Introduction to Psychology Subfields and Perspectives

Vocabulary flashcards covering the major subfields, historical roots, prominent figures, and theoretical perspectives in psychology.

Behavioral Neuroscience

A subfield of psychology that examines how the brain and the nervous system, as well as other biological processes, determine behavior.

Developmental Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies how people grow and change from the moment of conception through death.

Personality Psychology

A subfield of psychology that focuses on the consistency in people's behavior over time and the traits that differentiate one person from another.

Health Psychology

A field that explores the relationship between psychological factors and physical ailments or disease.

Clinical Psychology

A branch of psychology that deals with the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders.

Counseling Psychology

A subfield of psychology that focuses primarily on educational, social, and career-adjustment problems.

Clinical Neuropsychology

An area that unites neuroscience and clinical psychology, focusing on the origin of psychological disorders in biological factors.

Ph.D.

Doctor of philosophy.

Psy.D.

Doctor of Psychology.

Structuralism

A historical perspective associated with Wilhelm Wundt that focused on uncovering the fundamental mental components of perception, consciousness, thinking, emotions, and other kinds of mental states and activities through introspection.

Functionalism

A historical perspective associated with William James that concentrated on what the mind does and how behavior functions, emphasizing the stream of consciousness.

Gestalt Psychology

An approach to psychology associated with Hermann Ebbinghaus and Max Wertheimer that emphasized how perception is organized, operating on the principle that 'The whole is different from the sum of its parts'.

Margaret Floy Washburn

The first woman to receive a doctorate in psychology in 1894, who also led the APA in 1921.

Karen Horney

A psychologist (1885-1952) who focused on the social and cultural factors behind personality.

Francis Cecil Sumner

The first African American to earn a PhD in Psychology in 1920.

Psychodynamic Perspective

A perspective associated with Sigmund Freud in the 1900's that views behavior as motivated by inner forces and conflicts about which individuals have little awareness or control.

Behavioral Perspective

A perspective associated with John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner that focuses on observable behavior that can be measured objectively.

Cognitive Perspective

A perspective that focuses on how people think, understand, and know about the world, emphasizing information processing.

Humanistic Perspective

A perspective associated with Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow that places emphasis on free will and achieving self-fulfillment.