Psychology undefined, Darvin - Essay Example

Psychology Q1. What phenomena did Darwin originally try to explain with his theory of evolution by natural selection Describe the basic components ofDarwin's theory. How did Darwin's mechanism of natural selection differ from the inheritance of acquired characteristics suggested earlier by Lamarck What were the most important scientific criticisms of Darwin's theory at the time it first appearedAnswer: Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection emphasizes that favorable traits of individual organisms are more likely to be passed on to the next generation.

Natural selection is the preservation of a functional advantage that enables a species to compete better in the wild. His Theory differs from Lamarckism in that Lamarck avoided the word "evolution", while Darwin's theory stays valid whether acquired traits are transmitted or not, Lamarck's theory becomes inoperative if acquired traits cannot be transmitted. Darwin's theory is basically criticized for absence of any credible empirical scientific evidence in support of the theory, regarding the spontaneous generation of life or inheritance from one to another .Q2. Describe Galton's application of the theory of evolution by natural selection to individual differences in human mental characteristics.

For instance, what were Galton's assumptions about the nature of human mental characteristics What kinds of evidence did Galton obtain To what extent did the evidence collected by Galton provide strong scientific support for his views on individual differences and evolution of mindAnswer: Galtons believes that no animals have ever been bred for general intelligence, as humans we are having the high general intellect that other living things haven't. Since no experiments had been made for this, but we can thoroughly see how rational beings are humans.

We are the highest form of living things. Galton made an investigation having a biographical work that was a collection of intelligent persons. According to Galton, "the proportion of distinguished relationships becomes smaller, as we relax the restrictions of our selection; and it is reasonable that it should be so, for we then include in our lists the names of men who have been inducted into history through other conditions than the possession of eminent talent". Galton carried out surveys and found that good and bad temperament, as well as intelligence, ran in families.

He discovered the phenomenon of regression-to-the mean and the implication that family variation was heritable.Q3. According to William James, what were the features of the mind, and how did it differ from the Structuralist school According to James, what is an emotion Explain his theory of emotion, what types of emotions are there, how can it be measured and studied, how is it presented Can an emotion be fabricated What would he say about people without emotionsAnswer: William James defined emotion as "the bodily changes follow directly the PERCEPTION of the exciting fact, and that our feeling of the same changes, as they occur.

This theory states that one's mental state is not immediately induced by the other, that the bodily manifestations must first be interposed between, and that the more rational statement is that we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble, and not that we cry, strike, or tremble, because we are sorry, angry, or fearful, as the case may be. Fabrication of emotions is said to be impossible. The idea of William goes around its focus of emphasizing the different kinds of emotions that a living thing possesses.

Therefore he might conclude for those who don't have emotions is considered as a "non-living thing". Q4. Explain Thorndike's Law of effect What is the importance of his Law of effect Explain his trial and error experiments. What are the differences and similarities between human and animal intelligenceAnswer: Thorndike tends to prove that there is a long gap in intelligence between man and animals. He has studied the fishes and others to measure its mental capabilities compared to man. And he concluded that man is still superior to the animal kingdom.

This growth in the number, speed of formation, permanence, delicacy and complexity of associations possible for an animal reaches its acme in the case of man. Even if we leave out the power of reasoning, the possession of a multitude of ideas and abstractions and the power of control over impulses, purposive action, man is still the intellectual leader of the animal kingdom by virtue of the superior development in him of the power of forming associations between situations or sense-impressions and acts, by virtue of the degree to which the mere learning by selection possessed by all intelligent animals has advanced.

In man the type of intellect common to the animal kingdom finds its fullest development, and with it is combined the hitherto nonexistent power of thinking about things and rationally directing action in accord with thought.Q5. What was most distinctive about the functionalist approach to the analysis of the human mind How did the functionalist approach, typified by James, differ from the approach to psychology promoted by Titchener and the structuralists What role did the laboratory method of introspection play in the work of the American functionalismAnswer: According to the functionalist approach, the brain is divided into sensorial and motor centres.

These divisions are found to be exactly paralleled by the analysis made by empirical psychology, of the perceptive and volitional parts of the mind into their simplest elements. On the other hand. for Titchener, sensations and thoughts were like components forming a structure called brain, just like hydrogen and oxygen form the components of water. This approach became known as structuralism.Q6. Discuss important developments in the history of hypnotism as a therapeutic technique. For example, what were the origins of hypnotic therapy What were the putative benefits of hypnotism How did hypnotic technique change over time What important hypnotic phenomena were discoveredAnswer: Hypnosis as a therapeutic technique has been historically investigated and debated for many years.

Preliterate culture's mainly used Drumming, Chanting and sometimes Dancing to produce many types of altered states of consciousness. The Greek's and Egyptian's had used Sleep Temples for types of healing and meditation, although the basic affect achieved through those temple's were very much the same as those which were achieved by preliterate culture's. The actual word "Hypnosis" is derived from the Greek God "Hypnos", the word Hypnos, actually meaning sleep. Modern Hypnosis goes as far back as a man called "Franz Anton Mesmer" in the eighteenth century.

Modern Hypnotic Induction techniques were introduced into the western world by a man called "John Elliotson when he developed the commnly used eye fixation technique to gain clients concentration. Over the years in a series of controlled studies advantages from training in self-hypnosis have been shown for immune function, and for health, including chronic viral illnesses, The health benefits attest to the validity of putative benefits indexing the immunological changes.Q7. What is classical conditioning What are the key variables in classical conditioning Describe an experiment using classical conditioning in humans and in animals.

What is the importance of classical conditioning in psychology What are the similarities and differences between classical conditioning and operant conditioningAnswer: Classical conditioning also called Pavlovian conditioning, respondent conditioning or alpha-conditioning, is a type of associative learning, depending upon the type of stimulus. Key components of classical conditioning are stimulus and reflex. In addition to food induced salivation other reflexes commonly used include access to an opposite-sex conspecific in order to condition courtship behavior in birds, eye- blinks elicited by puffs of air directed at the eye, leg-withdrawal from electric shock, together with the more complex constellation of 'fear' reactions to shock such as changes in skin-conductivity, changes in heart-rate and suppression of ongoing behaviors etc.

This type of influence is extremely common among human beings as well as animals. For example if pets are fed with canned food, the animals come running even if we are opening a can of green beans. They have associated the sound of the opener with their food. Similarly if we go to K-Mart see the blue light on, we become cost conscious, as we associate a good sale with the blue light. Many beer ads prominently feature attractive young women wearing bikinis because the young women (Unconditioned Stimulus) naturally elicit a favorable, mildly aroused feeling (Unconditioned Response) in most men.

Classical and operant conditioning share many of the same basic principles and procedures. The basic principles of acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, and stimulus generalization are common to both types of learning. There are several differences as well. Basic feature of operant conditioning is reinforcement, classical conditioning relies more on association between stimuli and responses. A second distinction is that much of operant conditioning is based on voluntary behavior, while classical conditioning often involves involuntary reflexive behavior.Q8. What is operant conditioning What are the key variables in operant conditioning How can you use reinforcement and punishment to shape a behavior Give an example of a behavior you want to shape.

Describe each schedule of reinforcement. Which one will promote more work and which one will promote less work What is the difference between punishment and negative reinforcementAnswer: Operant conditioning is the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of behavior. Operant conditioning deals with the modification of voluntary behavior through the use of consequences. Reinforcement, punishment and extinction are the core ideas of operant conditioning. Four main contexts of operant conditioning are;Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by a favorable stimulus (commonly seen as pleasant) that increases the frequency of that behavior.

Negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus (commonly seen as unpleasant) thereby increasing that behavior's frequency. Positive punishment (also called "Punishment by contingent stimulation") occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by an aversive stimulus, such as introducing a shock or loud noise, resulting in a decrease in that behavior. Negative punishment (also called "Punishment by contingent withdrawal") occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by the removal of a favorable stimulus, such as taking away a child's toy following an undesired behavior, resulting in a decrease in that behavior. Q9. What is behaviorism How is it different from previous views of psychology What is the importance of behaviorism in psychology What are the criticisms towards behaviorism What role does the environment play in behaviorism Explain.

Answer: Behaviorism is said to be an attitude as well as a doctrine depending upon the context. Behaviorism considers Psychology as the science of behavior and not the science of mind. Behavior can be described and explained without making any references to the mental events or to internal psychological processes. Behaviorism is thus an approach to psychology based on the proposition that behavior can be studied and explained scientifically without recourse to internal mental states. Behaviorism was criticism by Chomsky argued that language could not be acquired purely through conditioning, and must be at least partly explained by the existence of internal mental states.

Environment provides the stimulus to behave in a particular way. Behaviorism is an approach to Psychology which purports that learning is the result of Operant conditioning. The word 'operant' refers to the way in which behavior 'operates on the environment'.