chapter 1: what is psychology? Flashcards
the scientific study of behaviour and mind
psychology
introduced the term tabula rasa (blank state), describing that humans are always learning from experience (nurture)
Aristotle
philosophy and physiology
two fields of study that relate to psychology
the belief that knowledge is gained directly from experience and observation
empiricism
observable actions or responses
behaviours
the philosophical position that the mind and body are entirely separated
dualism
French philosopher who described that the mind is inherent immaterial that could not be described through the physical body and introduced the concept of reflex
René Descartes
attempt to understand the fundamental principles that govern behaviour and mind
basic research
psychology that studies how and why maladaptive behaviour develops by examining thought and emotions along with underlying biology of mental illness
abnormal psychology
psychology that studies how variation in genetic structure and expression reflect in differences in behaviour patterns
behavioural genetics
psychology that studies how information is process (attention, perception, memory, problem solving, language, and thought)
cognitive psychology
psychology that studies the behaviour of non-human animals and how they compare to human psychology
comparative psychology
psychology that studies how people develop across the lifespan “womb to tomb”
developmental psychology
cognitive neuroscience or neuropsychology, the study of how specific brain regions or activity influences behaviour, to understand the physical underpinnings of their observations
behavioural neuroscience
psychology that studies how and why people act differently based on characteristics or traits
personality psychology
psychology that studies how an individual is influences by the environment and other people
social psychology
the use of psychological principles to solve practical problems, typically by influencing behaviour or changing the environment to match existing behaviour
applied psychology
done in an effort to discover a new or more effective way to solve a specific practical problem
applied research
the application of techniques to problems
applied practice
the effect to translate basic findings into practical solutions
translational research
focus on identify, preventing and relieving distress that is psychological in origin
clinical psychology
medical doctors that focus on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness
psychiatrists
the belief that some forms of knowledge are innate
nativism
the belief that all human behaviour is controlled by genetic and biological influences
biological determinism
emphasized the functional nature of traits and how adaptive traits exist to solve problems
evolutionary theory
one’s genetic structure
genotype
one’s physical trait
phenotype
pseudoscientific study of the human skull to associate brain areas to specific characteristics or abilities
phrenology
“father of modern psychology”, developed structuralism, focused on mental experience and sensation and perception
Wilhelm Wundt
the act of breaking down immediate conscious experience into its basic elements and understanding how those combine to create experience
structuralism
method used by Wundt to understand the components of mental processes based on participants’ self reports of their thoughts, feelings, and mental images
introspection
to standardize the way that people report their own experiences so it could be compared to other’s more effectively
systematic introspection
focusing on how people perceive an unified whole out of the many chaotic individual elements of sensation
Gestalt
the position that psychologists must first understand the function of a behaviour or mental processes to understand how its part work together
functionalism
“father of American Psychology”, functionalist
William James
William James’ student, the first person in the U.S. to receive a doctorate degree in psychology in 1878
G. Stanley Hall
influential in animal learning
Edward Thorndike
suggests observable behaviour should be the only topic of study, ignoring conscious experience (what functionalism and structuralism were focused on)
behaviourism
American psychologist who popularized the idea that the mind and internal mental states were beyond the scope of psychology, which should focus solely on the study of observable behaviour, “little albert”, “classical conditioning”
John B. Watson
operant conditioning (how rewards and punishments can alter one’s behaviour), one of the leading thinkers in behaviourism by 1950s
B.F. Skinner
the time when new technologies allowed psychologists to reevaluate their abilities on making inferences about the mind/internal mental states, returned the focus of psychology to the scientific understanding of the mind
the cognitive revolution
contemporary researcher who studies language and cognition
Steven Pinker
ancient Greek physician who made connection between mental illness and the physical body
Hippocrates
critical in resolving mental health issues, the process of analyzing the contents of the unconscious mind so thoughts and feelings could be brought to the level of consciousness, methods used by Sigmund Freud
Psychoanalysis
physician who believed that mental illnesses originated from the unconscious mind
Sigmund Freud
proposed that people have free will to realize their own potential, focuses on positive aspects of the human condition (creativity, potential for growth)
humanists
humanist with the person-centred approach to therapy, therapist’s role is to listen rather than analyze
Carl Rogers
humanist who reconstructed Freud’s view of human nature, choosing to emphasize the internal driving force for humans to satisfy basic needs for survival
Abraham Mazlow
Abraham Mazlow hierarchy of needs
people are motivated to fulfill psychological needs and ultimately strive for self-actual inaction
focused on how humans flourish and how positive outcomes can be achieved
positive psychology
clinical psychology that uses different therapeutic techniques depending on their effectiveness for the situation
eclectic approach
addresses why a psychological phenomenon occurs by appealing to its role in the process of evolution
ultimate explanation
describes a direct cause of a psychological phenomenon
proximate explanation
proximate explanation that identifies a specific problem as the cause of a psychological phenomenon
functional explanation
proximate explanation that focus on how a specific mental or physical process explains a psychological phenomenon
process-oriented explanation
evolutionary perspective, proposes that many mental process developed in response to natural selection to solve adaptive problems
evolutionary psychology
attempt to flip the process of evolutionary psychology by first identifying adaptive problems humans would have had to solve, then proposing ways to test for mental processes that solve these problems
James Nairne
a suite of behaviours we perform in response to environmental and emotional cues to reduce the likelihood of disease transmission
behavioural immune system
set of beliefs, attitudes, behaviours, and customs shared by a specific group or community
culture
studying issues related to culture and cultural identify, focusing that people are not defined by any single aspect of their identities (Kimberlé Crenshaw)
intersectional approach
