chapter 1 Flashcards
the three levels of analysis
- The brain; neuronal activity, brain structures, and genes
- The individual; emotions, thoughts, ideas, consciousness, personality, and motivation
- The group; friends, family, and culture
Empirical examination
Empirical evidence or study relies on practical experience rather than theories
science as a knowledge
- Scientific knowledge is in perpetual evolution; it finds itself changed from one day to the next (Jean Piaget)
- Gives humans an understanding of how things work in the universe via the use of scientific methods
- Other fields of study can provide complementary perspectives; not mutually exclusive with any scientific explanation
Sigmund Freud
believed that understanding the unconscious mind was absolutely critical to understanding conscious behavior.
neurologist: interested in hysteria; emotional disturbances without a physical cause. Psychological and physical problems can stem from the unconscious mind; dream analysis Psychonanltic theory: focuses on a person’s unconscious and early childhood experiences
Gestalt (Wertheimer, Koffka, Kohler)
takes a holistic view of an individual and his experiences.
Credited with introducing America to the Gestalt principles
Gestalt = whole; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Ivan Pavlov
studied conditioned reflexes via salvation in dogs - classical conditioning
John Watson
shifted focus from internal to external explanations for behaviour - behaviourism; objective tests of overt behaviour (the father of behaviourism)
B.F Skinner
contributes to our understanding of principles of operant conditioning cannot be underestimated
the consequence is the driving force of behavior - instrumental or operant conditioning; how the negative and positive consequences reflect on behavior
Humanism
perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans
Emphasis on the potential for good in all humans; life skills coaching
Abraham Maslow
influential in shaping humanistic psychology, he believed our behaviors are impacted by our motivations to survive and by other higher-level factors - the hierarchy of needs
Carl Rodgers
influential in shaping humanistic psychology, he developed client-centered therapy; focused on unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy
The Cognitive Revolution
The mind backlash on behaviorism
Ulric Neisser
credited as the father of cognitive psychology and coined the term cognitive psychology
Noam Chomsky
a linguist who believed the sole focus on behavior was short-sighted
Multicultural and cross-cultural
Culture permeates everything we do - yet it is an understudied topic
Dr.Francis Sumner
first African American in the United States to receive a PhD in psychology, his work challenged intelligence testing
Dr.George Sanchez
identified barriers posted to Mexican American children
Dr. Mamie Clark and Dr.Kenneth Clark
research on doll preference and challenged segregated education (study with racism)
Margaret floy washburn
first woman awarded a doctoral degree in psychology - focusing on animal behavior
(“The Animal Mind”: textbook)
Mary Whitten Calkin
earned a PhD from Harvard but was never awarded it, her work focused on memory
Mary Cover Jones
demonstrated fear conditioning and fear removal in humans
Martha Bernal
first Latinx person to earn a PhD, her research was with Mexican American children
Contemporary Psychology
Our perception of sensory stimuli impacts our experiences
- Diverse feilds/subfields
- American Psychological Association - 54 divisions
How biology influences behavior
(physiological mechanisms/development)
- Sleep, drug use/abuse neural plasticity
- Proximate causes of behavior
How biology influences behavior
(evolution/function)
- Darwin’s natural selection; the variations that are advantageous to survival are called adaptive variations or adaptions
- Ultimate causes of behavior
- Caveat: Today’s behaviors are a product of yesterday’s environment
Biopsychology & Evolutionary Psychology
How biology influences behavior
- (physiological mechanisms/development)
- (evolution/function)
Biopsychology
study of animal behavior & neuroscience
Sensation and Perception
our perception of sensory stimuli and how they impact our experiences; interdisciplinary subject
Cognitive psychology
study of cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions
- Focuses on mental processes
- Very broad in scope - cognitive sciences
- Problem-solving, language, development, and therapy
Development psychology
- Processes-related changes across the lifespan
- Jean piagets “object permanence”
Social psychology
How we interact with and relate to eachother; Milgram, Zimbardo, Asch
Industrial-organizational psychology
- Applied branch of psychology
- Using theory in workspaces
- Personnel management, organizational structure, and hiring decisions
Health psychology
- Biopsychosocial model; health is impacted by an interaction of multiple variables
- Public policy, education, and interventions
Sports & exercise psychology
Psychological aspects of sports performance; anxiety , managing physical and emotional wellbeing
Clinical psychology
area of psychology that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior; Most widely known and popularized through media
Forensic psychology
area of psychology that applies the science and practice of psychology issues within and related to the justice system
Within the context of the justice system; Competency to stand trial, eye witness testimonies, and children testimonies
adaption
a trait of an organism that has a function for the survival and reproduction of the individual
American Psychological Association (APA)
professional organization representing psychologists in the United States
behaviorism
focuses on observing and controlling behavior
biopsychosocial model
perspective that asserts that biology, psychology, and social factors interact to determine an individual’s health
biopsychology
study of how biology influences behavior
counseling psychology
area of psychology that focuses on improving emotional, social, vocational, and other aspects of the lives of psychologically healthy individuals
developmental psychology
scientific study of development across a lifespan
dissertation
long research paper about research that was conducted as a part of the candidate’s doctoral training
empirical method
method for acquiring knowledge based on observation, including experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities
functionalism
focused on how mental activities help an organism adapt to its environment
introspection
process by which someone examines their own conscious experience in an attempt to break it into its component parts
natural selection
the process by which differences in the characteristics of an organism arise leading to better adaption to their environment
ology
suffix that denotes “the scientific study of”
personality psychology
study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique; steady over one’s lifespan
personality trait
the consistent pattern of thought and behavior
PhD
doctorial degree conferred in many disciplinary perspectives housed in a traditional college of liberal arts and science (doctor of philosophy)
postdoctoral training program
allows programs and broaden their research skills under the supervision of other professionals in their field
psychoanalytic theory
focus on the role of the unconscious in affecting conscious behavior
psychology
scientific study of the mind and behavior
PsyD
a doctorial degree that places less emphasis on research-oriented skills and focuses more on the application of psychological principles in the clinical context (doctor of psychology)
sport and exercise psychology
area of psychology that focuses on the interactions between mental and emotional factors and physical performances in sports exercise and other activities
structuralism
understanding the conscious experience through introspection
Introspection
objective self-reflection/inspection of one’s thoughts
(Wundt and James)
Wundt and James
helped create psychology as a distinct scientific discipline. Created and established the first psychology laboratory in 1879.
One’s conscious experience; voluntarism
(free will to participate; ethics)
Wundt
he was a structuralist and believed that our cognitive experience was best understood by breaking that experience into its component parts. best accomplished by introspection
Student Edward Titchner
Wundt and James student who studied structuralism
(contents/structure of mental process)
(components of the mind)
William James
the first American psychologist. he was a proponent of functionalism. focused on how mental activities served as adaptive responses to an organism’s environment.
sensation and perception
refer to the area of psychology that focuses on how information from our sensory modalities is received and how this information is transformed into our perceptual experiences of the world around us.
industrial and organizational psychologists
apply psychological concepts to industrial and organizational settings.
Darwin’s natural selection
the variations that are advantage to survival are called adaptive variations or adaptations
