Unit One Flashcards
(44 cards)
Defn. Applied Psychology
The branch of psychology concerned with everyday, practical problems.
Defn. Behaviour
Any overt (observable) response or activity by an organism
Defn. Behaviourism
A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behaviour
Defn. Biological Psychology
Physiological basis of behavior in humans and animals
Defn. Cell Assembly
a group of neurons that are repeatedly active at the same time and develop as a single functional unit, which may become active when any of its constituent neurons is stimulated. This enables, for example, a person to form a complete mental image of an object when only a portion is visible or to recall a memory from a partial cue. Cell assembly is influential in biological theories of learning and memory.
Defn. Clinical Psychology
Evaluate diagnose and treat individuals with psychological disorders as well as treatment of less severe behavioral and emotional problems.
Defn. Cognition
The mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge.
Defn. Critical Thinking
The use of cognitive skills and strategies that increase the probability of a desired outcome.
Defn. Culture
The widely shared customs, beliefs, values, norms, institutions, and other products of a community that are transmitted socially across generations.
Defn. Empiricism
The premise that knowledge should be acquired through observation
Defn. Ethnocentrism
The tendency to view one’s own group as superior to others and as the standard for judging the worth of foreign ways.
Defn. Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary basis of behavior in humans and animals
Defn. Functionalism
A school of psychology based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure.
Defn. Humanism
A theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth.
Defn. Introspection
Careful, systematic observation of one’s own conscious experience.
Def. Natural Selection
Principle stating that heritable characteristics that provide a survival reproductive advantage are more likely than alternative characteristics to be passed on to subsequent generations and thus come to be “selected” over time.
Defn. Nature
the innate, presumably genetically determined, characteristics and behaviors of an individual. In psychology, the characteristics most often and traditionally associated with nature are temperament, body type, and personality
Defn. Nurture
the totality of environmental factors that influence the development and behavior of a person, particularly sociocultural and ecological factors such as family attributes, parental child-rearing practices, and economic status
Defn. Personality Psychology
Is interested in describing and understanding individuals consistency in behavior which represents their personality.
Defn. Positive Psychology
theory and research to better understand the positive adaptive creative and fulfilling aspect of human existence.
Defn. Psychiatry
A branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders
Defn. Psychoanalytic Theory
A theory developed by Freud that attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behaviour.
Defn. Psychology
The science that studies behaviour and the physiological and cognitive processes that underlie it, and the profession that applies the accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems.
Defn. Psychometrics
Concerned with the measurement of behavior and capacities usually through the development of psychological tests.
