Module 1: The History and Scope of Psychology

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, historical schools of thought, and core perspectives of Module 1: The History and Scope of Psychology.

Empirical approach

An evidence-based method of inquiry that draws on direct observation and experimentation to test whether predictions are confirmed by data.

Critical thinking

Smart thinking that examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions rather than blindly accepting claims.

Testing effect

The finding that memory and retention of information are significantly enhanced by self-testing and retrieving information rather than merely rereading it.

Structuralism

An early school of thought promoted by Edward Bradford Titchener that used self-reflective introspection to classify and understand the basic elements of the mind's structure.

Introspection

A self-reflective technique of looking inward to report immediate sensations, images, and feelings in response to specific stimuli.

Functionalism

An early school of thought promoted by William James and influenced by Charles Darwin that explored how mental and behavioral processes function to enable an organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Behaviorism

The view championed by John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner that psychology should be an objective science rooted in observation, studying observable behavior rather than unseen mental processes.

Freudian psychology

A psychoanalytic perspective originated by Sigmund Freud that emphasized how unconscious thoughts and childhood experiences affect human behavior.

Humanistic psychology

A historically significant perspective led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow that rejected behaviorism and Freudian psychology, focusing on human growth potential, needs for love and acceptance, and environments that nurture personal growth.

Cognitive psychology

The scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating, including how thinking and emotion interact in disorders.

Cognitive neuroscience

An interdisciplinary field combining cognitive psychology (mind science) and neuroscience (brain science) to study the brain activity underlying mental processes.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Behavior

Any action of an organism that can be observed and recorded, such as yelling, smiling, blinking, sweating, or talking.

Mental processes

The internal, subjective experiences inferred from behavior, including sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings.

Nature-nurture issue

The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes (nature) and experience (nurture) make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.

Natural selection

The evolutionary principle proposed by Charles Darwin stating that nature selects inherited traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

Evolutionary psychology

The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection to examine how humans are alike due to shared biology and evolutionary history.

Behavior genetics

The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in behavior and psychological traits.

Culture

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

Positive psychology

The scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive.

Biopsychosocial approach

An integrated perspective that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis to explain any given behavior or mental process.

Levels of analysis

The differing complementary views, ranging from biological to psychological to social-cultural, used for analyzing any given phenomenon.

Basic research

Pure science aimed at increasing the scientific knowledge base of psychology.

Applied research

Scientific study that aims to solve practical, real-world problems.

Counseling psychology

A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or relationships) and helps them achieve greater personal and social functioning.

Clinical psychology

A branch of psychology that focuses on assessing and treating individuals with mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

Psychiatry

A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, practiced by physicians who are licensed to provide medical treatments such as prescription drugs in addition to psychotherapy.

Community psychology

A branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and works to create healthy social and physical environments for all individuals.