history and perspectives

Stability vs. Change

Do our early personality traits persist through life, or do we become different persons as we age?

Rationality vs. Irrationality

are people in general more likely to make decisions based on reason or not? rational is facts and irrational is emotions

Nature vs. Nurture

name for a controversy in which it is debated whether genetics or environment is responsible for driving behavior. "nurture works on what nature endows"

Humanistic

Humans are unique and need to be treated as such. humans are ultimately good. self fulfillment

Carl Rogers

Humanisic; self-concept and unconditional positive regard drive personality. idea for client centered therapy. non directive talk therapy as equals

Neuroscience

how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences(biopsychology)

behavior genetics

how much our genes and environment affect our behavior. inherit intelligence and alcoholism.

evolutionary psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection. men can park better

Psychodynamic

how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts. present is influenced by our part . unconscious childhood

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Sigmund Freud

father of psychoanalysis. said childhood had big impacts on adult life

unconscious

according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware. reservoir of thoughts and memories outside of consciousness

Behavioral

uses scientific methods to explore thoughts feelings and actions. watch someone say mama you will say it. if someone throws ball you learn how to throw the ball.

Ivan Pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell. conditioned reflexes can explain behaviors

John Watson

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat. father of behaviorism. reemphasized observable behavior. baby's fear was generalized ex: white coat

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats

cognitive

how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2). today we study and observe mind and behavior

natural selection

A process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits.

evolutionary psychology

the attempt to explain social behavior in terms of genetic factors that have evolved over time according to the principles of natural selection

Basic vs. Applied Research

Applied research is research that seeks to answer a question in the real world and to solve a problem. Basic research is research that fills in the knowledge we don't have; it tries to learn things that aren't always directly applicable or useful immediately. basic builds psychology knowledge and applied teaches practical problems

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

Eclectic/multiple perspectives

multiple perspectives on evidentiary problems may have something to offer.

social-cultural

examines how culture and social situations influence behavior and thinking. ex: armenian culture only get married to other armenians.

Abraham Maslow

american psychologist who created hierarchy of needs. psychologist top of the pyramid is self-actualization

Trephination

drill into head. medical reasons. thought to release demons of mentally ill before science

Socrates and Plato

greek philosophers. plato was student. mind and body are different. knowledge is innate or inborn

Aristotle

plato's student and socrates grandson. kind and loved data. knowledge is from experience. "ancestor of scientists "

Rene Descartes

frenchman who agreed with socrates and plato about mind and body. dissected animals

John Locke

English philosopher who argued that people have natural rights. wrote essay concerning human understanding. mind at birth is blank slate

Empiricism

the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation

Introspection

examination of one's own thoughts and feelings

Wilhiem Wundt

father of psychology. first lab experiment balls dropping. 1879

Edward Titchener

Student of Wilhelm Wundt; founder of Structuralist school of psychology. william wundt student. examinations of situations can be allowed psychologists to understand make up or consciousness

Structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

William James

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment. more fruitful to study evolved functions of thoughts and feelings. harvard teacher

Mary Calkins

First female president of the APA. harvard student. harvard rejected her degree

Principles of Psychology (1890)

First psychology textbook written by William James focused on consciousness, habit, emotion, and will

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Psychology (1879-1920s)

a psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts. seeks to understand how the brain perceives experience

Psychology (1920s-1960s)

an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes. the whole of anything is greater than its parts

Psychology (today)

The science of behavior and mental processes. Considered a soft and social science.