Titles & Subtitles Terminologies School of thought
Name Example
Cognitive Psychology
The study of how people perceive, learn, remember, and think about information.
● Provides a better view of what’s ahead in the psychology degree
● Answers fundamental issues in learning psychology
● Helps us understand how people think by studying thinking processes
● Serves as a foundation for:
○ Experimental Psychology
○ Social Psychology
○ Biopsychology
○ Research Methods
Philosophical Antecedents of Psychology
Psychology grew out of two major traditions, which shaped the science of the mind.
Philosophy Physiology
Uses introspection (inner Uses empirical observation
experiences) (Empirical observation
means gaining knowledge
through direct sensory
experience. What we can
see, hear, touch, measure,
and test)
Seeks meaning and ideas Seeks measurable life
processes
Rationalism & Empiricism
Rationalism
Knowledge comes from reason & the mind
A student planning their study schedule doesn’t just rely on guessing which subjects are
hardest; they reason through the syllabus, consider past exam patterns, and anticipate
which topics will require more time. By using logical deduction, the student predicts
which strategies will maximize learning. This shows how rationalists rely on thought and
reasoning to gain knowledge, rather than only observing or experimenting in the world
● Reality exists as abstract ideas
● Plato
Reality does not reside in objects, but in abstract forms represented in the mind.
● René Descartes
“Cogito, ergo sum.” I think, therefore I am.
Empiricism
Knowledge comes from sensory experience
The same student wants to know which coffee shop has the best vibe for relaxing with
friends. Instead of imagining it, they visit each place, notice the music, lighting, and
crowd, and see how it makes them feel. By observing and experiencing each option
firsthand, they learn which environment suits them best. This illustrates how empiricists
gain knowledge through direct sensory experience.
● Reality is known through observation
● Aristotle
Reality lies in the concrete world accessed through the senses.
● John Locke
Humans are born a tabula rasa (blank slate).
Immanuel Kant
Knowledge comes from both experience and mental structures.
● Combined rationalism and empiricism
● Argued that both are necessary
● Most psychologists today accept Kant’s synthesis
Structuralism
Sought to understand the structure of the mind
When observing a rose, rather than simply noting “the rose is beautiful,” a structuralist
would analyze the experience into its components: the vivid red of the petals
(sensation), the mental image of roses seen in other gardens (image), and the warm,
calm feeling it evokes (feeling). Through introspection, one can map the structure of
conscious experience, illustrating how the mind organizes and interprets sensory input.
Wilhelm Wundt
● Founder of structuralism
● Used introspection
● Studied conscious experience
Edward Titchener
● Brought structuralism to the U.S.
● First full-fledged structuralist
Functionalism & Pragmatism
Functionalism
Focuses on the processes of the mind, not its contents. What people do and why]
A student has club meetings, classes, and a part-time job all in one day. Their
mind prioritizes tasks, plans the route across campus, and adjusts decisions
based on traffic and schedule changes. Functionalism examines how the mind’s
organization and decision-making allow the student to function efficiently in a
complex environment.
● Concerned with purpose and adaptation
Pragmatism
Knowledge is validated by its usefulness and focuses on what works
A student experiments with different ways to remember lecture material:
flashcards, group discussions, or rewriting notes. They find that teaching friends
helps them retain information best. Pragmatism emphasizes choosing the method
that works in practice, not just following theory.
Cognitive Science
William James
● Father of American Psychology
● Laid the foundation for modern cognitive science by emphasizing the function
and practical use of mental processes
John Dewey
● Closely associated with pragmatism and progressive education
● First full-fledged structuralist
● He emphasized learning by doing and the practical application of knowledge
Associationism
A school of thought that explains learning as the process by which elements of the mind
become linked through experiences. Three main principles guide these associations:
● Contiguity: Ideas or experiences that occur close together in time or space
become connected in the mind.
While eating siomai outside school after class one day, a student accidentally
drops a piece on their shirt while laughing at a friend’s joke. The combination of
eating siomai and the funny moment happened together, so now every time they
see or eat siomai, they immediately remember that spill and laughter.
● Similarity: Concepts that are alike tend to be associated.
A student tried and enjoyed Doming’s and Chinese Ngohiong, which have a very
similar taste and texture. Their mind links the places together. Every time they
eat one, they think of the other. Similar experiences become associated.
● Contrast: Opposite or contrasting ideas can also become linked.
A student spends quiet evenings at home watching anime, but also goes to
clubs. The opposite feelings of calm at home and excitement at the club become
linked in their mind, helping them recognize the difference between relaxing and
partying.
Hermann Ebbinghaus
● Was the first experimenter to apply associationist principles systematically
● studied how people learn and remember material through rehearsal, the
conscious repetition of material to be learned
Edward Lee Thorndike
● Held that the role of “satisfaction” is the key to forming associations, and he
termed this principle the law of effect (1905)
A student who studies hard and gets a good grade is more likely to study the
same way next time.
● Thorndike believed that an organism learns to respond in a given way (the effect)
in a given situation if it is rewarded repeatedly for doing so (the satisfaction,
which serves as a stimulus to future actions)
Behaviorism
Focuses only on the relation between observable behavior and environmental events or
stimuli
Ivan Pavlov
● Studied involuntary learning behavior
● Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning
Unconditioned Stimulus (US):
Something that naturally triggers a response without learning.
Unconditioned Response (UR):
The natural response to the unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS):
A previously neutral stimulus that, after pairing with the US, triggers a learned response.
Conditioned Response (CR):
The learned response to the conditioned stimulus.
Extinction iswhen a learned response gradually disappears because the conditioned
stimulus (CS) is no longer paired with the unconditioned stimulus (US).
Spontaneous recovery occurs when a previously extinguished response suddenly
reappears after some time, even though the CS hasn’t been paired with the US again.
Seeing a huge discount or flash sale on Shopee. (US)
Feeling excited and happy, eager to buy the items. (UR)
The Shopee notification “ring” signals a sale. (CS)
Hearing the notification triggers excitement and the urge to check the app, even before
seeing the sale. (CR)
Over time, the Shopee notification keeps ringing, but the sales are boring, out of stock,
or irrelevant. (Extinction)
A few days later, the Shopee notification rings again, and suddenly, you feel a rush of
excitement and check the app immediately. (Spontaneous recovery)
John Watson
● “Father” of radical behaviorism
● Concentrates only on the study of observable behavior
● Famous for his Little Albert experiment
B. F. Skinner
● Operant conditioning
● believed that virtually all forms of human behavior, not just learning, could be
explained by behavior emitted in reaction to the environment.
Operant Conditioningg
Behavior (Response):
Any action the person (or animal) performs.
Consequence:
What happens after the behavior, it could be:
● Reinforcement: Increases the likelihood of the behavior.
● Punishment: Decreases the likelihood of the behavior.
Positive Reinforcement:
Adding something pleasant to increase a behavior
A kid cleans their room, and their parents give them extra screen time. Getting the
reward makes them more likely to clean again next time.
Negative Reinforcement:
Removing something unpleasant to increase a behavior
A parent saying, “If you finish your homework before dinner, you don’t have to attend
extra tutoring tonight.” The kid finishes the homework, and the extra tutoring is removed,
so they’re more likely to finish homework on time in the future.
Positive Punishment:
Adding something unpleasant to decrease a behavior
A child skips their chores and gets scolded→ less likely to skip chores
Negative Punishment:
Removing something pleasant to decrease a behavior
Student forgets to submit an assignment and loses points → less likely to forget next
time
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Reinforcement happens after a set number of behaviors.
Buy 10 siomai and get 1 free; the student keeps buying to reach the reward.
Variable Ratio (VR)
Reinforcement happens after a random number of behaviors.
Flash sales on Shopee appear randomly, and students are constantly checking because
they never know when the reward will appear.
Effect: Very strong and hard to extinguish (like gambling).
Fixed Interval (FI)
Reinforcement happens after a set amount of time, regardless of how many times the
behavior occurs.
Students know that every Friday at 5 PM, the campus canteen gives free Siomai to the
first 20 students. On Monday and Tuesday, they barely think about it, but as Friday
afternoon approaches, students start lining up early and getting ready, practicing the
“behavior” of going to the canteen.
Variable Interval (VI)
Reinforcement happens after unpredictable amounts of time.
A professor randomly gives bonus points for class participation. Students maintain a
steady engagement throughout the semester.