = truest knowledge Plato's views on madness, the soul, personality - Answer- -3 part dualistic soul immortal/rational part- mind courageous (emotional) part- body appetitive part (body desires/drives)- body -conflict/personality if rational part dominates, suppresses other 2-- true knowledge, best personality if appetitive dominates-- least desirable personality madness = conflict between body drives and soul Aristotle's views on madness, soul, personality - Answer- soul and body not independent madness = conflict between drives and moral code set stage for 1st steps of scientific method 1. ask "whats the question" 2. define terms 3. review what others think 4. explain what you think -father of modern science Descartes Views - Answer- consciousness = functions of the mind i think therefore i am animals have no soul (mind) much behavior doesnt require soul (mind) unconscious processes body controls unconscious behavior (reflexes) Interactive Dualism/Cartesian Dualism - Answer- mind/brain separate but influence each other allowed science and church to coexist scientists study body (brain/reflexes) church influences mind Are we natural dualists? How do we know? - Answer- Yes. Mr. Alligator/brown mouse story cultural beliefs: exorcism, reincarnation, heaven, angels, uploading yourself onto a computer Contributions of early philosophy to psych - Answer- began to ask q's about content of mind conscious v unconscious processes began to ask q's about function of mind mind a product of brain how well do mental representations correspond to reality emphasized need for critical thinking/empiricism to determine truth noted role of body (biology) in madness planted seeds of scientific method (Aristotle) cartesian dualism allowed science & church to coexist raises q's about non-human mind, body Contributions of early philosophy to misconceptions of psych - Answer- mind = eternal soul psychology = paranormal Plato's madness = body vs soul mentally ill give in to drives, spiritually weak, not strong critical thinkers, weak minded Early biological views of mind/body - Answer- brain- origin of thought, emotion, perception, behavior mind- biological causes of identity (personality) and mental illness Alcmaeon of Croton - Answer- promoted naturalistic medicine helped rid medicine of superstition and magic dissected humans sensations/perceptions/memory/thinking happen in brain health = balance of warm/cold, moist/dry, bitter/sweet Hippocrates views on mental illness, remedies, personality - Answer- father of medicine physical causes, not spiritual inherited susceptibilities organic injury physical remedies rest, diet, exercise, bathes, massage Joseph Gall and Phrenology - Answer- bumps on head specific for character/personality when person w "stealing" bump didnt steal, other bumps for positive characteristics were over-riding used for: parents raising children choosing partners hiring for jobs Physiological treatments for mental illness during 's - Answer- treatments based on physiology: -ice water -bloodletting and leeches -purgatives -tumbling -starvation -hydrotherapy -restraints Philippe Pinel - Answer- runs hospital for insane cuts arbitrary doses of drugs more/better food provides work therapy and reading death rates drop dramatically used autopsies to refute brain lesions were cause of insanity develops early system of classifying and diagnosing mental illness according to physical symptoms Charles Darwin - Answer- Theory of Natural Selection (1859) Contributions of early biology to psych - Answer- studied brain-thought-behavior connections also included unconscious thought (reflexes) divorced mental illness from religion/superstition -away w exorcism -shifted focus to more human treatments connected mental illness and identity to more observable biological factors -rise of biological causes and treatments -early classification of mental orders based on observable symptoms focused on studying 'normal people' Contributions of early biology to misconceptions of psych - Answer- unvalidated treatments for mental illness -scary, unpleasant -viewpoint- mentally ill beyond help -creates confusion between scientific and pseudoscientific remedies reduced credibility of experts & scientists to -understand brain-mind connections (Gall) -offer helpful therapy Physiological treatments of mental illness 1940's - Answer- hydrotherapy refrigeration therapy WWII nazi experiments What is the mind-body debate? Explain 2 reasons why it is important to Psychology. - Answer- The mind body debate is about how the mind and body interact. Is the mind part of the body, or is the body part of the mind? It is important to psych bc it 1)drives development and 2) is responsible for Descartes coming up with Cartesian Dualism, which says mind and body are separate but influence each other Based on our class discussion, explain 3 ways in which Philosophy contributed to modern Psychology. Explain 3 ways in which Philosophy contributed to misunderstandings of modern Psychology. - Answer- 3 ways PHILO contrib to psych: 1. began to ask questions about contents of mind conscious v unconscious 2. emphasized need for critical thinking/empiricism to determine truth 3. planted seeds of scientific method 3 ways PHILO contrib to misconceptions: 1. mind = eternal soul psych = paranormal 2. mentally ill are weak, not critical thinkers Based on our class discussion, explain 3 ways in which early Biology contributed to modern Psychology. Explain 3 ways in which early Biology contributed to misunderstandings of modern Psychology. - Answer- 3 ways BIO contributed to psych: 1. divorced mental illness from religion/superstition 2. connected mental illness to more observable biological factors -- bio causes, treatments, early classification of mental disorders based on observable symptoms 3. focused on studying 'normal' people