structuralism
early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind
introduced by Edward Bradford Titchener
Gestalt psychology
school of thought that emphasizes the whole is different than the sum of its parts (you can’t deduce attributes of the whole from analyzing the parts in isolation)
functionalism
school of psychology hat focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function (how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish)
behaviorism
the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes
humanistic psychology
rebelled against determinism of Freudian psychology and behaviorism
emphasized an individual’s potential for personal growth
cognitive neuroscience
interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked w/ cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)
psychology
the science of behavior and mental processes
nature-nurture issue
longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits
natural selection
the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
levels of analysis
differing views (biological, psychological, social-cultural) for analyzing a given phenomenon
biopsychosocial approach
an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis
psychology’s current perspectives
basic research
pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
applied research
scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
counseling psychology
a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage)
clinical psychology
a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
psychiatry
a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders, practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical treatments
SQ3R
study method
Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review
Plato
believed in innate ideas, suggested that the brain is the seat of mental processes
Aristotle
denied the existence of innate ideas, suggested that the heart is the seat of mental processes
Renee Descartes
French philosopher who proposed mind-body interaction and believed in the concept of innate ideas
John Locke
British philosopher who rejected Descartes’ notion of innate ideas and insisted the mind at birth is a “blank slate” (tabula rasa)
Charles Darwin
scientist
theory of evolution, natural selection
Dorothea Dix
activist who played a role in the founding/expansion of hospitals for the treatment of the mentally ill
Wilhelm Wundt
established the first psychology laboratory
Edward Titchener
used introspection to search for the mind’s structural elements
William James
functionalist
invited Mary Calkins into his graduate seminar
Edward Thorndike
puzzle boxes + cats
law of effect
Jean Piaget
psychologist who studied child development
Mary Whiton Calkins
first woman elected to membership in the APA
Margaret Floy Washburn
first woman to get a Ph.D. in psychlogy
hindsight bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
confirmation bias
the tendency to look for information that confirms or strengthens beliefs, rather than evidence to the contrary
critical thinking
thinking that examines assumptions, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
culture
the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
theory
an explanation that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
hypothesis
a testable prediction
operational definition
a clear, measurable, definition of a variable
replication
repeating the essence of a research study to see whether he basic findings extend to other participants and circumstances
case study
and observation technique in which one person is studied in depth
survey
a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group
random sample
a sample that fairly represents a population bc each member has an equal chance of inclusion
naturalistic observation
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
correlation
the interdependence between variable quantities
correlation coefficient
a statistical index of the relationship btwn two things (from -1 to +1)
illusory correlation
the perception of a relationship where none exists
random assignment
assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences bwtn those assigned to different groups
comparing research methods
measures of variation
mode - most frequently occurring score in a distribution
mean - the arithmetic average of a distribution
median - the middle score in a distribution
range - the difference btwn the highest and lowest scores
standard deviation - a measure of how much scores vary around the mean
normal curve
skewed curve
cognition
the mental activities associated w/ thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
statistical significance
a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance
concept
mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
prototype
a mental image or best example of a catagory
algorithm
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
heuristic
a strategy that allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently, usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms
insight
a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem
mental set
a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often one that has been successful in the past
functional fixedness
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions
representative heuristic
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes
availability heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory
framing
the was an issue is raised
language
our spoken, written, or signed words, and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
phoneme
the smallest distinctive sound unit
cats has 4 (c, a, t, s)
morpheme
the smallest unit that carries meaning
cats has 2 (cat, s)
grammer
system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others
semantics
the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences
syntax
the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences
ex. red ball vs. pelota roja
language development
aphasia
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding)
linguistic determinism
Benjamin Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way we think
universal grammar
theory by Noam Chomsky
human brain contains a predefined mechanism that is the basis for the acquisition of all language.
Wolfgang Kohler
studied chimpanzee problem solving
insight
Beatrix and Allen Gardner
taught ASL to Washoe the chimpanzee
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
known for her work w bonobos Kanzi and Panbanisha, used keyboards to communicate
Neuron
nerve cell, building block of the nervous system
sensory neurons (afferent)
carry incoming information from sensory receptors to brain and spinal cord
motor neurons (efferent)
carry outgoing information from brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands
interneurons
only in brain and spinal cord, communicate internally between sensory inputs and motor outputs
diagram of a neuron
dendrites
receive information and conduct it towards cell body
soma (cell body)
contains nucleus
nucleus
has genetic material
axon
transfers electrochemical messages
myelin sheath
layer of fat that speeds up transmission
node of ranvier
gaps in myelin sheath that sped up transmission
schwann cell
produce myelin sheath
axon terminal (synaptic knobs, etc.)
very end of axon
synapse
allow for communication between nerve cells
action potential
neural impulse, brief electrical charge that travels down the axon
resting potential
outside has more positive (sodium) ions, inside has more negative ions
polarized
depolarization
positive Na+ ions enter cell
repolarization
return of + outside, - inside
excitatory signals
push charge above -70mv
inhibitory signals
push charge below -70mv
refractory period
the time in which a nerve cell is unable to fire an action potential (nerve impulse)
threshold
about -55 mv
"all or none" phenomenon
action potential either fires or it doesn't, no middle ground
When action potential reaches knoblike terminals at end of axion, triggers release of...
chemical messages called neurotransmitters