EC Intro to Psych Units 0-1

Psychodynamic perspective

The reason for anything that an individual does has to do with something in their past

Behavioral perspective

All behavior is learned through the environment, heavily based on observable behaviors + actions

Cognitive perspective

Focuses on thinking, or how people use various mental abilities to process info, require knowledge, + understand the world around them

Humanistic perspective

Emphasizes the human capacity for choice + growth; positive outlook on people related to their motivation to fulfill their potential

Sociocultural perspective

Looking at an individual’s behavior based on the influence of the individual’s culture

Biological perspective

Explanations of human behavior solely regarding an individual’s biological processes (genetics, hormones)

Biological perspective key terms

Brain, hormones, nervous system, neurotransmitters

Humanistic perspective key terms

Relationships, sympathy, influence, unconditional love

Behavioral perspective key terms

Actions, observations, procedures, consequences, rewards/punishments

Cognitive perspective key terms

Language, memory, thought processes, decision-making, knowledge

Sociocultural perspective key terms

Social media, education, community, society, influence of culture

Psychodynamic perspective key terms

Past/childhood past, unconscious, Freudian slips, hidden desires, free association

Behavior

Any directly observable thing you do

Mental processes

Individual thoughts, processes, feelings; cannot be directly observed

Cognition

Mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, storing, + using info (memory, learning)

Metacognition

Thinking about our thinking

Application

Helps us evaluate how we solve problems

Concepts

Mental groupings of similar things (to organize the world around us)

Prototype

The most typical example; helps us quickly categorize + understand the world)

Schema

A mental framework that helps you organize + interpret information

Assimilation

Used when new information fits into your schema

Accommodation

When new information forces you to change your schema

Algorithms

Step-by-step procedures that guarantee a solution (following an exact recipe; same results every time)

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that save time but don’t always have the right answer

Representativeness heuristic

Judging how likely something is based on how well it matches a prototype (glasses to librarian than football player)

Availability heuristic

Judging the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind; helpful shortcuts but leads to mistakes (thinking plane crashes are common after seeing one on the news)

Priming

Exposure to one thing influences your response to another (“happy” = more generous)

Framing

How information is worded affects choices (90% lean vs. 10% fat)

Mental set

Using the same solutions that worked before, even if they’re not effective now

Functional fixedness

Seeing objects as having only their usual function (book instead of a doorstop because you would think of a book as something to read)

Phonemes

The smallest unit of sound in a language

Morphemes

The smallest unit of meaning in a language

Semantics

The study of meaning in a language

Behaviorism

The theory that human or animal psychology can be objectively studied through observable actions (behaviors)

Ivan Pavlov

Russian psychologist who studied dogs, “Classical Conditioning”

Edward Thorndike

American psychologist - Operant Conditioning “Law of Effect”

B.F. Skinner

American psychologist - Operant Conditioning “Skinner Box”

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning in which an animal/human learns to associate two stimuli with each other (can involve biological + emotional responses)

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

Naturally + automatically triggers a response

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

The unlearned, natural response

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

No response

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Formerly the NS

Conditioned Response (CR)

The learned response

Stimulus

Any event/situation that evokes a response

Extinction

When the occurrences of a conditioned response decrease or disappear