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
Structuralism
Early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind
Developmental psychology
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
Educational psychology
The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning
Personality psychology
The study of an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
Social psychology
An expectation that people will help those needing their help
Applied research
Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
Industrial-organizational psychology
The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces
Human factors psychology
An I/O psychology subfield that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use
Counseling psychology
A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living and In achieving greater well-being
Clinical psychology
A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
Psychiatry
A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy
Community psychology
A branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups
Positive psychology
The scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive
Wilhelm Wundt
- Established the first psychology laboratory at the university of Leipzig, Germany
- created an experimental apparatus to measure time between hearing a ball hit a platform and pressing a telephone key
G. Stanley Hall
-establish the first formal U.S psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University
William James
- legendary teacher-writer who authored an important 1890 psychology text
- mentored Calkins
- studied the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings
Mary Whiton Calkins
- became a pioneering memory researcher
- first woman to be president of the American Psychological Association
Margaret Floy Washburn
- first woman to receive a psychology Ph.D
- synthesized animal behavior
- 2nd female president of the APA
Sigmund Freud
-believed he discovered the unconscious mind or the part of the mind we do not have conscious control over that determines how we think and behave
John B. Watson
- declared for psychology to be a science, it must limit itself to observable phenomena, not unobservable concepts such as the unconscious mind
- “Little Albert”
B. F Skinner
-expanded the idea of behaviorism and included the concept of reinforcement
Carl Rogers
-rejected the definition of psychology that was current in the 1960’s
Ivan Pavlov
-studying the salivation process in dogs
Jean Piaget
-most influential observe of children
Charles Darwin
-argued that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies
Dorothea Dix
-led the way to humane treatment of those with psychological disorders
