Introduction to Psychology Concepts and Subfields

Vocabulary flashcards covering foundational psychological theories, key figures, historical paradigms, research methods, and contemporary subfields.

Psychology

The scientific study of the mind and behavior.

Introspection

A process by which someone examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible, referred to by Wilhelm Wundt as internal perception.

Voluntarism

The notion believed by Wilhelm Wundt that people have free will and should know the intentions of a psychological experiment if they are participating.

Structuralism

A perspective developed by Edward Titchener that focused on the contents of mental processes rather than their function.

Functionalism

A perspective established by William James that focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment and function in the world.

Hysteria

An ancient diagnosis for disorders, primarily of women, characterized by physical symptoms and emotional disturbances without an apparent physical cause.

Psychoanalytic Theory

A perspective developed by Sigmund Freud that focuses on the role of a person's unconscious mind and early childhood experiences.

Gestalt Psychology

A perspective emphasizing that although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how those parts relate to each other as a whole is what the individual responds to in perception.

Conditioned Reflex

A form of learning behavior studied by Ivan Pavlov in which a subject produces an unconscious reflex response to a stimulus and is conditioned to produce it to an associated stimulus.

Behaviorism

An approach in psychology focused directly on observing, measuring, and controlling observable behavior rather than studying the mind.

Operant Conditioning Chamber

A chamber developed by B. F. Skinner (also known as a Skinner box) that isolates a subject and uses a behavior indicator like a lever or button to deliver reinforcement or punishment.

Humanism

A perspective within psychology that emphasizes personal control, intentionality, and an innate potential for good in all humans.

Self-Actualization

A process proposed by Abraham Maslow by which individuals achieve their full potential after lower-level basic needs are met.

Client-Centered Therapy

A therapeutic technique developed by Carl Rogers where the patient takes a lead role in the session while the therapist displays unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy.

Unconditional Positive Regard

A key feature of client-centered therapy where the therapist accepts their client for who they are, no matter what they might say.

Cognitive Revolution

A movement during the 1950s that revived interest in the mind as a focus of scientific inquiry through interdisciplinary perspectives including linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science.

WEIRD Societies

An acronym for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies, which have been historically over-studied in psychological research.

Multicultural Psychology

A field of psychology where researchers develop theories and conduct research with diverse populations, typically within one country.

Cross-Cultural Psychology

A field of psychology that compares populations across different countries.

Biopsychology

A subfield of psychology that explores how the structure and function of the nervous system relate to behavior.

Evolutionary Psychology

A subfield seeking to study the ultimate biological and genetic causes of behavior based on adaptation through natural selection.

Sensation and Perception

An area of study focused on both the physiological aspects of sensory systems and the complex psychological experience of sensory information.

Cognitive Psychology

The area of psychology focused on studying cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to human experiences and actions.

Developmental Psychology

The scientific study of physical, cognitive, moral, and social development across a lifespan.

Object Permanence

The understanding, studied by Jean Piaget, that physical things continue to exist even if they are hidden from view.

Personality Traits

Relatively consistent patterns of thought and behavior used to capture and measure individual variations across situations.

Five Factor Model

A quantitative personality trait model identifying five major dimensions: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion.

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how people interact with and relate to others, including topics such as obedience, prejudice, attraction, and interpersonal conflict.

Confederates

Individuals who pretend to be participants in a research study but are actually working for the researcher and follow explicit directions on how to behave.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

A subfield that applies psychological theories, principles, and research findings to workplace, personnel, and organizational settings.

Biopsychosocial Model

An approach in health psychology suggesting that health and illness are determined by an interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

Clinical Psychology

The area of psychology focused on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and problematic patterns of behavior.

Counseling Psychology

A discipline similar to clinical psychology that focuses on emotional, social, vocational, and health-related outcomes in psychologically healthy individuals.

Forensic Psychology

A branch of psychology dealing with questions of psychology as they arise in the context of the legal and justice system.

Hypothesis

A tentative explanation proposed by a researcher to explain a phenomenon that can be tested through observation or experimentation.

Scientific Theory

A broad explanation or group of explanations for an aspect of the natural world that is consistently supported by evidence over time.

Empirical Method

A method for acquiring knowledge based on direct observation and experimentation rather than logical argument or previous authority.

Critical Thinking

The active application of a set of skills to information for the purpose of understanding and evaluating its reliability and usefulness.

Dissertation

A long research paper or bundled set of published articles describing original research conducted as part of doctoral training.

PsyD

A Doctor of Psychology degree that places less emphasis on research-oriented skills and focuses more on the clinical application of psychological principles.