Introductory Psychology: Introduction and Historical Perspectives

This set covers the foundational concepts of psychology, the scientific method, historical schools of thought (such as structuralism and behaviorism), and contemporary specialized fields.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes, which includes the application of the scientific method.

Behavior

Anything that an organism does, including both human and nonhuman animal activities.

Mental Processes

Internal experiences such as thoughts, feelings, motives, and perceptions, which are underlined by brain activity.

Scientific Method

A systematic, cumulative process consisting of observation, developing a research question, reviewing literature, generating a hypothesis, experimenting, and drawing conclusions.

Hypothesis

A working statement and very specific prediction about what will happen that must be testable in nature.

Theory

An idea that combines different observations and facts to make future predictions about how things fit together.

Skepticism

An element of scientific thinking where one avoids taking findings at face value and instead examines assumptions, sources, biases, and evidence.

Empiricism

The founding principle of science stating that the world can be understood through observation using the five senses to collect data.

Humility

An openness to new ideas and a willingness to be comfortable with being wrong when faced with contradictory evidence.

Aristotle

A Greek philosopher and early thinker who asked questions about why we behave as we do and sought to locate the soul within the body.

Four Humors

A rudimentary physiological theory by Hippocrates and Galen suggesting temperament is determined by proportions of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.

Structuralism

A school of thought interested in identifying the structures of the mind and consciousness, often compared to the anatomy of psychology.

Wilhelm Wundt

Considered the founding father of psychology as a science; he established the first experimental laboratory in $1879$ at the University of Leipzig.

Introspection

A formal process used by structuralists where trained individuals look within to examine and report their own conscious experiences.

Functionalism

A perspective, compared to physiology, which focuses on how mental processes help organisms adapt, survive, and flourish in their environment.

William James

The first American psychologist and founder of functionalism who was heavily influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Psychoanalytic Theory

A theory founded by Sigmund Freud focusing on how unconscious drives and childhood experiences influence behavior and mental health.

Gestalt Psychology

A German school of psychology based on the principle that the whole of an experience is bigger than the sum of its individual parts.

Behaviorism

A movement that focuses exclusively on objective, observable behavior and external environmental causes like reinforcement and punishment rather than internal mental processes.

Ivan Pavlov

A researcher known for formally describing classical conditioning through his studies involving dogs and bells.

B. F. Skinner

A behaviorist who formally described operant conditioning and how behavior is influenced by its consequences using pigeons and rats.

Humanism

A psychological perspective viewing people as inherently good with free will, focusing on personal growth and potential.

Abraham Maslow

A leader in humanism who developed the hierarchy of needs, asserting that basic needs like food and shelter must be met before higher-level needs like self-esteem.

Carl Rogers

A humanist who developed client-centered therapy and introduced the principle of unconditional positive regard.

Unconditional Positive Regard

A therapeutic principle of accepting a client no matter what to establish rapport and help them resolve issues without feeling judged.

Cognitive Revolution

A reemergence of focus on mental processes in the $1950\text{s}$ influenced by linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science.

Noam Chomsky

An influential linguist who argued that studying internal mental and linguistic processes is necessary to understand behavior.

WEIRD Societies

An acronym for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies, which represent a common bias in psychological research samples.

Biopsychosocial Approach

A modern perspective that integrates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis to understand behavior.

Evolutionary Psychology

A modern branch of functionalism interested in the survival value and evolutionary purpose of behaviors and mental processes.

Industrial-Organizational (IO) Psychology

The application of psychological principles to the workplace to increase productivity and improve team dynamics.

Forensic Psychology

The application of psychology to the justice system, including trial competency, sentencing suggestions, and the study of eyewitness testimony.