Psych CP Terms 1 Flashcards
(42 cards)
Critical Thinking
thinking that does not accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, assesses the source, uncovers hidden values, weighs evidence, and assesses conclusions.
Structualism
an early school of thought promoted by Wundt that focused on the structure of the human mind.
Functionalism
an early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin that focused on how the mind functions.
Behaviorism
the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to metal processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
Humanistic Psychology
a historically important perspective that emphasized human growth potential.
Cognitive Psychology
the story of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems.
Cognitive Neuroscience
the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with mental activity (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).
Psychology
the science of behavior and mental processes.
Biopsychosocial Approach
an approach that integrates different but complementary views from biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints.
Culture
the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and handed down from one generation to the next.
Nature-nurture Issue
the age-old controversy that the relative influence of genes and experience in the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s psychological views sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.
Dual Processing
the principle that our mind processes information at the same time on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.
Counseling Psychology
a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or relationships) and in achieving greater well-being.
Clinical Psychology
a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.
Psychiatry
a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.
Community Psychology
a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions (such as schools and neighborhoods) affect individuals and groups.
Positive Psychology
the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.
Hindsight Bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we could have predicted it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.)
Theory
an explanation using principles that organize observations and predict behaviors or events.
Hypothesis
a testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
Operational Definition
a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures.
Replication
repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced.
Preregistration
publicly communicating planned study design, hypothesis, data collection, analyses.
Case Study
a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.
