AP Psych 1

Psychology

the SCIENTIFIC study of behavior and mental processes AND how they are affected by an organism's physical state, mental state, and external environment

Empirical Methods

methods derived from careful observation, experimentation, or measurement (Scholars of the past did NOT use these)

Psychological Perspective (Umbrella term)

Different frames of reference/approach to understand psychology

Pschodynamic Perspective

the approach based on the view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces over which the individual has little control (sexual/aggression) (Sigmund Freud)

Behavioral Perspective

An approach to the study of psychology that focuses on the role of learning in explaining observable behavior.

Humanistic Perspective

the psychological view that assumes the existence of the self and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and the freedom to make choices

Sociocultural Persepctive

Behavior influenced by social class, nationality, and cultural norms.

Evolutionary Perspective

the theory that seeks to identify behavior that is a result of our genetic inheritance from our ancestors

Biological Perspective

the psychological perspective that emphasizes the influence of biology on behavior

Cognitive

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Psychic Determinism

The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control. (Sexual and aggresive-Freud)

Hysteria

a temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of emotionally upsetting experiences----typically associted with woman in back days

Shellshock

Post Tramatic Stress Disorder (PTS), someone experiences a tramatic event and then represses it. Because of this their distress takes on physical symptoms (Basically hysteria but in men)

Unconscious mind

Freud's term for the part of our mind that we cannot become aware of

"Iceberg" Model

Relate to Freud's three aspects of personality

Id - all below surface (Irrational, illogical, impulsive)

Superego - half below, half above (Moralistic, judgemental, perfectionist)

Ego - half below, half above (Rational, planful, meditating)

Id, Ego, Superego (Freud)

according to Freud, the three interrelated parts that make up the mind: the id consists of basic inborn drives that are the source of instinctive psychic energy; the ego is the realistic aspect of the mind that balances the forces of the id and the superego; the superego has two components (the conscience and the ego-ideal) and represents the internalized demands of society

Eugenics

the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics

Tabula Rasa

John Locke's concept of the mind as a blank sheet ultimately bombarded by sense impressions that, aided by human reasoning, formulate ideas.

Nature VS Nurture

Do genes (nature) or environmental factors (nurture) contribute more to a person's being?

Cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Free will vs determinism

Behavior is caused by a person's independant decisions, not external determinants VS everything has a cause, or determinant, in the observable world

Self-actualizing tendency

The desire to fulfill one's own potential and achieve the highest level of "human beingness" we can

Psychiatry

branch of medicine dealing with the mind and its disorders

Culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

Norm

an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. Norms prescribe "proper" behavior.