Unit 0 - History and Approaches

Vocabulary

Behavioral Approach

Focuses on observable behaviors and argues behavior is learned through interactions w/ the environment

Biological Approach

Role of genetics, brain structures, hormones ect. in shaping who we are

Biopsychological Approach

Biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors have a hollistical view.

Clinical Psychology

Treats mental + emotional problems

Cognitive approach

focuses on how we think/ encode information

counseling psychology

helps people w/ adjustment problems

developmental psychology

study physical emotional, cognitive, and social changes that occur during the life span.

educational psychology

concerned w/ theoretical issues related to learning, measurement of abilities, and child and adolescent development

empiricism

view that originates in experience

evolutionary approach

we behavave the way we do through inheritance

experimental psychology

research into basic human processes to understand effects of behavior

industrial-organizational psychology

employed by business firms to improve working conditions and improve worker output

functionalism

functions of our thoughts and feelings - brain

gestalt psychology

focused on how we experience the world. “the whole of an experience can be more than the sum of it’s parts”

humanistic approach

individual potential, growth, and self-actualization

nature-nurture approach

whether genetic inheritance or environmental influences shape human traits + behavior

positive psychology

studies strenghts, virtures, and factors that help individuals + communites thrive

psychiatry

medical specialty focused on diagnosing, treating, and preventing disorders.

psychoanalytic/psychodynamic approach

focuses on unconscious mind

psychology

the scientific study of behaviors and mental processes

social-culture psychology

says most of behavior + feelings are dictated by culture

structuralism

uses introspection to explore the sturctual elements of the human mind

Abraham Maslow

said we have hierarchy of needs

B.F. Skinner

Famous for operant conditioning (learning through reinforcements)

Carl Rogers

Revolutionized talk therapy - client centered

Ivan Pavlov

Discovered classical conditioning (associative learning)

Jean Piaget

Discoverd children’s cognitive development occurs in distinct stages

John B. Watson

Can shape infant into anything, behaviorism

Mary Calkins

First woman to study psych under William James

Sigmund Freud

Started psychoanalysis wave of thinking

William Wundt

Father of modern psychology

William James

wrote “The Principles of Psychology” and discussed functionalism