Chapter 1: Psychology: The Evolution of a Science

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, and perspectives from Chapter 1: Psychology: The Evolution of a Science.

Psychology

The scientific study of mind and behavior.

Mind

A set of private events that happen inside a person — the thoughts and feelings that we experience at every moment but that no one else can see.

Behavior

A set of public events — the things we say and do that can potentially be observed by others.

Philosophical empiricism

The view, advocated by John Locke, that all knowledge is acquired through experience.

Philosophical nativism

The view, advocated by Immanuel Kant, that some knowledge is innate rather than acquired.

Wilhelm Wundt

Credited as the founder of psychology; taught the world's first course in scientific psychology at the University of Heidelberg in 1867, published the first textbook in 1874, and opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in 1879.

Structuralism

An approach to psychology that attempts to isolate and analyze the mind’s basic elements, associated with Wilhelm Wundt.

Functionalism

An approach to psychology that emphasized the adaptive significance of mental processes, conceptualized by William James who viewed consciousness as a stream.

Consciousness

A person's subjective experience of the world and the mind (its combinations, relations, and facts).

Introspection

The analysis of subjective experience by trained observers, utilized primarily by structuralists.

Natural selection

The process described by Charles Darwin by which the specific attributes that promote an organism’s survival and reproduction become more prevalent in the population over time.

Hysteria

A now obsolete term that refers to a loss of function that has no obvious physical origin; treated with hypnosis by Jean-Martin Charcot and used by Sigmund Freud to develop his theory.

The unconscious

The part of the mind that contains information of which people are not aware, introduced by Sigmund Freud.

Psychoanalysis

A therapy developed by Sigmund Freud that aims to give people insight into the contents of their unconscious minds.

Gestalt psychology

An approach to psychology founded by Max Wertheimer that emphasized the way in which the mind creates perceptual experience.

Behaviorism

An approach to psychology founded by John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and B. F. Skinner that restricts scientific inquiry to observable behavior and stimulus-response relationships.

Cognitive psychology

The study of human information processing.

Evolutionary psychology

The study of the ways in which the human mind has been shaped by natural selection, built on Charles Darwin's work and utilized by John Garcia.

Social psychology

The study of the causes and consequences of sociality, associated with Kurt Lewin.

Cultural psychology

The study of how culture influences mental life.

Cognitive neuroscience

The study of the relationship between the brain and the mind (especially in humans).

Behavioral neuroscience

The study of the relationship between the brain and behavior (especially in nonhuman animals).

Mary Whiton Calkins

Scholar who studied at Harvard with William James, wrote four books, published over 100 papers, and became the first female president of the American Psychological Association (1863–1930).

Psychiatrist

A medical doctor who has earned an MD degree and can prescribe medications to treat mental health problems.

Psychologist

A professional who has earned an advanced degree in psychology (such as a PhD, Master's degree, or PsyD) focusing on research, teaching, assessment, or therapy, and who generally cannot prescribe medication in most states.