Chapter 1- The study of mental processes and behaviour Flashcards
Psychology
The scientific investigation of mental processes- thinking, feeling, remembering and behaviour
Biopsychology
examines the physical basis of psychological phenomena such as motivation, emotion and stress
Cross-cultural psychology
tries to distinguish universal psychological processes from those that are specific to particular cultures
Free will or determinism
do we freely choose our actions or do things outside our control determine pour behaviour
Mind-body problem
the question of how mental and physical events interact
Localisation of function
different parts of the brain control different aspects of functioning
Behaviourist perspective
focuses on the way objects or events in the environment come to control behaviour through learning
Humanistic perspective
focuses on the uniqueness of the individual, assumes people are motivated to reach their full potential
Cognitive perspective
focuses on the way people perceive, process and retrieve info
Evolutionary perspective
argues that many behavioural tendencies are innate and evolved because they helped our ancestors survive and rear healthy offspring
Positive psychology
understanding and harnessing positive emotions and actively stimulating the conditions that help people flourish
Psychodynamic perspective
peoples actions are determined by the way thoughts, feelings and emotions are connected in their minds
Functionalism
influenced by Darwinian theory, looked for explanations of psychological processes, in terms of their role or function in helping the individual adapt to their environment
Structuralism
attempted to use introspection as a method for uncovering the basic elements of consciousness and the way they combine with each other into ideas
Introspection
the process of looking inward and one’s mental processes and contents
