1.1 Foundations of Modern Psychology Flashcards
Define Psychology
Scientific Discipline that studies behavior and mental processes.
Early School of Psychology: Structuralism
Structuralism, the early school of
psychology associated with Wundt and
Titchener, used introspection as a method
of revealing the fundamental structures
of mental experience in the form of
sensations, perceptions, and feelings.
Method: Introspection
Introspection, which is an attempt to directly study consciousness by having
people report on what they are consciously experiencing.
Introspection, Inward focusing on mental experiences, such as sensations or feelings.
Example:
“For example, he would present subjects with an object, such as a piece of fruit, and ask them
to describe their impressions or perceptions of the object in terms of its shape, color,
or texture and how the object felt when touched. Or subjects might be asked to sniff
a scent and describe the sensations or feelings the scent evoked in them”
Early School of Psychology: Functionalism
Functionalism, the school of psychology that focused on how behavior helps individuals adapt to demands placed upon them in the environment.
Early School of Psychology: Behaviorism
Behaviorism was based on the belief that
psychology would advance as a science
only if it turned away from the study of
mental processes and limited itself to the
study of observable behaviors that could
be recorded and measured.
Early School of Psychology: Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology, the school of psychology that
studies ways in which the brain organizes and structures our perceptions of the world.
Psychodynamic Perspective
Method: Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a type of mental detective work. It incorporates methods, such as
analysis of dreams and of “slips of the tongue,” that Freud believed could be used
to gain insight into the nature of the underlying motives and conicts of which his
patients were unaware. Freud maintained that once these unconscious conicts were
brought into the light of conscious awareness, they could be successfully resolved, or
“worked through,” during the course of therapy.
Term: Unconscious
a region of the mind that lay beyond the reach of ordinary consciousness
behavioral perspective
behavioral perspective An approach
to the study of psychology that focuses
on the role of learning and importance of
environmental influences in explaining
behavior.
psychodynamic perspective
psychodynamic perspective The view
that behavior is influenced by the struggle
between unconscious sexual or aggressive
impulses and opposing forces that try
to keep this threatening material out of
consciousness.
psychoanalysis
psychoanalysis Freud’s method of
psychotherapy; it focuses on uncovering
and working through unconscious
conflicts he believed were at the root of
psychological problems.
social-cognitive theory
social-cognitive theory A contemporary
learning-based model that emphasizes
the roles of cognitive and environmental
factors in determining behavior.
behavior therapy
behavior therapy A form of therapy that
involves the systematic application of the
principles of learning.
humanistic psychology
humanistic psychology The school of
psychology that believes that free will and
conscious choice are essential aspects of
the human experience.
