Psychology Domain and Fields

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1960s,

When did (classical conditioning) a new branch of psychology emerged that focused on learned behaviors in response to stimuli and situations?

Ivan Pavlov

Who discovered that a dog’s automatic responses to stimuli (salivation in anticipation of food) could be ‘learned’ or associated with a previously neutral stimulus (i.e., a bell)

John B. Watson

Who furthered Classical Conditioning by experimenting on the behavioral responses of other animals and children to various stimuli?

Classical conditioning

animals and children learned to anticipate and associate stimuli with events.

Behaviorists

They [incorrectly] asserted that this pattern could explain ALL human behavior, and provide a link between perceptions and sensations.

BF Skinnner

Behaviorism was furthered by the conditioning experiments of___ and he believed free will DID NOT exist, and that all behavior was learned.

Rewards & punishments

Skinner was famous for training animal and human behaviors through controlled stimuli and their consequences, what is this?

Ex: Rats were trained to stand or press levers based on rewards or punishments; the same concepts were applied to humans.

Operant conditioning, positive and negative

reinforcement, positive and negative punishment to alter behavior.

Skinner used___ to alter behavior. What did he use, and what is it called?

Carl Rogers

believed that Behaviorists

and Freudians dismissed or ignored the innate needs of human beings

Humanistic psychologists

developed theories and ideas based on human emotion and basic needs, such as love and a sense of belonging; acceptance and introspection could alleviate many of the issues that plagued patients with emotional and social deficits.

Cognitive psychologists

focused more on the mental processes of the brain; focuses on the brain’s thinking process—on internal problem solving, knowledge, intelligence, perception, thinking, and memory.

Cognitive Revolution

(Cognitive psychologists) how we process and retain information as a part of the___

Functionalists

made a connection between consciousness and evolutionary adaptation, but failed to explain the mechanisms of the brain and its activity.

Freudian

psychology astutely asserted there are processes in our minds that operate unconsciously, but failed to explain simpler behavior and rewards.

Behaviorists

made excellent discoveries about observation and reinforcement, but failed to explain innate behaviors (i.e., salmon migration, rooting, etc.)

Humanistic

Psychology brought into frame an understanding of the importance and drive of love and acceptance, but failed to explain internal brain activity.

Cognitive neuroscience

Pursues the functions and thought processes of the brain, but its explanations and therapies can seem robotic or hollow to some.

Biological

how brain activity and circuits affect our behaviors and emotions, and how these emotions and moods can affect behaviors (i.e., you act differently when happy)

Clinical:

assess and treat mental, emotional, and behavior disorders

Example: Dorothea Dix opened up the first mental asylums)

Cognitive:

study of all the mental abilities associated with knowing, remembering,

thinking, and communicating (often analyzes brain activity with equipment)

Counseling:

professionals who help people to cope with crises, help people adjust to life transitions, or make lifestyle changes (i.e., divorce, marriage, loss)

Developmental:

study of changing abilities from womb to tomb (how we progress from infancy, to childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood mentally and behaviorally)

Example: Jean Piaget (renowned developmental psychologist)

Educational:

the methods and influences on teaching and learning

Experimental:

a diverse group of scientists who study behavior via experimental and observation in humans and animals; can be linked to any field or domain— it is about applying valid confirmations to psychological findings.

Positive

seeks to encourage acceptance of one's past excitement and optimism about one's future experiences.

Industrial-organizational

the use of psychological concepts and methods to select employees, boost morale, design products, and better business functioning.

Personality:

investigating and logging persistent traits and consistent behaviors of people across time (i.e., temperament, interests, etc.)

Psychometric:

a domain that can be applied to any domain or field as it is a form of measurement for the abilities, attitudes, and traits of human beings

Example: intelligence and personality tests

Psychodynamic:

the study of how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and use of that info to treat psychological disorders (i.e., modern Freudians)

Social:

how expressions of emotions vary across cultural and situational contexts (i.e., cataloging and explaining how or why people act in different social and cultural situations)

Contemporary psychology

has shifted to studying the interactions of physiological (biological) and cognitive processes.

Evolutionary:

some behaviors and predispositions are inherited

Biopsychosocial:

the interactions of genes, mood and personality, and social factors (culture, family, socioeconomic status) all interact to determine behavior.

Cognitive:

brain and its mental processes (memory, learning, etc.) impact mood and perception

Gestalt principles:

our drive to group things into larger parts, and see in sequence or as a whole.