Psychology Unit 1
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49 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 empiricism | The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation. |
| structuralism | An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind. |
| introspection | The self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It was unreliable because the results varied from person to person and experience to experience. |
| functionalism | A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function-how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish. |
| experimental psychology | The study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method. |
| behaviorism | The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior w/o reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2). |
| humanistic psychology | Historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth. |
| cognitive neuroscience | the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language) |
| psychology | The science of behavior and mental processes. (in the earlier days psychology was defined as the science of mental life) |
| nature-nurture issue | The longstanding controversy over the relative contribution that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture. |
| natural selection | The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generation. |
| levels of analysis | The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon. |
| biopsychosocial approach | An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis. |
| biological psychology | A branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes. |
| evolutionary psychology | The study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection. |
| psychodynamic psychology | A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders. |
| behavioral psychology | The scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning. |
| cognitive psychology | The scientific study of al the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. |
| social-cultural psychology | The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking. |
| basic research | Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base. (ex. biological, developmental, cognitive, educational, personality, and social psychologists) |
| developmental psychology | The scientific study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span. |
| educational psychology | The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning. |
| personality psychology | The study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. |
| social psychology | The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another. |
| applied research | Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems. (ex. industrial-organizational psychology, human factors psychology, counseling psychology, clinical psychologist, and psychiatry) |
| industrial-organizational psychology | The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces. |
| human factors psychology | The study of how people and machines interact and the design of safe and easily used machines and environments. |
| counseling psychology | A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being. |
| clinical psychology | A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders. |
| psychiatry | A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy. |
| SQ3R | Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review. |
| Socrates and Plato | Concluded that mind is separable from body and continues after the body dies, and that knowledge is innate-born within us. |
| Aristotle | Concluded knowledge is not preexisting; instead it grows from experiences stored in our memories. |
| Rene Descartes | Believed that mind is entirely distinct from body and is able to survive after death. Believed that the brain gives the body a task to do and memories formed as experiences opened pores in the brain into which the animal spirits(nerve) also flowed. |
| Francis Bacon | One of the founders of modern science. |
| John Locke | Wrote the An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which argues that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa. This idea helped form modern empiricism. |
| tabula rasa | Blank slate, empty mind. |
| Wilhelm Wundt | Established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany. |
| Edward Bradford Tichener | Introduced structuralism. |
| William James | A functionalist that thought it more fruitful to consider the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings. Wrote the Principles of Psychology. |
| Mary Whiton Calkins | Denied a college degree from Harvard. First female American Psychological Association president. |
| Margaret Floy Washburn | First female psychology Ph.D. Wrote The Animal Mind, and became the second female American Psychological Association president. |
| Ivan Pavlov | Pioneered the study of learning. |
| Sigmund Freud | Developed the influential psychoanalytic theory of personality. Emphasized the ways emotional responses to childhood experiences and our unconscious thought processes affect our behavior. |
| Jean Piaget | The last century's most influential observer of children. |
| John B. Watson | Dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as "the scientific study of observable behavior." |
| B. F. Skinner | A leading behaviorist, rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior. |
| Charles Darwin | Argued that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies. |
| psychometric | the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits. |
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