AP Psych chap. 0 sect. 1-2

History and approaches

Psycholgy

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Wilhelm Wundt

Created the first psych lab in Germany, 1879; helped form Structuralism

Edward Titchener

Student of Wundt; introduced Structuralism

Structuralism; weaknesses

Used introspection to search for basic elements of the mind/conscious; self-reports proved a wee unreliable and varied from person to person/situation to situation

William James

Developed Functionalism

Functionalism

Focus on how mental and behavioral allow the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Nature vs. nurture

Are you the result of how you were raised or your genes?

Natural selection

Genes that are passed down contribute to reproduction and survival

Charles Darwin

formed Natural selction and Nature vs nurture

Psychoanalytical

Influence of unconscious drives (past/ childhood) on people; usually repressed memories

Cognitive

Influence of our thought process; solving problems and mental molds

Behavioral

Influence of learned behaviors on people; conditioned or observed

Humanistic

Influence of self esteem, unconditional love, and self-actualization on people; free will and good in people

Biological

Influence of the brain structure and chemicals within, on people

Socio-cultural

Influence of culture and society on people

Evolution

Influence of survived traits on people; natural selectionB

Biopsychosocial

using several fields to explain human behavior