Psychology Chapter 1 Saundra Ciccarelli 6th edition

What is psychology?

a scientific study of behavior and mental processes

psychology began as a science of its own in Germany with the establishment of Wundt's psychological laboratory

1879

a student of Wundt, brought psychology in the form of structuralism to America. Structuralism died out in the early 20th century.

Titchener

Functionalism (William James)

influenced the modern fields of educational psychology, evolutionary psychology, an industrial/organizational psychology

psychology's early pioneers

many were minorities such as Hispanic and African American who, despite prejudice and racism, made important contributions to the study of human animal behavior

Max Wertheimer

Gestalt psychologist who argued against dividing human thought and behavior into discrete structures

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

founder of psychoanalysis, a controversial theory about the workings of the unconscious mind

Ivan Pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

John B. Watson

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat, which demonstrated that phobia could be learned by conditioning

Rosalie Rayner

worked with Watson and little Albert to study behaviorism

Mary Cover Jones (1924)

Counter-conditioning,

Helped Little Albert a 3-year-old unlearn his fear of rabbits (extinction of fear response)

Modern Freudians

Anna Freud, Carl Gustav Jung, Alfred Adler

psychodynamic perspective

the approach based on the view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces over which the individual has little control

Humanistic Perspective

the "third force" in psychology that focuses on those aspects of personality that make people uniquely human, such as subjective feelings and freedom of choice

Abraham Maslow

founder of humanism who created the hierarchy of needs and studied self-actualization

Carl Rogers

Developed "client-centered" therapy; Humanistic Perspective

Cognitive Psychology

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

Biopsychology Perspective

the study of the biological basis of behavior, such as hormones, hereditary, chemicals in the nervous system, structural deficits in the brain, and the effects of physical diseases

evolutionary perspective

to look at the way the mind works and why it works as it does.· Behavior is seen as having an adaptive or survival value.

Psychologists

professionals with doctoral degrees who diagnose and treat emotional and behavioral disorders

Areas of specialization in psychology

clinical, counseling, developmental, social, and personality

Psychiatrists

medical doctors licensed to prescribe drugs and otherwise treat physical causes of psychological disorders

Psychiatric social workers

mental health workers with a degree in social work; help patients and families deal with problems in their environment such as poverty, overcrowding, stress, and drug abuse, mental disorders

licensed marriage and family therapist

treats individuals or families who want relationship counseling. treatment is often brief and focused on finding solutions to specific relational problems

Basic criteria for critical thinking

1. There are very few "truths" that do not need to be subjected to testing.

2. All evidence is not equal in quality.

3. Just because someone is considered to be an authority or to have a lot of expertise does not make everything that person claims automatically true.

4. Critical thinking requires an open mind.

The five steps of the scientific method are

observing, predicting, testing, interpreting, communicating

Naturalistic observations

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Laboratory observations

Observation in which individuals or groups are observed in an arranged set-up, rather than the subjects normal surroundings.

Case studies

studies that involve extensive, in-depth interviews with a particular individual or small group of individuals

Correlation

A measure of the relationship between two variables

positive correlations

when one variable is high, the other variable tends to be high as well

negative correlations

as one variable increases, the other decreases

steps involved in designing an experiment

Selection, the variables, the groups, the importance of randomization

single-blind studies

studies in which participants do not know the experimental condition (group) to which they have been assigned

double blind studies

studies in which neither the participants nor the researchers administering the treatment know who has been assigned to the experimental or control group

Ethical Guidelines for Research

informed consent, justification when deception is used, the right of participants to withdraw at any time, protection of participants from physical or psychological harm, confidentiality, and debriefing of participants at the end of the study

Animals in Psychological Research

easier to control than humans, they have simpler behavior, and they can be used in ways that are not permissible with humans

evolutionary psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

William James (1842-1910)

First American psychologist and author of the first psychology textbook. Began functionalism

Forensic psychology

field that blends psychology, law, and criminal justice

Edward Titchener (1867-1927)

Studied under Wundt; focused on identifying basic elements of the mind, Began structuralism

Ego

the conscious mind which seeks to find objects or ways to satisfy the needs and wants of the human Organism

Superego (Freud)

Represents the conscience, holds rules, values for socially acceptable behavior

Psychoanalysis

A method of studying how the mind works and treating mental disorders