Psychology Chapter 1

Theory

A statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are and why they happen the way they do

Principle

A basic truth or law

Psychology (definition)

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Morality

The concept of right/good conduct

Behavior

Any action that people can observe or measure

Examples: Walking, Eating, etc.

Social Science

A science that deals with and tries to explain the social aspects of the world around us

Example: Psychology

Natural Science

A science that deals with and tries to explain the natural aspects of the world around us

Examples: Chemistry, Biology, etc.

Psychology (goals)

Seeks to observe, describe, predict, and modify behaviors and mental processes

Cognitive Activities

Mental processes (can't be observed/measured)

Examples: Dreaming, Thoughts, etc.

Emotions

Feelings that can affect how someone's behavior and mental processes

Psychological Constructs

What psychologists use to help them study what we can't see (mental processes)

Surveys

A type of research method where psychologists collect data through questions asked of a particular group

Experimentation

A type of research method where psychologists collect data through running physical tests on humans/animals

Cognitive Research

The study of mental processes and mental disorders

Clinical Psychology

-Makes up the majority of psychologists-Concerned with child/adult mental health, learning disabilities, geriatrics, and general health

-Treat people with problems like anxiety, depression, and other more serious conditions

-Cannot prescribe medication to patients

Psychiatrist

A medical doctor who treats psychological conditions and can prescribe medication for those conditions

Counseling Psychology

-Treats people with adjustment problems

-Employed in businesses or higher educational institutions

School Psychology

-Identify and help students who have problems that interfere with learning

-Use interviews, tests, and observation to help students

Educational Psychology

-Focus on course planning and instructional methods for an entire school system (not concerned with individual problems)

-Study how learning is affected by psychological, cultural, economic, and instructional methods

-Some aid in standardized testing and issue various tests to determine college success

Developmental Psychology

-Study changes (physical, cognitive, social, etc.) that occur throughout an individual's lifespan

-Some are especially interested in the struggles that adolescents face

Personality Psychology

-Identify and study human characteristics/traits

-Interested in the origins of psychological problems

-Concerned with issues like anxiety, aggression, and gender roles

Social Psychology

-Concerned with people's social behavior

-Focus on external rather than internal influences

Experimental Psychology

-Conduct research into basic processes such as the functions of the nervous system, sensation, perception, learning, memory, thinking, and motivation

-Study reasons for psychological and biological reasons for cognitive behavior

-Most likely to perform basic research

Biological Psychology

-Study the relationship between biological changes and psychological events

Basic Research

Research that has no immediate application and that's done for its own sake

Specialized Fields

Fields of psychology that focus on one specific aspect of behavior/mental processes

Environmental Psychology

-Studies how people are influenced and influenced by the environment

Comparative Psychology

-Studies animal behavior across different species

Consumer Psychology

-Studies people and their work

-Employed by corporations to improve working conditions and increase output

-Also trained in organizational psychology

Organizational Psychology

-Studies how people behave in organizations

-Employed by corporations to improve working conditions and increase output

-Also trained in industrial psychology

Human Factors Psychology

-Try to find the best ways to design products for people to use

-Consider how a product will be used, affect people, look, feel, and how the product will be engineered so it's safe, durable, and comfortable to use

Community Psychology

-Study and help create social systems (hospitals, mental health centers, school programs) that promote and foster individual well-being

-Focus on promoting change in social environments, helping powerless people, preventing threats to mental health in social environments

Forensic Psychology

-Work in the criminal justice system

-Determine psychological competence of defendants

-Try to explain how psychological problems can lead to criminal behavior

-Work with police departments to help secret police officers, help officers cope with stress, train officers in handling dangerous situations (family violence, suicide, hostage crisis)

Health Psychology

-Study of how behavior and mental processes relate to physical health

-Try to find correlations between stress/anxiety and health problems

-Also focus on disease prevention

Cross-Cultural Psychology

-Study behavior and mental processes under different cultural conditions

Seven Psychological Approaches

1.) Evolutionary (epigenetic)

2.) Biological (homeostasis)

3.) Behavioral

4.) Cognitive

5.) Humanistic

6.) Psychodynamic (Freud)

7.) Sociocultural

Biological Approach

Focuses on the nervous system, brain, hormones, and genetics (epigenetics)

Epigenetics

The study of environmental influences on genes

Psychodynamic Approach

Emphasizes internal/unconscious conflicts and focuses on sexual and aggressive instincts that collide with what is socially acceptable

Behavioral Approach

Examines the learning process and influence of rewards and punishments on behavior

Evolutionary Approach

Investigates how primal survival instincts can influence behaviors

Cognitive Approach

Focuses on methods people receive, store, and process information (signals sent/received by the brain through senses and physical stimuli)

Humanistic Approach

Emphasizes an individual's potential for growth and the role of perception in guiding behavior and mental processes

Sociocultural Approach

Explores how behavior is shaped by society, culture, history, and etc.

William James

-Founder of functionalism

-Early psychologist (~1842-1910)

-Influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution

-Considered the founder of American Psychology

Natural Selection

Process where individuals that are best adapted to their environment will survive longer and have a higher chance to pass on their genes to offspring

Howard Gardner

-Believed/created the theory of multiple intelligences

-Functionalist

Theory of Multiple Intelligences

The theory created by Gardner that believes that some people are more naturally gifted in certain areas than others

Rehabilitation Psychology

A branch of psychology that works with patients who are challenged with disabilities

Ancient Egypt

Where documented accounts of people's actions, motives, etc. date back to

Introspection

-Created by Socrates

-Encourages people to carefully examine their own thoughts/feelings

Socrates

The Ancient Greek philosopher that developed introspection

Aristotle

The Ancient Greek philosopher that created associationism based on Socrates' teachings/introspection

Associationism

-Created by Aristotle

-The theory that association with past experiences is a basic principle and affects our current behaviors

Possession

What people from the Middle Ages believed was the source behind psychological problems/issues

Water Float Test

What people from the Middle Ages would use to test if one was possessed or not (sank and drowned = pure, floated and lived = impure/possessed)

1879

The year considered the beginning of psychology as a modern laboratory science

Wilhelm Wundt

-Founded structuralism

-Considered the founder of modern psychology

-Established the first psychology lab in Leipzig (1879)

Structuralism

A field of psychology that focuses on the basic elements of consciousness

Sigmund Freud

-Most famous of early psychologists

-Developed psychoanalysis/psychodynamic ways of thinking

-Founded the school of psychoanalysis

-Id, Ego, Superego

Psychodynamic

Assumes that most of someone's mind is unconscious

Psychoanalysis

Emphasizes unconscious motives and internal conflicts in behavior

Id

-Like a devil

-Operates on immediate gratification and selfish desires

Ego

-Like a referee or mediator

-Executive part of our personality that we have control over (conscious)

Superego

-Like an angel

-Represents internalized ideals and provides standards for what's socially acceptable

John B. Watson

-Founder of behaviorism

-Believes that people can be totally conditioned by external events and that personal choice doesn't exist

-Did an experiment on his own son to prove his theory

B.F. Skinner

-Founded reinforcement

-Believed people learn the same way animals do

-Experimented with Skinner's Box

Gestalt Psychology

-Developed by Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler

-An alternative to behaviorism and structuralism that's based on the idea that your brain always wants to fill in the gap (examples on pg. 17)

Biopsychosocial Approach

Emphasizes the affects of biological, mental, and social factors on behavior

Contemporary Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes that was influenced by early pioneers of psychology

Gate Theory

How much information the brain can handle at once

Social Learning Theory

Suggests people can change their environments or create new ones

Learning Perspective

-Emphasizes the effects of experience on behavior

-Believes that behavior is learned either from direct experience or by observing other people

Kenneth Bancroft

A famous psychologist that studied the effects of segregation on people's behaviors