Video: History of Psychology – Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary terms from the lecture notes on the history of psychology and memory, including key figures, concepts, and discoveries.

Aristotle

Fourth‑century BCE philosopher who produced early psychology writings, including On Memory and Reminiscence; memory explained by association and his writings survived.

On Memory and Reminiscence

Aristotle’s book on memory and recollection, discussing memory processes and the idea of reconstruction.

Association (memory)

Memory mechanism whereby ideas are linked to related ideas, forming connections that aid recall.

Method of loci

Ancient memory technique using visualized locations (places along a route) to store and retrieve items.

Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

Islamic scholar who written works on medicine and psychology; introduced ideas about memory and proposed multiple memory stores connected through reconstruction.

Reconstruction (memory)

Process of rebuilding memory from scraps of information, which can lead to errors or altered details.

Two memory stores

Idea that memory comprises at least two stores (images/pictures and associations) used to reconstruct memories.

Wilhelm Wundt

Founder of experimental psychology; established the first psychology laboratory and trained many PhD students.

Spearman

English psychologist known for work on psychology and statistics; influential in early psychometrics and correlations.

Hermann Ebbinghaus

German psychologist famous for studying forgetting and measuring memory over time; introduced the forgetting curve and the benefit of spaced breaks.

Forgetting curve

Graph showing rapid initial forgetting after learning, followed by a slower rate of forgetting over time.

Broca's area

Left-hemisphere brain region linked to speech production; damage can impair speaking ability.

Sigmund Freud

Pioneer of psychoanalysis; proposed that dreams are formed by associations and unconscious wishes; introduced dream interpretation.

The Interpretation of Dreams

Freud’s major work outlining how dreams are interpreted via latent content and associations.

Elizabeth Loftus

Memory researcher known for work on eyewitness testimony and recovered memories; highlighted unreliability and reconstruction in memory.

Recovered memories

Memories of events recalled later in life, often from childhood, which may be false or reconstructed rather than accurate.

Daniel Kahneman

Nobel Prize–winning psychologist known for work on judgment and decision making and for promoting positive psychology in applied contexts.

Judgment and decision making

Field studying how people make choices and predictions, with wide applications in health decisions and policy.

Positive psychology

Movement focusing on factors that contribute to happiness and psychological well‑being, rather than only mental illness.

B. F. Skinner

Leading behaviorist who emphasized studying observable behavior and the effects of reinforcement, often using Skinner boxes.

Behaviorism

Philosophy of psychology that prioritizes observable behavior and environmental determinants over internal mental states.

American Psychological Association (APA)

Founded in 1892; major organization linking psychology labs and departments, with Psychological Review as its early journal.