Module 1 - What Is Psychology?

Question 1

The scientific study of both behavior and mind

Answer 1

Psychology

Question 2

The view that knowledge arises directly from what we observe and experience.

Answer 2

Empiricism

Question 3

The contents of conscious experience, including sensations, perceptions, thoughts, and emotions.

Answer 3

Mind

Question 4

Any observable action, including words, gestures, responses, and more that can be repeated, measured, and are affected by a situation to produce or remove some outcome. Behavior can also refer to biological activity, including actions on the cellular level.

Answer 4

Behavior

Question 5

The philosophical position that the mind and the body are entirely separate from one another.

Answer 5

Dualism

Question 6

Work done by psychologists to understand the fundamental principles of behavior and mind.

Answer 6

Basic research

Question 7

The use of psychological principles to solve practical problems, typically by influencing behavior or changing the environment to match existing behavior.

Answer 7

Applied psychology

Question 8

Research done in an effort to discover a new or more effective way to solve a specific practical problem.

Answer 8

Applied research

Question 9

The actual application of discovered techniques to solve specific practical problems.

Answer 9

Applied practice

Question 10

Research that attempts to take basic findings and turn them into solutions for practical problems.

Answer 10

Translational research

Question 11

A form of applied psychology that focuses on identifying, preventing, and relieving distress or dysfunction that is psychological in origin

Answer 11

Clinical psychology

Question 12

A medical doctor who is trained to assess and treat psychological disorders. Psychiatrists often prescribe and manage psychiatric medications.

Answer 12

Psychiatrist

Question 13

Psychologists who focus on helping people deal with ongoing situations, or on the adjustment from one situation to another.

Answer 13

Counseling psychologists

Question 14

The view that some forms of knowledge are inborn, or innate. (we were born with that knowledge) opposite of empiricism

Answer 14

Nativism

Question 15

The view that all human behavior is controlled by genetic and biological influences.

Answer 15

Biological determinism

Question 16

The principle that traits which contribute to improvements in survival and reproduction are more likely to be passed down to later generations.

Answer 16

Natural selection

Question 17

The pseudoscientific study of the shape of the human skull in an attempt to associate brain areas with specific characteristics, thoughts, or abilities.

Answer 17

Phrenology

Question 18

The first movement in the history of psychology, which focused on breaking down immediate conscious experience (such as sensations and feelings) into their constituent parts.

Answer 18

Structuralism

Question 19

One of the first strategies to make inferences about the contents of the mind, it was an effort to standardize the way that people reported their own experiences.

Answer 19

Systematic introspection

Question 20

An early movement in psychology whose proponents believed that an understanding of a behavior or process’ function was critical to understanding its operation.

Answer 20

Functionalism

Question 21

An approach to psychology that suggests observable behavior should be the only topic of study, ignoring conscious experience.

Answer 21

Behaviorism

Question 22

A form of psychotherapy coined by Sigmund Freud that seeks to help clients gain more insight into their unconscious thoughts, behaviors, and motivations.

Answer 22

Psychoanalysis

Question 23

An approach to psychology that emphasizes the ability of humans to make their own choices and realize their own potential. (free will) Opposite of determinism (cause and effect relationship)

Answer 23

Humanistic psychology

Question 24

An outgrowth of humanistic psychology, positive psychology studies specific virtues of the human experience, including topics such as happiness, trust, charity, and gratitude

Answer 24

Positive psychology

Question 25

An approach to clinical psychology that uses different therapeutic techniques based on their effectiveness for the current situation

Answer 25

Eclectic approach

Question 26

The acknowledgment that different explanations for a phenomenon can complement one another.

Answer 26

Levels of explanation

Question 27

Explanations that seek to describe the reasons why a trait, behavior, or mental process exists by appealing to its role in the process of evolution.

Answer 27

Ultimate explanations

Question 28

Explanations that seek to describe an immediate cause of a trait, behavior, or mental process.

Answer 28

Proximate explanations

Question 29

A kind of proximate explanation that seeks to identify a specific problem as the cause of a trait, behavior, or mental process.

Answer 29

Functional explanations

Question 30

A kind of proximate explanation that focuses on how a specific mental or physical process directly explains a trait or behavior

Answer 30

Process-oriented explanations

Question 31

The study of psychology from an evolutionary perspective, it proposes that many mental processes have developed in response to natural selection to solve adaptive problems.

Answer 31

Evolutionary psychology

Question 32

A shared set of beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and customs belonging to a specific group or community

Answer 32

Culture

Question 33

An approach to psychology that is critical of cultural influences on gender and gender differences in behavior.

Answer 33

Feminist psychology

Question 34

An approach to studying cultural influences that emphasizes examining how multiple social identities intersect at the level of the individual person to alter their experiences.

Answer 34

Intersectional approach