What is Psychology (Chapter 1) Flashcards
Psychology
The discipline concerned with behavior and mental process and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external environment; the term is often represented by ѱ, the Greek letter psi (usually pronounced “sy”).
Empirical
Relying on or derived from observation, experimentation, or measure.
Critical Thinking
The ability and willingness to access claims and make judgments on the basis os well-supported reasons and evidence rather than emotion or anecdote.
8 essential critical-thinking guidelines
Be willing to wonder Define your terms Examine the evidence Analyze assumptions and biases Avoid emotional reasoning Don't Oversimplify Consider other Interpretations Tolerate Uncertainty
Phrenology
The now-discredited theory that different brain areas account for specific characters and personality traits, which can be “read” from bumps on the skull.
Three schools of psychological thought
Structuralism
Functionalism
Psychoanalysis
Structuralism
An early psychological approach that emphasizes the analysis of immediate experiences in to basic elements.
Functionalism
An early psychological approach that emphasizes the function or purpose of behavior and consciousness.
Psychoanalysis
A theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy, originally formulated by Sigmund Freud, that emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts.
Mind Cures
Efforts to correct the false ideas that were said to make people anxious, depressed, and unhappy.
The Four Perspectives of Psychological Science
Biological
Learning
Cognitive
Sociocultural
Evolutionary Psychology
A field of psychology emphasizing evolutionary mechanisms that may help explain human commonalities in cognition, development, emotion, social practices, and other areas of behavior.
Biological Perspective
A psychological approach that emphasizes bodily events and changes associated with action, feelings, and thoughts.
Learning Perspective
A psychological approach that emphasizes hoe the environment and experiences affect a person’s or animal’s actions; it includes behaviorism and social-cognitive learning theories.
Socioculture Perspective
A psychological approach that emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior.
