Modules 1-3 Flashcards
Functionalism
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
Experimental psychology
The study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method
Behaviorism
The view that psychology 1) should be objective science that 2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologist today agree with 1) but not with 2)
Humanistic psychology
A historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people
Cognitive psychology
The scientific study of all the me tail activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Psychology
The science of behavior and mental processes
Nature-nurture issue
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
Natural selection
The principle that, among the tangle of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed of to succeeding generations
Biospsychosocial approach
And integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis
Behavioral perspective
How we learn observable responses
Biological perspective
How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how genes combine with environment to influence individual differences
Cognitive perspective
How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information
Evolutionary perspective
How the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes
Psychodynamic psychology
A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders
Social-cultural psychology
The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking
Psychometrics
The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes and traits
Basic research
Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base