Unit 1A: Intro to Psychology (definitions)

Modules 1-3

Psychology

D: The science of behavior and mental processes

Critical Thinking

D: Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions; a thinking style that examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Empiricism

D: The idea that what we know comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge.

Wilhelm Wundt

Created an apparatus that measured how long it took for people to press a telegraph key after hearing a ball hit a platform. People responded faster when asked to press the key as soon as the sound occurred than when asked to press the key as soon as they were consciously aware of perceiving the sound. He was seeking to measure “atoms of the mind.” He began the first psychological laboratory.

G. Stanley Hall

Wundt’s American student who established the first formal US psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in 1883.

Edward Titchener

Wundt’s student who joined the Cornell University faculty and introduced structuralism. He used introspection to classify and understand elements of the mind’s structure and engaged people in self-reflective introspection.

Structuralism

D: An early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.

Introspection

D: The process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one’s own psychological processes.

William James

Philosopher-psychologist who observed evolved functions of thoughts and feelings. He studied down-to-earth emotions, memory, willpower, habits, and moment-to-moment streams of consciousness. He taught at Harvard, wrote the first psychology textbook (“Principles of Psychology”), and mentored Mary Calkins.

Functionalism

D: An early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function (how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish).

Mary Calkins

Was taught psychology by William James but was denied her PhD from Harvard despite meeting the requirements. She became a memory researcher and the first female president of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1905.

Margaret Washburn

The first female to officially have a psychology PhD. She wrote “The Animal Mind” and became the second female APA president in 1921.

Ivan Pavlov

A Russian psychologist who pioneered the study of learning.

Dorothea Dix

Advocated on the behalf of the indigent mentally ill and created the first mental asylums in America by lobbying state legislatures and the US Congress.

Mamie Phipps Clark

An African-American social psychologist who focused on the development of self-consciousness in black preschool children.

John Watson and BF Skinner

American psychologists/behaviorists who redefined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior.”

Behaviorism

D: The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Jean Piaget

A Swiss biologist who studied children.

Sigmund Freud

Personality theorist and therapist who created psychoanalytic psychology. He had controversial ideas and influenced humanity’s self-understanding.

Psychoanalysis

D: Emphasizes the way the unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect behavior.

Carl Rodgers and Abraham Maslow

Humanistic psychologists who focused on humans’ potential for personal growth. They found behaviorism and Freudian psychology too limiting.

Humanistic Psychology

D: A historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential.

Cognitive Psychology

D: The study of mental processes, such as those that occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems.

Evolutionary Psychology

D: The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.

Nature Nurture

D: The contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behavior.

Natural Selection

D: The principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

Charles Darwin

A voyager who determined that species variation is due to natural selection. He argued that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies.

Behavioral Genetics

D: The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

Culture

D: The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Biopsychosocial Approach

D: An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints.

Behavioral

D: How we learn observable responses.

Biological

D: How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how our genes and our environment influence our individual differences.

Cognitive

D: How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.

Evolutionary

D: How the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes.

Humanistic

D: How we achieve personal growth and self-fulfillment.

Psychodynamic

D: How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts.

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Social-cultural

D: How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures.

Cognitive Psychologists

Study human thinking, with a focus on perception, language, attention, problem solving, memory, judgment and decision making, forgetting, and intelligence.

Developmental Psychologists

Conduct research on age-related behavioral changes and apply their scientific knowledge to educational, child-care, policy, and related settings.

Educational Psychologists

Investigate psychological processes involved in learning. They study the relationship between learning and the physical and social environments, and they develop strategies for enhancing the learning process.

Experimental Psychologists

Investigate a variety of basic behavioral processes in humans and other animals. They study motivation, learning, perception, and language.

Psychometric and Quantitative Psychologists

Study the math-related methods used to acquire psychological knowledge. They may create or update neurocognitive or personality tests.

Social Psychologists

Explore our interactions with others, specifically how our beliefs, feelings, and behaviors are affected by and influence other people. They study attitudes, aggression, prejudice, interpersonal attraction, group behavior, and leadership.

Forensic Psychologists

Apply psychological principles to legal issues. They conduct research on the interface of law and psychology, help to create public policies related to mental health, help law-enforcement agencies in criminal investigations, or consult on jury selection and deliberation processes.

Environmental Psychologists

Study the interactions of individuals with their natural and built (urban) environments, specifically, how people influence and are affected by these environments.

Health Psychologists

Explore psychology's contribution to promoting health and preventing disease. They may design programs, create health and illness interventions, and improve government policies and healthcare systems.

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychologists

Study the relationship between people and their working environments. They may develop ways to increase productivity, improve personnel selection, or promote job satisfaction in an organizational setting.

Neuropsychologists

Investigate the relationship between neurological processes and behavior. They may evaluate individuals for head injuries, learning and developmental disabilities, central nervous system disorders, and other psychiatric disorders.

Rehabilitation Psychologists

Work with people who have lost optimal functioning after an accident, illness, or other event.

School Psychologists

Are involved in the assessment of and intervention for children in educational settings. They diagnose and treat cognitive, social, and emotional problems that may negatively influence children's learning or overall functioning at school.

Sport Psychologists

Study the psychological factors that influence, and are influenced by, participation in sports and other physical activities. They educate coaches, prepare athletes, research, and teach.

Clinical Psychologists

Promote psychological health in individuals, groups, and organizations. They often provide therapy, but may also engage in research, teaching, assessment, and consultation.

Community Psychologists

Deal with broad problems of mental health in community settings. They promote psychological health by focusing on preventive measures and crisis intervention.

Counseling Psychologists

Help people adjust to life transitions or make life-style changes. They conduct therapy and provide assessments to individuals and groups.