Intro Chapter

Question 1

What does Psychology seek to do?

Answer 1

Psychology is a science that seeks to answer such questions as: how and why we think, feel, and act as we do.

Question 2

How is psychology a science, and why is it the “rat is always right”?

Answer 2

Need more info

Question 3

What is an empirical approach?

Answer 3

An empirical approach is an evidence-based method that draws on observation and experimentation.

Question 4

What are the the key elements of the scientific attitude, and how do they support scientific inquiry?

Answer 4

Question 5

What is critical thinking?

Answer 5

Smart thinking, called critical thinking, examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Further, critical thinking does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

It asks:

How do they know that? What is this person’s agenda? Is the conclusion based on anecdote, or on evidence? Does the evidence justify a cause-effect conclusion? What alternative explanations are possible?

Question 6

What were some important milestones in psychology’s early development?

Answer 6

Before 300 B.C.E., the Greek naturalist and philosopher Aristotle theorized about learning and memory, motivation and emotion, perception and personality.

Question 7

What is structuralism?

Answer 7

An eearly school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.

Question 8

What is functionalism?

Answer 8

An early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Question 9

Who was Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920)?

Answer 9

Wundt established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany.

Question 10

Who was Edward Bradford Titchener (1867–1927)

Answer 10

Titchener used introspection to search for the mind’s structural elements.

Question 11

What event defined the start of scientific psychology?

Answer 11

Scientific psychology began in Germany in 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory.

Question 12

Why did introspection fail as a method for understanding how the mind works?

Answer 12

People’s self-reports varied, depending on the experience and the person’s intelligence and verbal ability.

Question 13

The school of ___________ used introspection to define the mind’s makeup; ___________ focused on how mental processes enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Answer 13

structuralism; functionalism

Question 14

What is behaviorism?

Answer 14

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Question 15

What is humanistic psychology?

Answer 15

historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential.

Question 16

From the 1920s through the 1960s, the two major forces in psychology were ___________ and ___________ psychology.

Answer 16

behaviorism; Freudian

Question 17

What is cognitive psychology

Answer 17

the study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems.

Question 18

cognitive neuroscience

Answer 18

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

Question 19

Wha is the definition of e psychology?

Answer 19

the science of behavior and mental processes

Question 20

What are nature–nurture issues?

Answer 20

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 nature and nurture.

Question 21

natural selection

Answer 21

the principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

Question 22

evolutionary psychology

Answer 22

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.

Question 23

behavior genetics

Answer 23

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

Question 24

How did the cognitive revolution affect the field of psychology?

Answer 24

It recaptured the field’s early interest in mental processes and made them legitimate topics for scientific study.

Question 25

What is natural selection?

Answer 25

This is the process by which nature selects from chance variations the traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

Question 26

What is contemporary psychology’s position on the nature–nurture issue?

Answer 26

Psychological events stem from the interaction of nature and nurture, rather than from either of them acting alone.

Question 27

culture

Answer 27

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Question 28

What is positive psychology?

Answer 28

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

Question 29

levels of analysis

Answer 29

the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon.

Question 30

biopsychosocial approach

Answer 30

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.

Question 31

What advantage do we gain by using the biopsychosocial approach in studying psychological events?

Answer 31

By incorporating three different levels of analysis, the biopsychosocial approach can provide a more complete view than any one perspective could offer.

Question 32

The ____________-____________ perspective in psychology focuses on how behavior and thought differ from situation to situation and from culture to culture, while the ____________ perspective emphasizes observation of how we respond to and learn in different situations.

Answer 32

social-cultural; behavioral

Question 33

basic research

Answer 33

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

Question 34

applied research

Answer 34

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

Question 35

counseling psychology

Answer 35

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.

Question 36

clinical psychology

Answer 36

a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

Question 37

psychiatry

Answer 37

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who are licensed to provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.

Question 38

community psychology

Answer 38

a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups.

Question 39

testing effect

Answer 39

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

Question 40

What is SQ3R?

Answer 40

a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review.

Question 41

The __________ __________ describes the enhanced memory that results from repeated retrieval (as in self-testing) rather than from simple rereading of new information.

Answer 41

testing effect.

Question 42

What does the acronym SQ3R stand for?

Answer 42

Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review