Unit 1 - History & Approaches

Question 1

Psychology

Answer 1

the study of behavior and mental processes

uses empirical data to disprove hypotheses

systematic collection and observation of data

Question 2

Mental Process

Answer 2

the way we build our thoughts

thoughts are different for everyone

we learn from failure (trial & error)

Question 3

Normalcy

Answer 3

normal control & abnormal control represent different mental processes (puzzles)

defined as 50.1 % of the population

Question 4

Empirical Approach

Answer 4

a set of standards to conduct a study which emphasizes careful observation and scientifically-based research

“nobody has the same **chemical drip **. . . “

Question 5

Pseudo-Psychology

Answer 5

the phony or unscientific psychology which pretends to be the real thing

psychics, palm readers, mediums, etc.

Question 6

Confirmation Bias

Answer 6

only paying attention to the events and evidence which confirms our desired beliefs

“be open-minded to being open-minded . . . “

Question 7

Branches of Psychology

Answer 7

1. Experimental Psychology
2. Teaching Psychology
3. Applied Psychology

Question 8

Experimental Psychology

Answer 8

basic research in psychology

faculty members at a college or university

Question 9

Teaching Psychology

Answer 9

overlaps with experimental research

most researchers are also teachers

Question 10

Applied Psychology

Answer 10

address human problems

Wendy’s slanted roofs & Chipotle’s steel structures

McDonald’s has the best Applied Psycholgoy department in the world

Question 11

Psychiatry

Answer 11

a specialty of psychology in the medical field

allowed to prescribe medication

Question 12

Plato & Socrates

Answer 12

concluded that mind is separable from body and continues after the body dies

knowledge is innate—born within us

derived principles by logic

Question 13

Aristotle

Answer 13

had a love of data

derived principles from careful observations

concluded that knowledge is not preexisting, but instead grows from the experiences stored in our memories.

Question 14

René Descartes

Answer 14

introduced a change in perspective that included sensation & behavior

believed that the human mind was an unsolvable mystery with **hollow nerves ** & animal spirits (obviously incorrect)

nerve paths enable reflexes (correct)

began the motion of the study of The Nervous System

Question 15

Sigmund Freud

Answer 15

believe in the unconscious mind - a part of our mind over which we have no conscious control that determines how we think and behave

proposed psychoanalytic therapy to examine the unconscious

Question 16

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 16

believed in structuralism

asked subjects to self-report introspection to document conscious experience (i.e. smell roses)

Question 17

William James

Answer 17

a functionalist who considered the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings

believed that consciousness serves a function

Question 18

Max Wertheimer

Answer 18

one of the founders of Gestalt psychology

tried to examine a person’s total experience because the way we experience the world is more than just an accumulation of various perceptual experiences

Question 19

Margaret Floy Washburn

Answer 19

first woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychology

synthesized animal behavior research in The Animal Mind

Question 20

John Watson

Answer 20

a behaviorist who dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior”

suggested observation and recording people’s behavior as they respond to different situations

Question 21

B.F. Skinner

Answer 21

a behaviorist who introduced the idea of reinforcement and punishment

environmental stimuli that either encourage or discourage certain responses

Question 22

Ivan Pavlov

Answer 22

pioneered conditioning experiments on dogs

led to the development of the classical conditioning model of learning

Question 23

Mary Whiton Calkins

Answer 23

tutored by William James

became the first woman president of the American Psychological Association (APA)

denied her Ph.D. in Psychology by Harvard University

Question 24

Abraham Maslow

Answer 24

a humanistic** psychologist** who emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential and the importance of love and acceptance

proposed that we are motivated by a hierarchy of needs and ultimately seek self-actualization - the process of fulfilling our own potential

Question 25

Carl Rogers

Answer 25

a humanistic psychologist who emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential and the importance of love and acceptance

proposed that we nurture our growth by being accepted through **unconditional positive regard ** - an attitude that values us even knowing our failings

Question 26

Structuralism

Answer 26

devoted to uncovering the basic structure that makes up mind & thought

looking for the elements of conscious experience that make up LIFE

Question 27

Functionalism

Answer 27

a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function

how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish

Question 28

Gestalt

Answer 28

an organized whole

Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes

Question 29

Introspection

Answer 29

the examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes

Question 30

Conditioning

Answer 30

process of learning associations

classical conditioning - learn to associate two stimuli and thus to anticipate events

operant conditioning - learn to associate a response
(our behavior) and its consequence and thus to repeat acts followed by good results and avoid acts followed by bad results

Question 31

Psychoanalytic Perspective

Answer 31

the idea that our personality comes from a deep, hidden place within us called the unconscious

the approach that studies unconscious motives

Question 32

Behavioral Perspective

Answer 32

the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of conditioning (learning)

Question 33

Biopsychology (Neuroscience) Perspective

Answer 33

biopsychologists explain human thought and behavior strictly in terms of biological processes

**neuroscientists **believe that human cognition and reactions might be caused by effects on our genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters in the brain or by a combination of all three

“that’s not me . . . that’s just biology”

Question 34

Evolutionary (Darwinian) Perspective

Answer 34

the study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection

refers to the idea that some psychological traits may be advantageous for survival and these traits are passed down

Question 35

Social-Cultural Perspective

Answer 35

social-cultural psychologists look at how our thoughts and behaviors vary from people living in other cultures

emphasize the influence culture has on the way we think & act

Question 36

Cognitive Perspective

Answer 36

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

examines human thought and behavior in terms of how we interpret, process, and remember environmental events

Question 37

Humanist Perspective

Answer 37

emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth

contrasted the deterministic behaviorists who theorized that all behavior is caused by past conditioning