Chapter 1: History of Psychology Flashcards
Another word for mental processes
Cognitive
Psychology
Scientific study of behavior and mental processes
What is behavior?
Anything you can observe (talking, facial expressions, movement), measure, (Frequency, duration, amplitude), or quantify (how often, how long).
What cant you do when observing behavior?
Cant make a cause and effect statement
Behavioral neuroscience
Studies the links among brain, mind, and behavior
Biological psychology
The study of the relationship between bodily systems and chemicals and how they influence behavior and thought
Personality psychology
The study of what makes people unique and the consistencies in people’s behavior across time and situations
Social psychology
The study of how living among others influences thought, feeling, and behavior
clinical psychology
The treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and the promotion of psychological healtj
Health psychology
The study of the role psychological factors play in regard to health and illness
Educational psychology
The study of how students learn, the effectiveness of particular teaching techniques, the social psychology of schools, and the psychology of teaching.
Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology
Application of psychological concepts and questions to work settings
Sports psychology
The study of psychological factors in sports and exercise
Forensic psychology
Field that blends psychology, law, and criminal justice
Shamans
Medicine men or women who treat people with mental problems by driving out their demons with elaborate rituals, such as exorcisms, incantations, and prayers
Asylums
Facilities for treating the mentally ill in Europe during the Middle Ages and into the 19th century
Moral treatment
19th-century approach to treating the mentally ill with dignity in a caring environment
Psychoanalysis (Sigmund Freud the father of)
A clinically based approach to understanding and treating psychological disorders; assumes that the unconscious mind is the most powerful force behind thought and behavior
Empiricism
The view that all knowledge and thoughts come from ecperience
Psychophysics
The study of how people psychologically perceive physical stimuli such as light, sound waves, and touch
Structuralism
19th century school of psychology that argued that breaking down experience into its elemental parts offers the best way to understand thought and behavior
Introspection
The main method of investigation for structuralists; it involves looking into one’s own mind for information about the nature of conscious experience
Functionalism
19th century school of psychology that argued it was better to look at why the mind works the way it does than to describe its parts
Behaviorism
A school of psychology that proposed that psychology can be a true science only if it examined observable behavior – not ideas, thoughts, feelings, or motives
Humanistic psychology
A theory of psychology that focuses on personal growth and meaning as a way of reaching one’s highest potential
Positive psychology
Scientific approach to studying, understanding, and promoting healthy and positive psychological functioning
Gestalt psychology
A theory of psychology that maintains that we perceive things as wholes rather than as a compilation of parts
Softwiring
All biological systems involved in thought and behavior (genes, brain structure, brain cells) are inherited yet are still open to modification from the environment
Nature through nurture
The position that the environment constantly interacts with biology to shape who we are and what we do
Evolution
The change overtime in the frequency with which specific genes occur within a breeding species
Natural selection
A feedback process whereby nature favors one design over another because it has an impact on reproduction
Adaptations
Inherited solutions to ancestral problems that have been selected for because they contribute in some way to reproductive success
Evolutionary psychology
The branch of psychology that studies human behavior by asking what adaptive problems it may have solved for our early ancestors