Psychology Chapters 1 and 2

Psychology

Scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Behavior

Observable actions

Mental Processes

Thoughts, feelings, memories, perceptions

Four goals of psychology

Describe

Explain

Predict

Change/control

Structuralism

Basic elements of conscious experience

Introspection

Examining and reporting one’s conscious experiences

Functionalism

Purpose or function of behavior and mental processes

Functionalism was influences by…

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution

Evolutionary

Behavior and mental processes can be understood partly through evolution and natural selection

Difference between functionalism and Evolutionary

Functionalism: what purpose does a behavior serve

Evolutionary: how might that characteristic have developed through evolution

Behavioral Perspective

focuses on observable behavior and learning

Psychodynamic Perspective

Unconscious influences associated with Sigmund Freud

Humanistic Perspective

Free will, personal growth and humans potential

Cognitive Perspective

Focuses on mental processes

Includes: thinking, memory attention, perception

Biological Perspective

How biological processes affect behavior and mental processes

Sociocultural Perspective

How society and culture influence behavior

Branches of psychology

Clinical

Counseling

Developmental

Educational

Personality

Industrial-Organizational

Health

Biological/ Neuroscience

Scientific Method

Question-hypothesis-research-data-conclusions

Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction

Theory

A broad explanation supported by a large body of evidence

Critical thinking

evaluating claims using evidence rather automatically accepting them

Psuedoscience

claims that appear scientific but lack adequate scientific evidence or proper methodology

Research methods

Naturalistic observation

case study

survey

correlation

experiments

random assignment

random sampling

Psychology

Behavior and mental processes

Structuralism

what is the mind made of?

functionalism

What is behavior/mental activity for?

evolutionary

how did it help survival/reproduction?

behaviorism

how is behavior learned?

psychodynamic

what unconscious processes influence behavior?

Humanistic

how can people grow?

cognitive

How do we think?

biological

how does the brain/body affect behavior?

sociocultural

How does society/culture affect behavior?

does correlation prove causation?

no

What variable does the researcher manipulate?

independent

What variable does the researcher measure?

dependent

Random sampling or random assignment decides who participates?

Random sampling

Random sampling or random assignment determines which experimental group someone enters?

Random assignment

Structuralism or functionalism asks what purpose behavior serves?

functionalism

which perspective focuses on unconscious processes?

psychodynamic

which perspective focuses on thinking and memory?

cognitive