Unit 1: Chapter 1: The Evolution of Psychology Flashcards
What is psychology?
A way of thinking. It addresses basic issues such as how we see, how the brain forms and stores memories, and what is the nature of consciousness.
The term psychology means?
It comes from two Greek words, psyche-meaning soul, and logos-referring to the study of a subject; its literal meaning: “the study of the mind.”
Wilhelm Wundt
German professor, who mounted a campaign to make psychology an independent discipline. He impacted the development of psychology.
Structuralism
Notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and investigate how these elements are related.
Structuralists
They wanted to identify the fundamental components of conscious experience, such as sensations, feelings, and images.
Introspection
A method, or careful, systemic self-observation of one’s own conscious experience; practiced by structuralists.
Functionalism
Based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure.
Functionalists
Investigate mental testing, patterns of development in children, the effectiveness of educational practices, and behavioral differences between the sexes.
William James
Functionalist supporter that believed consciousness is a flow of thoughts, stream of consciousness.
Consciousness
Consists of a continuous flow of thoughts.
Behaviorism
The premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior.
John B. Watson
Proposed to abandon the study of consciousness and focus exclusively on behaviors that they could observe directly.
B.F. Skinner
Asserted that free will is an illusion; fundamental principle of behavior is organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive outcomes, and they tend to not repeat responses that lead to negative outcomes. Expressed that we are all controlled by our environment, not by ourselves.
Behavior
Any observable response/ activity by an organism.
Psychoanalytic Theory
Behavior explained by unconscious influence.
Sigmund Freud
Austrian physician who invented the procedure called psychoanalysis. He discovered the existence of what he called the unconscious.
Unconscious
Thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness, and still influence behavior.
Stimulus
Any detectable input from the environment.
Humanism
Theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth.
Carl Rogers
A humanist. He argued that human behavior is governed primarily by each individual’s sense of self.
Humanist
Optimistic view of human nature.
Applied Psychology
Psychology concerned with everyday, practical problems. Includes four areas of specialization: clinical psychology, counseling psychology, educational and school psychology, industrial and organizational psychology.
Clinical Psychology
Evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals with psychological disorders.
Counseling Psychology
Provide assistance to people struggling with everyday problems of moderate severity.
Educational and School Psychology
Work to improve curriculum design, achievement testing, teach trainings, and other aspects of the educational process.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Tasks in the world of business and industry.
Cognitive Perspective
Manipulations of mental images surely influence how they behave.
Cognition
Mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge; involved thinking or conscious experience.
Donald Hebb
Highlighted the importance of physiological and neuropsychological perspectives. He introduced the cell assembly.
Evolutionary Psychology
Examines behavioral processes in terms of their adaptive value for members of a species over the course of many generations.
Natural Selection
Favors behavior that enhance organisms’ reproductive success-passing on genes to the next generation.
Positive Psychology
Uses theory and research to better understand the positive, adaptive, creative, and fulfilling aspects of human existence.
Martin Seligman
Launched new initiative within psychology known as the positive psychology movement.
Developmental Psychology
Human development across the lifespan.
Social Psychology
Focus on interpersonal behavior and the role of social forces in governing behavior.
Experimental Psychology
Focus on sensation, perception, learning, conditioning, motivation, and emotion-traditional topics of early psychology.
Behavioral Neuroscience
Influence of genetic factors on behavior and the role of the nervous system, endocrine system, bodily chemicals, and the brain.
Cognitive Psychology
Focuses on “higher” mental processes, such as memory, reasoning, information processing, language, problem solving, decision making, and creativity.
Personality Psychology
Understanding/ describing someone’s consistency in behavior; assessment of personalisty.
Psychometrics
Measurement of behavior and capacities, psychological tests, tests designed to assess intelligence.
Educational Psychology
Studies how people learn and the best way to teach them.
Health Psychology
Focuses on how psychological factors relate to the promotion and maintenance of physical health and the causation, prevention, and treatment of illness.
Psychiatry
Branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders.
Psychology is Empirical
Empiricism: knowledge should be acquired through observation.
Psychology is Theoretically Diverse
Theory: a system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations.
Behavior is Shaped by Cultural Heritage
Culture: widely shared customs of a community over generations.
Critical Thinking
Use of cognitive skills and strategies to increase the probability of a positive outcome.
