1.02 Flashcards
Psychologist
A professional with an academic degree and specialized training in one or more areas of psychology.
Objective introspection
The process of examining and measuring one’s own thoughts and mental activities.
Structuralism
Early perspective in psychology associated with Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener, in which the focus of study is the structure or basic elements of the mind.
Functionalism
Early perspective in psychology associated with William James, in which the focus of study is how the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and play.
Gestalt psychology
Early perspective in psychology focusing on perception and sensation, particularly the perception of patterns and whole figures.
Psychoanalysis
Freud’s theory of personality and therapeutic technique. A central belief is that most mental activity is unconscious and in order to understand individuals the unconscious meaning behind their behaviors must be interpreted.
Behaviorism
An approach to psychology proposed by John B. Watson that redefined psychology as the study of observable behavior, rather than postulate with emotional introspections or assume the influence of the invisible and imperceptible unconscious mind.
Psychodynamic perspective
Modern version of psychoanalysis that is more focused on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of motivations behind a person’s behavior other than sexual motivations.
Cognitive Perspective
Dealing with the mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, and retrieving knowledge, such as problem solving, thoughts, attitudes, memories, and language.
Cognitive neuroscience
Study of the physical changes in the brain and nervous system during thinking.
Sociocultural perspective
An approach to psychology that examines the influence of the other people and cultural standards on thoughts and behaviors.
Biological perspective
An approach to psychology that is centered on understanding the physiology of the human brain in order to decipher thoughts and behaviors.
Biopsychosocial perspective
Perspective in which behavior is seen as the result of the combined and interacting forces of biological, psychological, social, and cultural influences.
Evolutionary perspective
A perspective in psychology that examines human behaviors and thought processes in relation to Darwin’s theories of evolution and adaptation.
Psychiatrist
A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.
Psychiatric social worker
A social worker with some training in therapy methods who focuses on the environmental conditions that can have an impact on mental disorders, such as poverty, overcrowding, stress, and drug abuse.
Basic research
Research focused on adding information to the scientific knowledge base.
Applied research
Research focused on finding practical solutions to real-world problems.
Eclectic
Made up of elements from a variety of different sources.
Unconscious
According to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.
Repressed
According to Freud, threatening desires, emotions, or impulses that cannot be expressed because of societal rules were suppressed into the unconscious.
Manifest
To make an appearance.
Psychodynamic
Modern theories based on the work of Sigmund Freud that focus on unconscious mental forces.
Operant conditioning
A type of learning in which a behavior is strengthened (meaning, it will occur more frequently) when it’s followed by reinforcement, and weakened (will happen less frequently) when followed by punishment.
Humanistic Perspective
The psychological perspective popularized by carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow that emphasizes the human capacity for choice and growth. The overriding assumption is that the humans have free will and are not simply fated to behave in specific ways or are zombies blindly reacting to their environments.
