Chapter 1 Definitions Flashcards
What’s the main difference between applied psychology specializations and basic research psychology specializations?
Applied psychology specializations are areas in which psychologists apply their expertise to real-world problems. These are the psychologists who practice.
Basic research psychology specializations are areas in which psychologists conduct research for the sake of enhancing the understanding of behavior and mental processes. These are the psychologists who run studies
What is the main focus of each of these APPLIED psychology specializations:
- Clinical psychology
- Forensic psychology
- Industrial/organizational psychology?
- Clinical psychology is an applied specialization in which psychologists focus on psychological disorders
- Forensic psychology is an applied specialization in which psychologists focus on legal and criminal justice issues.
- Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology is an applied specialization focused on the workplace.
What is the main focus of each of each of these BASIC RESEARCH psychology specializations:
- Developmental psychology
- Physiological psychology
- Social psychology
- Developmental psychology is a basic research specialization in which psychologists focus on how people change throughout the life span.
- Physiological psychology is a basic research specialization in which psychologists focus on the neural basis of behavior. It goes by many names: biological psychology, psychobiology, behavioral neuroscience, and neuropsychology, among others
- Social psychology is a basic research specialization in which psychologists focus on how people think about, influence, and relate to each other. Social psychologists explore our attitudes toward others, including prejudices and stereotypes, and how they relate to our interpersonal actions.
What is psychology?
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
What are the primary differences between psychology and psychiatry?
Psychiatrists are medical doctors. They go to medical school and earn MD degrees to become physicians. In fact, they do much of their medical training alongside med students on their way to becoming other kinds of physicians—pediatricians, obstetrician–gynecologists, dermatologists, cardiologists—before they specialize in psychiatry. Like the rest of these physicians, psychiatrists prescribe medication.
Psychology, as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes, focuses on both what we do and why we do it.
What are the three big questions that underlie the field of psychology?
- Nature or Nurture: Were you born that way, or were there factors in your upbringing that made you the person you are?
- Change or Stability: To what extent do you change over time? To what extent do you remain the same? When you change, how does it happen—slowly and surely or in abrupt spurts?
- Universal or Unique: When psychological researchers come to a conclusion, for whom is it true? Do some psychological truths apply universally? Or are such truths unique to certain people in certain places at certain times?
______ conduct research on how our reasoning, thinking, relationships, emotions, and other aspects of our lives evolve as we age.
Developmental psychologists
What would be an example of a psychologist focuses on analyzing uniqueness versus universality?
A psychologist studies and compares facial expressions used in cultures around the world.
Dr. Horne works at a hospital. He is currently working on creating tests to predict and prevent antisocial behavior in adolescents. Based on this information, Dr. Horne is MOST likely a _____ psychologist.
Clinical
What’s a study that focuses on analyzing change versus stability.
A psychologist studies the responses to moral or ethical questions based on age.
Dr. Smith graduated with a doctorate in psychology seven years ago and is currently studying communication abilities of crocodiles. What field of psychology does Dr. Smith MOST likely work in?
Comparative
What is comparative psychology
A basic research specialization in which psychologists focus on the behavior of species other than humans.
What is Structuralism?
A perspective from the early history of psychology that focused on breaking down mental processes into their structure or basic parts
What is Functionalism?
Functionalism: a perspective from the early history of psychology that focused on the function of our mental processes and behaviors.
Unlike structuralism, which tried to determine what the mental processes are, functionalism tried to determine what the mental processes are for—their purpose, or their value to the person performing them
What is Psychoanalysis?
Psychoanalysis: a perspective in psychology created by Sigmund Freud that emphasizes unconscious mental activity and the long-lasting influence of childhood experiences.
