1.2 How Psychology Became a Science

Question 1

Empiricism

Answer 1

is a philosophical tenet that knowledge comes through experience (observation)

Question 2

Determinism

Answer 2

is the belief that all events are governed by lawful, cause-and-effect relationships - level is debated aka how much control we have

Question 3

Dualism

Answer 3

the idea that there are properties of humans that are not material - mind/soul are separate from body

Question 4

Materialism

Answer 4

the belief that humans, and other living beings, are composed exclusively of physical matter

Question 5

Zeitgeist

Answer 5

refers to a general set of beliefs of a particular culture at a specific time in history

Question 6

Psychophysics

Answer 6

which is the field of study that explores how physical energy such as light and sound and their intensity relate to psychological experience

Question 7

Clinical psychology

Answer 7

the field of psychology that concentrates on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

Question 8

Localization of brain function

Answer 8

the idea that certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities and personality characteristics

Question 9

Psychoanalysis

Answer 9

is a psychological approach that attempts to explain how behaviour and personality are influenced by unconscious processes

Question 10

Nature vs Nurture

Answer 10

the inquiry into how heredity (nature) and environment (nurture) influence behaviour and mental processes

Question 11

Structuralism

Answer 11

an attempt to analyze conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements, and to understand how these elements work together

Question 12

Functionalism

Answer 12

the study of the purpose and function of behaviour and conscious experience

Question 13

Behaviourism

Answer 13

An approach that dominated the first half of the 20th century of North American psychology - focus on observable behaviour, no reference to mental events or instincts

Question 14

Social psychology

Answer 14

the study of the influence of other people on behaviour

Question 15

Personality psychology

Answer 15

the study of how different personality characteristics can influence how we act and think

Question 16

Gestalt psychology

Answer 16

an approach emphasizing that psychologists need to focus on the whole of perception and experience, rather than its parts

Question 17

Cognitive psychology

Answer 17

is a modern psychological perspective that focuses on processes such as memory, thinking, and language

Question 18

Humanistic psychology

Answer 18

focuses on the unique aspects of each individual human, each person’s freedom to act, their rational though, and the belief that humans are fundamentally different from other animals

Question 19

Hebb’s Law

Answer 19

Cells that fire together, wire together

Question 20

Intergenerational trauma

Answer 20

the transmission of the negative social and emotional consequences of oppression from one generation to the next

Question 21

Emerging themes in psychology

Answer 21

women, cultures, neuroimaging, positive