Psychology Midterm Flashcards
Psychology
The scientific study of behaviors and underlying mental process.
-Use the scientific method
-Social science, study of people
Empirical evidence
The information obtained through observation and documentation of certain behavior and patterns or through an experiment.
Behavior
The way you act, observe
EX. talking, sitting, writing, etc.
Mental Process
The unobservable things; (we can’t see)
Biological Approach
Examine a persons biology (genetics, brain & nervous system, hormones, neurotransmitters, etc.)
-1st part = investigate internal body chemistry (Bio psychologist)
EX. Blood work - check chemicals for depression, a chemical imbalance
EX. MRI for OCD, difference in OCD & Non-OCD Brain
-Change internal issues with medinice
-Dignous & treatment
-Diet, medication, physical activity, sleep, sickness-engery affect through the day.
Behavioral Approach
Stresses the importance of external environment (what we can see, the nature)
People we are around - family,friends, teachers, coaches, doctors, etc.
Cause & Effect, behavior gets developed in different ways - through associations
EX. End of class bell = leave - learn through association
Rewards & punishments, reinforce type strategy
Focus on what I can see, not so much internal, can train behaviors outwardly.
Psychodynamic Approach
Based on ideas & theories of Sigmund Freud
Developed ideas in 18th-19th hundreds
Unconscious - the collection of previous experiences (think iceberg): we don’t remember
Highly individual, so much of who er are, emphasis on early childhood
Brain is not as full developed (2&3 years old), but formative years
EX. Favorite color, music = some reason why
Humanistic Approach
We all have potential (regardless of situation) for improvement
Positive view of human nature
The needs that if not men might meet the potential (safe, security, food) - things that get in the way of us doing/being our best
Importance of our self concept - idea of self
EX. put on outfit, ask how it looks, says its fine so you go change = why self concept is so important, it is your reality (=)
Self person is important for how you see yourself
Cognitive Approach
“The thought process”
Centered on a person’s thought process, how we take in, analyze information
The most important thing is figuring out what we do is the thought process
EX. Why you do or do not like a class/teacher = cognitive approach
Cognitive Thinking
Attention, choice based behavior, decision making, forgetting, information processing, languages acquisition, memory, problem-solving, speech & visual perception, beliefs and expectations, experiences (remember), morals
“I just think it will be” = cognitive thinking approach
Psychologist
An individual who is professionally trained in one or more subfields of psychology.
4 year undergrad degree (BA/BS)
Clinical = Ph.D, Psy.D = 2-4 years (all together 7+ years of school)
Educational Ed.D
Field experience na dlisense
M.A. (Masters Degree) = 2 years
Help provide social, emotional, behavioral therapy.
Psychiatrist
Gets M.D. (Medical Doctorate)
4 - years undergrad
4 years medical school
2 + years of residency
Needs extra medical background
Can prescribe medicine
Help provide social, emotional, behavioral therapy.
Specialty Fields (1-2 most common)
Clinical Psychology: assess, diagnose, and treat mental illnesses.
Counseling Psychology
Experimental Psychology
Forensic Psychology
Education: school psychologist, special education teacher, counselor, learning specialist, or assessment specialist.
Introspection
The examination of one’s own conscious thoughts and feelings.
The process of introspection relies on the observation of one’s mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one’s soul.
Who is Wilhelm Wundt? Why is he significant in the field of psychology?
A German physiologist and a philosopher.
He was the first person to ever call themselves a psychologist.
Opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879. This was the first laboratory that was dedicated to psychology. It is thought to be the beginning of modern psychology.
Structuralism
Easy definition: breaking down mental processes into the most basic components.
A method of interpretation and analysis of the aspects of human cognition, behavior, culture, and experience that focuses on the relationships of contrast between the elements in a conceptual system that reflects patterns that underlay a superficial diversity
Functionalism
The theory that all aspects of a society serve a function and are necessary for the survival of that society. Have to adapt to our environment.
William James
American philosopher and psychologist and the first educator to take psychology courses in the US.
He helped to found psychology as a formal discipline, he helped establish a school of functionalism in psychology.
He also greatly advanced the movement of pragmatism in philosophy.
Ivan Pavlov (Early behavioral psychologist)
Most well known for developing an experiment testing the concept of the conditioned reflex.
B.F. Skinner (Early behavioral psychologist)
Wrote a novel (1938) based on his theories Walden Two (1948).
Gestalt psychology
A school of thought that looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole.
Gestalt psychology suggests that humans do not focus on separate components but instead tend to perceive objects as elements of a more complex system.
Gestalt psychology was founded by Max Wertheimer, a Czecholsovakian psychologist.
Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka are also considered co-founders of the Gestalt theory.
Sigmund Freud
Human behavior is influenced by unconscious memories, thoughts, and urges.
Think “iceberg”
Clinical psychology
The branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness and psychological problems.
Behaviorism
A theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning, and conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment.
The way you act
- Simple observable actions, WHAT I SEE