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Unit 1 (#1-49): History, Approaches, and Research

Terms in this set (49)

Empiricism
view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should therefore rely on observation & experimentation.
Structuralism
Early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.
Functionalism
Early school of thought promoted by James and influence by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable
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 without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
Humanistic Psychology
A historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people.
Cognitive Neuroscience
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).
Psychology
The systematic and scientific study of human and animal behavior and mental processes.
Nature-Nurture Issue
The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions 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 traits variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.
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.
Behavioral Psychology
The scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by Principles of learning.
Biological Psychology
The scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes.
Cognitive Psychology
The scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
Evolutionary Psychology
The study of the evolution of behavior and mind, using 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.
Social-Cultural Psychology
The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.
Psychometrics
The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.
Basic Research
Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
Developmental Psychology
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan.
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.
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in the workplaces.
Human Factors Psychology
Subfield of Industrial-Organizational psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe
Counseling Psychology
A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living(school, work, 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 sometimes provide medical(for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.
Positive Psychology
The scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.
Community Psychology
A branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups.
Testing Effect
Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading information.
SQ3R
A study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review.
Wilhelm Wundt
Established first psychological laboratory at the university of Leipzig, Germany.
G. Stanley Hall
Wundt's American student who went on to establish the first formal U.S psychology laboratory.
Edward B. Titchener
Researched the mind's structural elements through his method of introspection(looking inward).
William James
Encouraged explorations of down-to-earth emotions, memories, and streams of consciousness to help understand the mind's functional power.
Mary Whiton Calkins
APA's first female president who was denied a Ph.D from Harvard due to her gender.
Margaret Floy Washburn
First woman to receive a psychology Ph.D, well known for her research in synthesized animal behavior as mentioned in her book "The Animal Mind"
Sigmund Freud
Famous psychologist whose controversial ideas greatly influenced humanity's views on self-understanding and unconscious thought process.
John B. Watson
Established Behaviorism, dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as "the scientific study of observable behavior."
B.F. Skinner
A leading behaviorist, whose research proved that people's behavior is influenced by learned associations(conditioning).
Carl Rogers
Founder of the Humanistic approach, focused on the meaning of early childhood memories or learning of conditioned responses.
Abraham Maslow
Humanist known for creating the 'Hierarchy of Needs', analyzing exactly what an individual needs to fulfill to even consider higher wants.
Ivan Pavlov
Behaviorist known for his work in classical conditioning
Jean Piaget
Developmental psychologist who pioneered cognitive development through observations on children.
Charles Darwin
Evolutionary Psychologist whose theory on the process of natural selection helped describe how nature passes along the best traits that enable an organism to survive.
Dorothea Dix
Pioneer in psychological therapies, known for humane treatment of those with psychological disorders.
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