History & Approaches to Psychology Flashcards
Biological Perspective
how the body and brain enable emotions and sensory experiences
Evolutionary Perspective
how the natural selection of traits promotes the perpetuation of one’s genes
Psychodynamic Perspective
how behavior springs from unconscious drives, dreams, and childhood conflicts
Behavioral Perspective
how we learn observable responses (rewards and punishments)
Humanistic Perspective
how each individual has great freedom of choice and a large capacity for personal growth (full potential)
Cognitive Perspective
how our thought process works and how we store and remember information
Social-Cultural Perspective
how thinking and behavior vary across cultures and situations
Biopsychosocial Perspective
today’s modern approach which tries to combine multiple perspectives (biological, psychological, social-cultural) into one integrated analysis
Mary Whiton Calkins
first female president of APA
Charles Darwin
- natural selection
- theory of evolution
- evolutionary perspectives
Dorothea Dix
reformed mental asylums
Sigmund Freud
- psychoanalysis
- unconscious
- dream interpretation
- childhood conflict
G. Stanley Hall
- 1st US psych lab @ john hopkins
- 1st psych journal
- 1st president of APA
William James
- Functionalism: views the mind as serving the function of helping you adapt to your environment
- 1st psych textbook
Ivan Pavlov
- classical conditioning
- famous for his work with dogs
Jean Piaget
- Famous for work with children
- cognitive development
Carl Rogers
humanistic perspective
B.F. Skinner
- skinner box: rat pressing lever
- operant conditioning: rewards/punishments
Margaret Floy Washburn
1st female Ph.D in psychology
Edward Titchener
-structuralism: different structures such as sensation and thoughts make up your consciousness
Max Wertheimer
-Gestalt Psychology: whole is greater than the sum of its parts; grouping principles
John Locke
- Emiricism: learning from sense experience (preface to Watson’s behaviorism)
- Blank Slate: tabula rosa
John Watson
- Behaviorism
- Little Albert and the white rat
Wilhelm Wundt
- 1st psych lab in Leipzig Germany
- introspection: thinking about thinking
- ball hitting platform study
Psychology
the science of behavior and mental processes
-originated from the fields of biology and philosophy
Biological Psychologist
- examines workings of the brain, nerves, body, and sensation
- explores the links between the brain and the mind
Cognitive Psychologist
-studies higher level brain processes like language, thinking, perception, and problem solving/memory
Experimental Psychologist
-conducts experimental research studies
Basic Research
aims to further psychology’s knowledge base
Applied Research
aims to solve practical problems
Personality Psychologist
- studies how people differ from one another
- examines persistent traits over time, such as extra-version or agreeableness
Clinical Psychologist
-help people improve their personal and social functioning and coping challenges
Counseling Psychologist
-assess and treat disorders (mental, emotional, and behavioral)
Social Psychologist
-studies hoe people influence one another and group behavior
Industrial/Organizational Psychologist
- applies psychological concepts and methods to optimize human behavior in workplaces
- examines how to train employees, boost morale, design products, etc.
Human Factors Psychology
a sub field that focuses on the interaction of people and machines
Forensic Psychologist
- applies psychological principles to criminal investigations
- studies legal issues, criminal minds, insanity
Evolutionary Psychologist
- Identifies behavior patterns that are a result of genetic ancestors
- examines adaptations as a result of natural selection even in humans
Environmental Psychologist
-studies relationships between people and their physical environment
Social-Cultural Psychologist
-investigate similarities and differences in psychological functioning among cultures
Sports Psychologist
- studies psychological factors that influence participation in sports
- examines motivation techniques, optimal training methods, visualization, etc.
Developmental Psychologist
-studies changing abilities in people as they grow and develop from birth until death
Educational Psychologist
- studies influences on learning and teaching and applies strategies to make education more productive
- school psychologists are a more specific sub field that diagnose and treat cognitive, social, or emotional problems in students
Psychometric Psychologist
- quantitatively studies the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits
- ties into all the previous fields
Stability vs. Change
-As an individual grows, does he/she tend to stay the same or change as he/she develops?
Diversity vs. Universality
-Do people share more differences or similarities in a population?
Nature vs. Nurture
- the longstanding controversy over the contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors
- dominant view: “nurture works on what nature endows.”
