Psychology And Life

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the philosopher who believed in mind-body dualism, the idea that the soul (or mind) is a non-physical substance that can exist separately from the physical body.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
(A) Plato: A classical Greek philosopher, Plato was a strong proponent of dualism. He argued that the soul is immortal and can exist independently of the body, both before birth and after death. His dialogue, the *Phaedo*, specifically presents arguments for the soul's immortality and its separateness from the body.
(B) De Anima: This is not a person but the title of a major work by Aristotle ("On the Soul"). Aristotle, Plato's student, had a different view. He believed the soul was the "form" of the body and could not exist without it, which is a view contrary to dualism.
(C) Rene Descartes: A 17th-century philosopher, Descartes is also a famous dualist. He famously argued, "I think, therefore I am," to establish the existence of the mind as a thinking thing, distinct from the extended, physical body. While Descartes is a correct example of a dualist, Plato's ideas on this topic predate his by centuries, and Plato is a foundational figure for this concept. Given the options, Plato is the most historically primary answer.
(D) Gustav Fechner: A 19th-century German psychologist, Fechner is known as a founder of psychophysics, the study of the relationship between physical stimuli and sensory experience. His work is not primarily focused on the metaphysical concept of the soul's separability from the body.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Based on the foundational and explicit arguments for the soul's separate existence, Plato is the correct answer.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks for the term that describes the capacity to both understand and share another person's emotional state.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
(A) Temperament: This refers to an individual's innate, biologically based behavioral and emotional style. It's about one's own characteristic way of reacting, not about understanding others' feelings.
(B) Sympathy: This is the feeling of care and concern for someone, often accompanied by a wish to see them better off. It is feeling *for* someone, which is different from feeling *with* them. For example, you feel sorry for a friend who lost their pet.
(C) Empathy: This is the ability to understand and vicariously experience what another person is feeling from their perspective. It has two components: cognitive empathy (the ability to understand another's feelings) and affective empathy (the ability to share the feelings of another). The question's description covers both aspects, making this the correct answer.
(D) Attachment: This refers to the deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space, most notably between a child and a caregiver.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The ability to recognize, understand, and share the feelings of others is the definition of empathy.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks for the name of the part of a neuron that serves as its metabolic center and is essential for its survival.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
(A) Dendrites: These are branch-like extensions that receive signals from other neurons and transmit them toward the cell body.
(B) Axon: This is a long, slender projection that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's cell body to transmit signals to other neurons.
(C) Soma: The soma is the cell body of the neuron. It contains the nucleus (which houses the genetic material) and other essential organelles, like mitochondria. The soma is responsible for protein synthesis and all the metabolic processes that maintain the neuron's life and function.
(D) Glial cells: These are non-neuronal cells in the nervous system that provide support and protection for neurons. They are separate cells and not a part of the neuron itself.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The cell body responsible for maintaining the life of the neuron is the soma.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks for the term for a substance that mimics or increases the action of a natural neurotransmitter at its receptor site.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
(A) Agonists: An agonist is a chemical that binds to a receptor and activates it to produce a biological response. By doing so, it mimics or enhances the effect of a natural neurotransmitter. For example, dopamine agonists are drugs that mimic the action of dopamine in the brain.
(B) Antagonists: An antagonist is a chemical that binds to a receptor but does not activate it. Instead, it blocks the receptor, preventing the natural neurotransmitter or an agonist from having an effect. For example, dopamine antagonists block dopamine receptors.
(C) Antalogist: This is not a standard term in pharmacology or neuroscience.
(D) Agnologist: This is not a standard term in this context.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Chemicals that mimic or enhance the effects of a neurotransmitter are called agonists.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the school of thought in psychology to which John B. Watson belongs.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
John B. Watson is widely regarded as the founder of behaviorism. In his influential 1913 paper, "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It," he argued that psychology should be a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. He rejected the study of consciousness and introspection (methods used by structuralists) and proposed that the focus of psychology should be solely on observable behavior.
Structuralism (Titchener) focused on the basic elements of consciousness.
Functionalism (William James) focused on the purpose of consciousness and behavior.
Psychoanalysis (Freud) focused on the unconscious mind.
Watson's work, including the famous "Little Albert" experiment, established behaviorism as a major force in psychology.
Step 3: Final Answer:
John B. Watson is a behaviorist.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks for the name of the school of psychology defined by its exclusive focus on observable behavior.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
(A) Behaviorism: This is the precise definition of behaviorism, as established by John B. Watson. Behaviorists believe that psychology can only be studied scientifically if it limits its scope to what can be seen and measured: overt behavior and the environmental stimuli that cause it.
(B) Psychoanalysis: This approach, founded by Sigmund Freud, focuses on the influence of the unconscious mind, hidden conflicts, and early childhood experiences on behavior, which are not directly observable.
(C) Gestalt Psychology: This school of thought emphasizes that the whole of experience is greater than the sum of its parts ("The whole is other than the sum of the parts"). It focuses on perception and consciousness, not just overt behavior.
(D) Functionalism: This early school focused on how mental processes help an organism to adapt to its environment. It studied consciousness but was less restrictive than behaviorism.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The science of behavior that focuses only on observable behavior is called Behaviorism.