Introduction to Psychology Lecture Notes - Chapter 1

Flashcards covering the history, major perspectives, research methods, and ethics of psychology based on the lecture notes.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Overt

Behavior that can be directly observed.

Covert

Mental processes that cannot be directly observed, such as thoughts, feelings, and motives.

Nature vs. Nurture

The controversy concerning the relative importance of heredity versus environment in determining behavior.

Wilhelm Wundt

Known as the Father of Psychology; established the first psychology laboratory in Germany in $1879$.

Consciousness

The state of being aware of external events, a term coined by Wilhelm Wundt.

Objective Introspection

The process of examining and measuring one’s own thoughts and mental activities.

Structuralism

An early perspective in psychology associated with Edward Titchener that focused on the structure or basic elements of the mind.

Functionalism

An early perspective in psychology associated with William James that focuses on how the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and play.

Margaret Floy Washburn

The first female to be awarded a Ph.D. in psychology ($1894$) and author of "The Animal Mind" ($1908$).

Mary Whiton Calkins

Early pioneer in human memory and the psychology of the self who was denied her Ph.D. because she was a woman.

Francis Cecil Sumner

The first African American to earn a Ph.D. in psychology.

Kenneth and Mamie Clark

Researchers who studied the effects of school segregation on African American children.

Inez Beverly Prosser

first African American female to earn a
Ph.D. in psychology

George (Jorge) Sanchez

Studied cultural bias in intelligence tests

Carlos Abizu Miranda

one of the first Hispanics to earn a PhD in clinical psychology

Gestalt Psychology

A perspective founded by Max Wertheimer focusing on perception and sensation, based on the idea that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud's theory and therapy that stresses the importance of the unconscious mind and early childhood experiences.

Behaviorism

The "second force" in psychology, championed by John Watson, which focuses on observable behavior that can be directly seen and measured.

Psychodynamic Perspective

A modern perspective that focuses on the development of a sense of self and the discovery of motivations behind a person's behavior other than sexual motivations.

Humanistic Perspective

A perspective that emphasizes the individual's ability to direct their own life, free will, and self-actualization.

Cognitive Perspective

A modern perspective focusing on memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving, and learning.

Sociocultural Perspective

A perspective that focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture.

Biopsychological Perspective

A perspective that attributes human and animal behavior to biological events occurring in the body, such as genetic influences, hormones, and the activity of the nervous system.

Behavioral Perspective

a psychology approach that focuses entirely on observable actions rather than internal mental states

Evolutionary Perspective

A perspective that focuses on the biological bases for universal mental characteristics that all humans share.

Psychiatrist

A medical doctor ($MD$) who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders, including prescribing medications.

Psychologist

A professional with a academic doctorate ($PhD$) who provides counseling, teaching, and research.

Applied Research

Research aimed at finding practical solutions to actual, real-world problems.

Basic Research

Research focused on adding information to the body of scientific knowledge.

Hypothesis

A tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observation.

Naturalistic Observation

A descriptive method involving watching animals or people in their natural environments to observe realistic behavior.

Case Study

A descriptive technique in which one individual or subject is studied in great detail.

Representative Sample

A randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects.

Correlation Coefficient ($r$)

A mathematical formula-derived number that represents the direction and strength of the relationship between two variables, ranging from $-1.00$ to $+1.00$.

Independent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter.

Dependent Variable

The variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior of the subjects.

Operationalization

The specific description of a variable that allows it to be measured.

Double-blind Study

An experimental procedure in which neither the subjects nor the experimenter know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups.

Law of parsimony

The principle that the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is usually the best.

Your actions come from your ____. The overt comes from your ____.

thoughts, covert

Unconscious mind (test question)

repress threatening urges and desires, trying to surface, creates nervous disorders

Fear is learned when

a neural stimulus is paired with an oversized stimulus like a loud noise.

Seven perspectives in psychology

1. Humanistic

2. bio-psychological

3. cognitive

4. evolutionary

5. behavioral

6. biodynamic

7. sociocultural

First force in psychology

Psychoanalysis

Second force in psychology

Behaviorism