1879, when Wundt began studying the building blocks of the mind
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Structuralism
Approach associated with Wundt that used introspection: describing what you’re experiencing
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Functionalism
Idea that mental processes were useful as functional activities to living creatures in their attempt to maintain and adapt themselves to the world of nature, founded by William James
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Father of American psychology
William James Laboratory: 1879
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Gestalt psychology
Approach to psychology that focuses on the organization of perception and thinking in a whole sense rather than elements of perception, founded by Herman Ebbinghaus and Max Wertheimer
views behavior from perspective of biological functioning
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Psychodynamic
believes behavior is motivated by inner unconscious forces over which a person has little control
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Behavioral
focuses on observable behavior based on environment
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Cognitive
examines how people understand and think about the world
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Humanistic
contends that people can control their behavior and that they naturally try to reach their full potential
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Scientific method
approach through which psychologists systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest
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4 parts of Scientific Method
-Identify questions of interest -Formulate an explanation -Carry out research -Communicate the findings
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5 types of descriptive research
-Archival research -Naturalistic observation -Survey research -Case study -Correlational research
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Experimental research
Investigation of the relationship between two or more variables by producing a change in one variable in a situation and observing the effects on the second variable
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Control group
Group participating in an experiment that receives no treatment
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Importance of experiments to be replicated
So that confidence can be increased in prior findings
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Behavioral neuroscientist/bio-psychologist
Psychologists who specialize in considering the ways in which biological structures and functions of the body affect behavior
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Neurons
Nerve cells that are basic elements of the nervous system and control behavior
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Mirror neurons
Type of brain cell that responds equally when we perform an action and when we witness someone else perform the same action. Important for reading actions, intentions and emotions of other people
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Synapse
Space between two neurons where the axon of a sending neuron communicates with the dendrites of a receiving neuron by using chemical messages
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Neurotransmitters
Chemicals that carry messages across the synapse to the dendrite (and sometimes the cell body) of a receiver neuron
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2 types of chemicals delivered by neurotransmitters
Excitatory and Inhibitory messages
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Excitatory message
makes it more likely that a receiving neuron will fire and an action potential will travel down its axon
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Inhibitory message
prevents or decreases the likelihood that a receiving neuron will fire