Unit 1 and 2 Flashcards
History, Approaches, Research Methods
Psychology
the science of behavior and mental processes
Structuralism
an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind, introduced by Titchener
Introspection
the process of self-reflection on one’s thoughts and feelings
Functionalism
a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral process function- how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish, introduced by William James
Psychoanalysis
Freud’s theory of personality and therapeutic techniques that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts.
Gestalt psychology
an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
Behaviorism
the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes.
Humanistic psychology
historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth.
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 range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.
Biopsychosocial approach
an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.
Biological psychology (neuroscience)
a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior.
Evolutionary psychology
the study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection.
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.
Behavioral psychology
the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning.
Cognitive psychology
the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
Social-cultural psychology
the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.
Basic research
pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
Applied research
scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.
Counseling psychology
a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) 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 often provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.
Hindsight bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)
Critical thinking
thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
Theory
an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.
Hypothesis
a testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
Operational definition
a statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures. The operational definition must explain how the variable will be measured.
Replication
repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.