Chapter 12
Key terms and concepts to know
Phi phenomenon:
-The illusion that two stationary flashing lights are moving from one place to another.
Perceptual constancy:
-A quality of wholeness or completeness in perceptual experience that does not vary even
when sensory elements change.
Isomorphism:
-The doctrine that there is a correspondence between psychological or conscious
experience and the underlying brain experience.
Gestalt principles:
-Proximity- parts that are close together in time or space appear to belong together and
tend to be perceived together.
-Continuity-There is a tendency in our perception to follow a direction, connect elements
in a way that makes them seem continuous or flowing in a particular direction.
-Similarity- Similar parts tend to be seen together as forming a group.
-Closure- There is a tendency in our perception to fill in gaps.
-Simplicity- We tend to see a figure as good as possible under the stimulus conditions;
the Gestalt principles called this pragnanz, or good form. A good Gestalt is symmetrical and
cannot be made simpler or more orderly.
-Figure/ground- We tend to organize perceptions into the object being looked at and the
background against which it appears . The figure seems to be more substantial and to stand out
against the background.
Zeigarnik effect:
-The tendency to recall uncompleted task more easily than completed task.
What is the phi phenomenon?
-The illusion that two stationary flashing lights are moving from one place to another.
How is it produced?
-According to Wundt the introspection of the stimulus would produce two successive
lines of light and nothing more.
Why couldn’t the phi phenomenon be explained by Wundt’s psychology? (book and
lecture)
-No matter how rigorously an observer introspected the two exposures of light, the
experience of a single line in motion persisted. Any further attempt of analysis failed.
What did Kohler’s work with the Chimpanzees show us about insight, problem solving,
and Gestalt learning? (book and lecture)
-Problem solving is a matter of restructuring the perceptual field
What were the criticisms against Gestalt psychology
● organization of perceptual processes, as in the phi phenomenon, was not approached as a
scientific problem to be investigated
● Gestalt position was vague; basic concepts were not defined with sufficient rigor to the
scientifically meaningful
● Kohlers notion of insight has been questioned
● psychologists considered Gestalt psychologists to be using poorly defined assumptions
What were the contributions of Gestalt psychology
○ influenced work on perception, learning, thinking, personality, social psychology,
and motivation
○ was able to retain a separate identity
○ focus on the conscious experience during the years when behaviorism was
dominant
○ provided a phenomenological approach to psychology
Why did Gestalt Psychology have difficulty advancing?
○ behaviorism on the rise in the US
○ language barrier
○ psychologists believed Gestalt psychology dealt only with perception
How does insight learning differ from the trial-and-error learning described by
Thorndike? (book and lecture) insight learning- immediate apprehension or cognition
Trial and error learning- learning based on the repetition of response tendencies that lead to
success
Chapter 13
Key terms and concepts to know
Somatic vs psychic focuses —> somatic: physiologically tied to any behavior vs psychic:
anything with psychological treatment
Monadology —> Leibnitz’s theory of psychic entities, called monads, which are similar to
perceptions
Free association —> a psychotherapeutic technique in which the patient says whatever comes to
mind
Dream analysis —> a psychotherapeutic technique involving the interpretation of dreams to
uncover unconscious conflict
Freudian slip —> an act of forgetting or a lapse in speech that reflects unconscious motives or
anxieties
Resistance —> active mental block that fights against you having realizations or remembering
things
Repression —> unconscious process preventing thoughts from ever reaching threshold to avoid
being hurt
Anxiety —> functions as a warning that the ego is being threatened (type of defense mechanism-
behaviors that represent unconscious denials or distortions of reality but which are adopted to
protect the ego against anxiety)
Oedipus complex —> age 4/5 the unconscious desire of a boy for his mother and the desire to
replace or destroy the father
Three major sources of influence on the psychoanalytic movement
-philosophical speculations about unconscious psychological phenomena
-early ideas about treating mental disorders
-evolutionary theory
How does psychoanalysis differ from all the other schools in psychology? What do they all
have in common that psychoanalysis does not share?
Psychoanalysis was distinct from mainstream psychological thought in its goals, subject matter,
and methods. Its subject matter is psychopathology or abnormal behavior, relatively neglected by
other schools of thought. Its primary method is clinical observation rather than Laboratory
Experimentation. Also, psychoanalysis deals with unconscious, a topic virtually ignored by other
schools of thought.
How were people with mental illness treated over the history of mankind, before Freud?
● Babylonians: believed mental illness caused by possession of demons; treated by
magic/prayer
● Greek philosophers: believed mental illness arose from disordered thought processes;
used persuasive healing powers of words
● Christianity: blames evil spirits; treated mental illness with severe punishment
● 18th century: mental illness viewed as irrational behavior; treated by institutionalizing
people
Be able to describe The Case of Anna O
● Patient of Josef Breuer; discussed case with Freud
● Suffered from severe hysterical complaints that including paralysis, memory loss, mental
deterioration, nausea, and disturbances of vision and speech
● Symptoms first appeared when she was nursing her dying father
● During hypnosis: while hypnotized she would recall specific experiences that seemed to
have given rise to certain symptoms
What is the childhood seduction controversy and how did Freud react to it?
–Freud believed most of his women patients reported traumatic sexual experiences in
childhood, often involving family members
Later revised to suggest that the childhood seduction experiences his patients described
were not real and did not actually happen
According to Freud what is the Goal of therapy
● wean patients from this childlike dependency on the therapist and help them assume an
adult role in their lives
What are the “life” and “death” instincts?
– life – libido – drive to ensure survival of the individual and the species by satisfying the
needs for food, water, air and sex
– death – the unconscious drive toward decay, destruction and aggression
Know what Freud’s Levels of personality are
Id-aspect of personality allied with the instincts, concerned with the pleasure principle
Ego- aspect of personality responsible for controlling the instincts, represents reason and
rationality
Superego-the moral aspect of personality
Know the Defense mechanisms (pg 315)
● Denial- denying the existence of an external threat or traumatic event
● Displacement- shifting id impulses from a threatening or unavailable object to an object
that is available, ex: replacing hostility towards your boss towards ones own child.
● Projection- attributing a disturbing impulse to someone else, ex: saying that you do not
hate your professor but she or he hates you.
● Rationalization- Reinterpreting behavior to make it more acceptable and less threatening
● Reaction Formation- Expressing an id impulse that is the opposite of the one that is
driving that person
● Regression-Retreating to an earlier, less frustrating period of life and displaying childish
