(1) Introducing Psychological Science Flashcards
Psychology is Visceral
We feel emotions, take in sensations and produce behaviours such as thoughts and actions
Psychology
The scientific study of behaviour, thought, and experience and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social, and environmental factors
Biological
Of or relating to biology or to life and living processes
Sociocultural
How individual’s behaviours are affected by surrounding social and cultural factors
Cognitive
Of, relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering)
Scientific Method
A way of learning about the social world through collecting observations, developing theories to explain them, and using the theories to make predictions
Hypothesis
A testable prediction about processes that can be observed and measured (explanation made on limited evidence for investigation)
Falsifiable
The hypothesis is precise enough that it could be proven false (able to be proven false)
Pseudoscience
An idea that is presented as a science but does not actually utilize basic principles of scientific thinking or procedure
Theory
An explanation for a broad range of observations that also generates new hypotheses and integrates numerous findings into a coherent whole
Biopsychosocial Model
A means of explaining behaviour as a product of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors
Scientific Literacy
The ability to understand, analyze, and apply scientific information
Critical Thinking
Involves exercising curiosity and skepticism when evaluating the claims of others, and with our own assumptions and beliefs
Empiricism
A philosophical tenet that knowledge comes through experience
Determinism
the belief that all events are governed by lawful, cause-and-effect relationships
Zeitgeist
a general set of beliefs of a particular culture at a specific time in history
Dualism
The idea that there are properties of humans that are not material (There is a mind our soul separate from the body)
Materialism
The belief that humans, and other living beings, are composed exclusively of physical matter
Psychophysics
the field of study that explores how physical energy such as light and sound and their intensity relate to psychological experience
Clinical Psychology
The field of psychology that concentrates on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders
Localization of Brain Function
The idea that certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities and personality characteristics
Psychoanalysis
a psychological approach that attempts to explain how behaviour and personality are influenced by unconscious processes
Nature and nurture relationships
The inquiry into how heredity (nature) and environment (nuture) influence behaviour and mental processes
Structuralism
an attempt to analyze conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements and how these elements work together
Functionalism
The study of the purpose and function of behaviour and conscious experience
Behaviourism
first half of 20th-century approach focused on studying observable behaviour, with little to no reference to mental events or instincts as possible influences on behaviour
Social Psychology
The study of the influence of other people on our behaviour
Personality Psychology
The study of how different personality charactersitcs can influence how we think and act
Gestalt Psychology
An approach emphasizing that psychologists need to focus on the whole of perception and experience, rather than its parts
Cognitive Psychology
a modern psychological perspective that focuses on processes such as memory, thinking, and language
Humanistic Psychology
Focuses on the unique aspects of each individual human, each person’s freedom to act, their rational thought, and the belief that humans are fundamentally different from other animals
Intergenerational Trauma
The transmission of the negative social and emotional consequences of oppression from one gerneastion to the next
