Chapter 1: The Evolution of a Science

Question 1

psychology

Answer 1

the scientific study of mind and behavior

Question 2

mind

Answer 2

our private inner experience of perceptions, thoughts, memories and feelings

Question 3

behavior

Answer 3

observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals

Question 4

nativism

Answer 4

the philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn

Question 5

empiricism

Answer 5

philosophical view that all knowledge is acquired through experience

Question 6

phrenology

Answer 6

theory that specific mental abilities and characteristics, ranging from memory to the capacity for happiness, are localized in specific regions of the brain

Question 7

physiology

Answer 7

study of biological processes, especially in the human body

Question 8

stimulus

Answer 8

sensory input from the environment

Question 9

reaction time

Answer 9

the amount of time taken to respond to a stimulus

Question 10

consciousness

Answer 10

a person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind

Question 11

structuralism

Answer 11

analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind

Question 12

introspection

Answer 12

subjective observation of one’s own experience

Question 13

functionalism

Answer 13

study of the purpose mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environment

Question 14

natural selection

Answer 14

theory that the features of an organism that help it survive and reproduce are more likely than other features to be passed on to subsequent generations

Question 15

hysteria

Answer 15

temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of emotionally upsetting experiences

Question 16

unconscious

Answer 16

the part of the mind that operates outside of conscious awareness but influences conscious thoughts, feelings and actions

Question 17

psychoanalytic theory

Answer 17

approach to understanding human behavior that emphasizes the importance of unconscious mental processes in shaping feelings, thoughts, and behaviors

Question 18

psychoanalysis

Answer 18

therapeutic approach that focuses on bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders

Question 19

humanistic psychology

Answer 19

an approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings

Question 20

behaviorism

Answer 20

approach that advocates that psychologists restrict themselves to the scientific study of objectively observable behavior

Question 21

response

Answer 21

action or physiological change elicited by a stimulus

Question 22

reinforcement

Answer 22

consequences of a behavior that determine whether it will be more likely that the behavior will occur again

Question 23

illusions

Answer 23

errors of perception, memory, or judgement in which subjective experience differs from objective reality

Question 24

Gestalt psychology

Answer 24

psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts

Question 25

cognitive psychology

Answer 25

scientific study of mental processes, including perception, thought, memory and reasoning

Question 26

behavioral neuroscience

Answer 26

an approach to psychology that links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other bodily processes

Question 27

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 27

a field that attempts to understand the links between cognitive processes and brain activity

Question 28

evolutionary psychology

Answer 28

a psychological approach that explains mind and behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by natural selection

Question 29

social psychology

Answer 29

a subfield of psychology that studies the causes and consequences of interpersonal behavior

Question 30

cultural psychology

Answer 30

the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members