Intro to Psychology Flashcards
the science that seeks to understand behavior and mental processes and to apply that understanding in the service of human welfare
psychology
a field of psychology that focuses on people’s positive experiences and characteristics, such as happiness, optimism, and resilience
positive psychology
psychologists whose research focuses on analysis of the mental processes underlying judgment, decision making, problem solving, imagining, and other aspects of human thought or cognition
cognitive psychologists
psychologists who analyze the biological factors influencing behavior and mental processes
biological psychologists
psychologists who focus on people’s unique characteristics
personality psychologists
psychologists who seek to understand, describe, and explore how behavior and mental processes change over the course of a lifetime
developmental psychologists
psychologists who develop statistical methods for evaluating and analyzing data from psychological research
quantitative psychologists
psychologists who seek to assess, understand, modify, and prevent behavior disorders
clinical, counseling, and community psychologists
psychologists who study methods by which instructors teach and students learn and who apply their results to improve such methods
educational psychologists
psychologists who test cognitive abilities, diagnose students’ academic problems, and set up programs to improve students’ achievement
school psychologists
psychologists who study how people influence one another’s behavior and attitudes, especially in groups
social psychologists
psychologists who examine factors that influence people’s performance in the workplace
industrial and organizational psychologists
psychologists who study the effects of behavior on health and the impact of illness on behavior and emotion
health psychologists
psychologists whose research is aimed at maximizing athletic performance
sport psychologists
psychologists who are involved in many aspects of psychology and law
forensic psychologists
psychologists who study and try to improve the relationships between human beings and the computers and other machines they use
engineering psychologists
psychologists who study the relationship between people’s physical environment and their behavior
environmental psychologists
the view that knowledge comes from experience and observation
empiricism
the awareness of external stimuli and our own mental activity
consciousness
the view that behavior is the result of physical processes, especially those relating to the brain, to hormones, and to other chemicals
biological approach
a view that emphasizes the inherited adaptive aspects of behavior and mental processes
evolutionary approach
a view developed by Freud that emphasizes unconscious mental processes in explaining human thought, feelings, and behavior
psychodynamic approach
a view based on the assumption that human behavior is determined mainly by what a person has learned in life, especially through rewards and punishment
behavioral approach
a view that emphasizes research on how the brain takes in information, creates perceptions, forms and retrieves memories, processes information, and generates integrated patterns of action
cognitive approach
a view of behavior as controlled by the decisions that people make about their lives based on their perception of the world
humanistic approach
social identity and other background factors such as gender, ethnicity, social class, and culture
sociocultural factors
the accumulation of values, rules of behavior, forms of expression, religious beliefs, and occupational choices for a group of people who share a common language and environment
culture
