Chapter 1 - History and Approaches Flashcards
Empiricism
The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science therefore should rely on observation and experimentation.
Structuralism
Developed by Edward Bradford Titchener, it focused on self-reelection and introspection. Highly unreliable.
Functionalism
A school or psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes enable us to adapt, survive and flourish.
Experimental psychology
They study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method.
Behaviorism
The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologist today agree with (1) but not with (2).
Humanistic psychology
The historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth.
Cognitive neuroscience
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with thinking including perception, thinking, memory, and language.
Psychology
The science of behavior and mental processes.
Nature-nurture issue
The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of the two.
Natural selection
The principle that among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will mist likely
Levels of analysis
The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon.
Biopsychosocial approach
An integrated that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.
Behavioral psychology
The scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning.
Biological psychology
A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior.
Cognitive psychology
An approach to psychology that emphasizes internal mental processes.
Evolutionary psychology
The study of the roots of behavior and mental process using the principles of natural selection.
Psychodynamic psychology
A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives abs conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders.
Socio-cultural psychology
The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.
Psychometrics
The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.
Basic research
Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
Developmental psychology
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.
Educational psychology
The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning.
Personality psychology
The study of an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
Social psychology
The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.