Chapter 1 Flashcards
(38 cards)
pseudoscientific relatives to psychology found on the internet, tv, and in thousands of self-help books
“Psychobabble”
The discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external environment
Psychology
Relying on or derived from observation, experimentation, or measurement
Empirical
The ability and willingness to assess claims and make judgements on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence rather then emotions or anecdote
Critical Thinking
Once several explanations of a phenomenon have been generated, a critical thinker chooses the one that accounts for the most evidence while making the fewest unverified assumptions
Occam’s razor
The now-discredited theory that different brian areas account for specific character and personality traits, which can be “read” from bumps on the skull
Phrenology
- 1st psychological experiment
- Founded the school of Structuralism
- Father of psychological science
Wilhelm Wundt
- Father of American Psychology
- 1st English textbook in Psychology
- Admitted the 1st female doctoral student
- Founded school of Functionalism
William James
“Mental states causes physical outcomes”-Idea of defense mechanism
- Psychosexual theory of personality
- Psychoanalysis
- Dream Interpretation
Sigmund Freud
Inspired William James with evolutionary theories. Stated that a biologist’s job is not to merely describe attributes but to figure out how these attributes enhance survival
Charles Darwin
An early psychological approach that emphasized the analysis of intermediate experience into basic elements
Structuralism
An early psychological approach that emphasized the function or purpose of behavior and consciousness
Functionalism
A theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy, originally formulated by Sigmund Freud, that emphasizes unconscious motives and conflicts
Psychoanalysis
A psychological approach that emphasizes bodily events and changes associated with actions, feelings, and thoughts
Biological Perspective
A field of psychology emphasizing evolutionary mechanisms that may help explain human commonalities in cognition, development, emotion, social practices, and other areas of behavior
Evolutionary Psychology
A psychological approach that emphasizes how the environment and experience affect a person’s or animal’s actions; it includes behaviorism and social-cognitive learning theories
Learning Perspective
Focus on the environmental rewards and punishers that maintain or discourage specific behaviors
Behaviorists
Combine elements of behaviorism with research on thoghts, values, expectations, and interntions. State that people not only learn by adapting to their environment, but also by observing and imitating others and by thinking about the events happening around them
Social-Cognitive Learning Theories
A psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in perception, memory, language, problem solving, and other areas of behaviors
Cognitive Perspective
A psychological approach that emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior
Sociocultural Perspective
Focus on social rules and roles, how groups affect attitudes and behavior, why people obey authority, and how each of us is affected by other people
Social Psychologist
Examine how cultural rules and values, both explicit and unspoken, affect people’s development, behavior, and feelings
Cultural Psychologists
A psychological approach that analyzes the influence on gender relations and on the behavior of the two sexes
Feminist Psychology
3 Professional activities of psychologists
1) teaching and doing research in colleges and universities
2) providing health or mental health services
3) Conducting research or applying its findings in nonacademic settings, such as business, sports, government, law, and the military
