Psychology Mid Term

Wilhelm Wundt

founder of psychology; first lab; studied conscious experience

Gestalt Psychology

Focuses on whole perception (“whole > sum of parts”)

Behaviorism (Founder: John B. Watson)

Study of observable behavior; learning through environment (no mental processes).

Functionalism

How mental processes help us adapt and survive.

Psychology

Scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

Natural selection; survival of traits that help organisms adapt.

Mood Disorder

Disorder involving extreme emotions (ex: depression).

Cognitive Psychologist

Studies thinking, memory, learning, and problem-solving.

Embryo

Developing human (2–8 weeks after fertilization).

Erik Erikson

8 stages of psychosocial development (each has a conflict).

Menopause

End of the female reproductive cycle.

Lev Vygotsky

Learning is shaped by culture and social interaction.

Stages of Development (general)

Lifespan stages: infancy → childhood → adolescence → adulthood.

Jean Piaget

4 stages:

1. Sensorimotor

2. Preoperational

3. Concrete operational

4. Formal operational

Monozygotic Twins

Identical twins (same fertilized egg splits).

Stages of Prenatal Development

1. Germinal (0–2 weeks)

2. Embryonic (2–8 weeks)

3. Fetal (8 weeks–birth)

Operant Conditioning (B. F. Skinner)

Behavior shaped by rewards/punishments.

Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)

Learning through association.

Reinforcement vs. Punishment

• Reinforcement → increases behavior

• Punishment → decreases behavior

Reinforcers

Anything that strengthens behavior (reward or removal of something unpleasant).