PYSCH WK1

Biological Perspective

how the brain, nervous system, and genetics influence behavior

Behavioral Perspective

how we learn through rewards, punishments, and associations

Cognitive Perspective

how our thoughts, beliefs, and decision-making shape behavior

Psychodynamic Perspective

how unconscious drives and early experiences affect us

Humanistic Perspective

the importance of self-growth, choice, and personal meaning

Sociocultural Perspective

how culture, society, and social groups influence us

Evolutionary Perspective

how behavior may have developed through natural selection

Psychology

scientific study of the mind and behavior.

empirical method

method for acquiring knowledge based on observation, including experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities

introspection

process by which someone examines their own conscious experience in an attempt to break it into its component parts

structuralism

focus was on the contents of mental processes rather than their function

functionalism

psychology’s purpose was to study the function of behavior in the world

on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment.

Psychoanalytic theory

focuses on the role of a person’s unconscious, as well as early childhood experiences, and

Gestalt psychology

deals with the fact that although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how those parts relate to each other as a whole is often what the individual responds to in perception.

Considering the human individual as a whole rather than as a sum of individually measured parts

behaviorism

approach of observing and controlling behavior

Humanism

a perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans.

feminist psychology

attempted to be free of the influence of male cultural biases on our knowledge of the psychology of women.

include re-evaluating and discovering the contributions of women to the history of psychology, studying psychological gender differences, and questioning the male bias present across the practice of the scientific approach to knowledge.

Multicultural And Cross-Cultural Psychology

Multicultural psychologists develop theories and conduct research with diverse populations, typically within one country. Cross-cultural psychologists compare populations across countries, such as participants from the United States compared to participants from China.

WEIRD

western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic

American Psychological Association

professional organization representing psychologists in the United States.

biopsychology

explores how our biology influences our behavior.
understand how the structure and function of the nervous system is related to behavior

cognitive psychology

focuses on studying cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to our experiences and our actions.

Developmental psychology

scientific study of development across a lifespan

Personality psychology

focuses on patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique.

the biopsychosocial model

by the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

Sport and Exercise Psychology

study the psychological aspects of sport performance, including motivation and performance anxiety, and the effects of sport on mental and emotional wellbeing.

Clinical Psychology

focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior.

Counseling psychology

focuses on emotional, social, vocational, and health-related outcomes in individuals who are considered psychologically healthy.

Forensic psychology

that deals with questions of psychology as they arise in the context of the justice system

assess a person’s competency to stand trial, assess the state of mind of a defendant, act as consultants on child custody cases, consult on sentencing and treatment recommendations, and advise on issues such as eyewitness testimony and children’s testimony

deductive reasoning

ideas are tested in the real world;

inductive reasoning

, eal-world observations lead to new ideas

called naturalistic observation

observing behavior in its natural setting.

structured observation

people are observed while engaging in set, specific tasks.

observer bias

people who act as observers are closely involved in the research project and may unconsciously skew their observations to fit their research goals or expectations.

inter-rater reliability

a measure of reliability that assesses the consistency of observations by different observers.

Surveys

ists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally

sample

subset of individuals selected from a population which is the overall group of individuals that the researchers are interested in.

archival research

use existing records to answer various research questions.

Longitudinal research

research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time.

cross-sectional research

compares multiple segments of the population at the same time.

Illusory correlations

occur when people believe that relationships exist between two things when no such relationship exists.

confirmation bias

ignoring evidence that would tell us our hunch is false