AP Psychology Module 1-3

Critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it

examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Empiricism

the idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and

experimentation enable scientific knowledge.

Structuralism

An early school of psychology that studied the basic elements of conscious experience. promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.

Introspection

Looking inward and examining your own thoughts, feelings, and sensations.

Functionalism

The study of how mental processes and behaviors help people adapt to their environment.

Behaviorism

The view that psychology should study observable behaviors and how they are learned.

Humanistic psychology

A perspective that focuses on human growth, personal potential, and self-fulfillment.

Cognitive psychology

The study of mental processes such as thinking, memory, perception, and problem-solving.

Cognitive neuroscience

The study of brain activity connected to mental processes like thinking, memory, and language.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Nature-nurture issue

The debate over whether traits and behaviors come from genes or experiences.

Natural selection

The process where inherited traits that help survival and reproduction are passed on through generations.

Evolutionary psychology

The study of how evolution and natural selection influence behavior and mental processes.

Behavior genetics

The study of how genes and the environment influence behaviors and traits.

Culture

Shared behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions passed from one generation to another.

Positive psychology

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

Biopsychosocial approach

An approach that explains behavior using biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors.

Behavioral psychology

The study of observable behavior and how it is learned.

Biological psychology

the scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes.

Psychodynamic psychology

a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts

influence behavior and uses that information to treat people with psychological

disorders.

Social-cultural psychology

The study of how social situations and cultures affect behavior and thinking.

Testing effect

The idea that retrieving information through testing improves memory better than rereading.

SQ3R

A study method that stands for Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, and Review.

Psychometrics

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

Basic research

Research that increases knowledge and understanding without an immediate practical goal.

Developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.

Educational psychology

the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning.

Personality psychology

the study of individuals’ characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Social psychology

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Applied research

Research designed to solve practical problems and improve people’s lives.

Industrial-organizational psychology

the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.

Human factors psychology

The study of how people interact with technology, machines, and environments.

Counseling psychology

Helps people cope with life challenges and improve personal and social functioning.

Clinical psychology

The study, assessment, and treatment of psychological disorders.

Psychiatry

A medical field that treats psychological disorders and can prescribe medications.

Community psychology

The study of how people interact with their social environments and how communities affect individuals.

Wilhelm Wundt

Created the first psychology laboratory in 1879 and helped establish psychology as a science.

G. Stanley Hall

Founded the first psychology laboratory in the United States and helped develop psychology as a profession.

Edward Bradford Titchener

Developed structuralism and used introspection to study the mind.

William James

Developed functionalism and studied how thoughts and behaviors help people adapt.

Charles Darwin

Proposed natural selection and influenced evolutionary psychology.

Mary Whiton Calkins

Studied memory and became the first female president of the American Psychological Association.

Margaret Floy Washburn

First official female psychology Ph.D.; studied animal behavior and wrote The Animal Mind.

John B. Watson

Founded behaviorism and focused psychology on observable behavior.

B. F. Skinner

Studied conditioning and how reinforcement influences behavior.

Sigmund Freud

Developed psychoanalytic psychology and emphasized the unconscious mind.

Carl Rogers

Helped develop humanistic psychology and focused on personal growth.

Abraham Maslow

Developed ideas about human needs and self-actualization.

Ivan Pavlov

Studied classical conditioning and learning through associations.

Jean Piaget

Studied cognitive development in children.

Dorothea Dix

Advocated for humane treatment of people with psychological disorders.