Prologue Chapter Module (The Story of Psychology) Flashcards
Empirical Approach
An evidence-based method that draws on observation and experimentation.
Scientific Attitude
Curious, skeptic, and humble.
Critical Thinking
Thinking that does not automatically accept arguments and conclusions.
Examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
Unpredicted interesting findings and disproving predictable myths.
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
Established the first psychological laboratory in Germany.
Studied reaction time based on hearing.
Structuralism
An early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener.
Used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.
Breaking things down.
Functionalism
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.
Asking why things are the way they are? What purpose do they carry?
Mary Whiton Calkins
Denied a Phd from Harvard
Studied under James.
First female president of the American Psychological Association (APA).
Margaret Floy Washburn
First female psychology PhD.
The Animal Mind
Second female APA president.
Behaviourism
Pavlov, Skinner, and Thorndike
Watson + Rayner - Behaviorism and humans (Little Albert)
Dismissed introspection. Observable behaviours should be the focus of psychological study.
1) Should be an objective science
2) Studies behavior without reference to mental processes.
Freudian (Pyschoanalytic) Psychology
Concerned with the ways our unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect our behaviour.
Sigmund Freud
Humanistic Psychology
Historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential.
Rogers and Maslow.
Focus on needs for love and acceptance, and environments of nurture.
Cognitive Psychology
The study of mental processes that occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and problem solve.
Cognitive Neuroscience
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition.
Including perception, thinking, memory, and language.
Modern Definitionof Pyschology
The science of behavior and mental processes.
Nature-Nurture Issue
Controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviours.
Evolutionary Psychology
The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.
Behavior Genetics
The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.
Positive Psychology
The scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting stregnths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.
Biopsychosocial Approach
An integrated approach that incorporates biological psychological, and social-cultural levels of anaylsis.
Levels of Analysis
The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given .
Biological Influence
Genetic predispositions (genetically influence traits)
Genetic Mutations
Natural selection and adaptive traits and behaviors
Genes responding to the environment
Psychological Influences
Learned fears and other learned expectations
Emotional Responses
Cognitive Processing and perceptual interpretations
Social-Cultural Influences
Presence of others
Cultura, societal, and family expectations
Peer and other group influences
Compelling models (such as in the media)
Basic Research
Field in psychology
Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
