Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour 4

Question 1

The term behaviour refers to:

Answer 1

actions and responses that we can directly observe.

Question 2

The term mind refers to:

Answer 2

internal states and processes – such as thoughts and feelings.

Question 3

Clinical psychology is the study and treatment of:

Answer 3

mental disorders.

Question 4

Psychologists study diverse topics. Subfields that may not immediately occur to you include:

Answer 4

community psychology, educational psychology, and psychology and the law.

Question 5

Cognitive psychology specialises in the study of:

Answer 5

mental processes, especially from a model that views the mind as an information processor.

Question 6

An area within cognitive psychology, called psycholinguistics, focuses on the psychology of:

Answer 6

language.

Question 7

In Australia there are nine areas of practice endorsed by The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA):

Answer 7

• Clinical neuropsychology
• Clinical psychology
• Community psychology
• Counselling psychology
• Education and developmental psychology
• Forensic psychology
• Health psychology
• Organisational psychology
• Sports and exercise psychology

Question 8

Biopsychology or Behavioural Neuroscience focuses on:

Answer 8

biological underpinnings of behaviour.

Question 9

Developmental psychology examines:

Answer 9

human physical, psychological and social development across the lifespan and the effects of ageing on cognitive and behavioural processes.

Question 10

Experimental psychology focuses on:

Answer 10

basic processes such as learning, sensory systems (e.g. vision, hearing), perception and motivational states (e.g. sexual motivation, hunger, thirst).

Question 11

Industrial-organisational (I/O) psychology examines:

Answer 11

people’s behaviour in the workplace.

Question 12

Personality psychology focuses on:

Answer 12

the study of human personality.

Question 13

Social psychology examines:

Answer 13

people’s thoughts and feelings and behaviour pertaining to the social world: The world of other people.

Question 14

Science is a process that involves:

Answer 14

systematically gathering and evaluating empirical evidence to answer questions and beliefs about the natural world.

Question 15

Empirical evidence is:

Answer 15

evidence gained through experience and observation.

Question 16

Systematic –

Answer 16

performed according to a system of rules or conditions.

Question 17

Confirmation bias –

Answer 17

selectively paying attention to information that is consistent with our beliefs and downplaying or ignoring information that is inconsistent with them.

Question 18

In principle, science ultimately is a:

Answer 18

self correcting process.

Question 19

As a science, psychology has four central goals:

Answer 19

• Description
• Explanation
• Control
• Application

Question 20

Science involves ___________ which reflects the quest for knowledge for it’s own sake and ____________, which is designed to solve specific, practical problems.

Answer 20

basic research; applied research

Question 21

Psychology’s broad scope: A simple framework:

We call it levels of analysis

Behaviour and its causes can be examined at the:

Answer 21

• Biological level (e.g. brain processes, genetic influences)
• Psychological level (e.g. our thoughts, feelings and motives)
• Environmental and social level (e.g. past and current physical and social environments to which we are exposed.

Question 22

Mind-body dualism –

Answer 22

the belief that the mind is a spiritual entity not subject to physical laws that govern the body.

Question 23

Monism (from the Greek word monos meaning ‘one’), holds that the:

Answer 23

mind and body are one and the mind is not a separate spiritual entity. To Monists, mental events correspond to physical events in the brain.

Question 24

British Empiricsm, which held that all:

Answer 24

ideas and knowledge are gained empirically – that is, through the senses.

Question 25

Structuralism:

Answer 25

the analysis of the mind in terms of its basic elements.

Question 26

Functionalism, which held that:

Answer 26

psychology should study the functions of subconsciousness rather than its elements.

Question 27

Cognitive psychology, which:

Answer 27

studies mental processes.

Question 28

Evolutionary psychology, which:

Answer 28

emphasises adaptiveness of behaviour.

Question 29

Psychodynamic perspective searches for:

Answer 29

the causes of behaviour within the inner workings of our personality (our unique pattern of traits, emotions and motives), emphasising the role of unconscious processes.

Question 30

Fee association, in which:

Answer 30

the patient expresses any thoughts that come to mind.

Question 31

Psychoanalysis –

Answer 31

the analysis of internal and primarily unconscious psychological forces.

Question 32

Defence mechanisms which are:

Answer 32

psychological techniques that help us cope with anxiety and the pain of traumatic experiences.

Question 33

Repression:

Answer 33

a primary defence mechanism, protects us by keeping unnacceptable impulses, feelings and memories in the unconscious depths of the mind.

Question 34

The behavioural perspective focuses on the:

Answer 34

role of the external environment in governing our actions.

Question 35

Tabula Rasa –

Answer 35

A ‘blank tablet’ or ‘slate’.

Question 36

Law of effect –

Answer 36

responses followed by satisfying consequences become more likely to recur, and those followed by unsatisfying consequences become less likely to recur.

Question 37

Behaviourism:

Answer 37

a school of thought that emphasises environmental control of behaviour through learning.

Question 38

Skinner believed that through ‘social engineering’, society could harness the power of the environment to change behaviour in beneficial ways. His approach, was known as:

Answer 38

radical behaviourism.

Question 39

In the 1960s behaviourism inspired powerful techniques known collectively as _____________. These techniques, aimed at decreasing problem behaviours by manipulating_____________

Answer 39

behaviour modification; environmental factors.

Question 40

Cognitive behaviourism, which proposes that:

Answer 40

learning experiences and the environment influence our expectations and other thoughts and, in turn, that our thoughts influence how we behave.

Question 41

The humanistic perspective (humanism) emphasised:

Answer 41

free will, personal growth and the attempt to find meaning in one’s existence.

Question 42

Self-actualisation –

Answer 42

the reaching of one’s individual potential.

Question 43

Belongingness:

Answer 43

our basic human need for social acceptance and companionship.

Question 44

Positive Psychology Movement, which emphasises:

Answer 44

the study of human strengths, fulfilment and optimal living. Rather than focussing on ‘what’s wrong with our world’ (e.g. mental disorders, conflict, prejudice), positive psychology examines how we can nurture what is best within ourselves and society to create a happy fulfilling life.

Question 45

The cognitive perspective examines:

Answer 45

the nature of the mind and how mental processes influence behaviour.

Question 46

Gestalt psychology, which examined:

Answer 46

how the mind organises elements of experience into a unified or ‘whole’ perception.

Question 47

1960s and 1970s – a period that is sometimes referred to as the:

Answer 47

‘cognitive revolution’.

Question 48

Cognitive psychology, which focuses on:

Answer 48

the study of mental processes, embodies the cognitive perspective.

Question 49

Cognitive neuroscience, which uses:

Answer 49

sophisticated electrical recordings and brain-imaging techniques to examine brain activity while people engage in cognitive tasks.

Question 50

The sociocultural perspective examines:

Answer 50

how the social environment and cultural learning influence our behaviour, thoughts and feelings.

Question 51

Social psychologists have studied:

Answer 51

how the presence of other people influences our behaviour.

Question 52

The word_________connotes actual physical presence (e.g. you’re in a group),___________ (e.g. you’re dressing for a party, aware that at the party people will evaluate how you look) and _____________ (e.g. driving a car, you slow down because you incorrectly think the car behind you is an unmarked police car).

Answer 52

‘presence’; implied presence; imagined presence

Question 53

Social cognition –

Answer 53

how people form impressions of one another, how attitudes form and can be changed, how our expectations affect our behaviour and so forth.

Question 54

Culture refers to:

Answer 54

the enduring values, beliefs, behaviours and traditions that are shared by a large group of people and passed from one generation to the next.

Question 55

Social norms, which are:

Answer 55

rules (often unwritten) that specify what behaviour is acceptable and expected for members of that group.

Question 56

Socialisation is the process:

Answer 56

by which culture is transmitted to new members and internalised by them.

Question 57

Cultural psychology (sometimes called cross-cultural psychology) expresses:

Answer 57

how culture is transmitted to its members and examines psychological similarities and differences among people from diverse cultures.

Question 58

Individualism:

Answer 58

an emphasis on personal goals and self-identity based primarily on one’s own attributes and identity.

Question 59

Collectivism:

Answer 59

in which individual goals are subordinated to those of the group and personal identity is defined largely by the ties that bind one to the extended family and other social groups.