AP Psychology- Psychology’s History and Approches

What 3 basic attitudes helped make modern science possible?

Curiosity, Skepticism, and Humility

Critical Thinking

Thinking that does not blindly except arguments and conclusions. Rather, examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

John Locke formed?

Modern Empiricism

Empiricism

The idea that knowledge comes from experience, in the observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge.

Wilhelm Wundt

Psychology founder, Established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany.

What were the early schools of psychological thought?

Structuralism, functionalism, and behavioralism.

Structuralism

An early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; Used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.

Edward Bradford Titchener

Titchener used introspection to search for the mind, structural elements, a founder of structuralism.

introspection

The process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one’s own psychological processes. Somewhat subjective and unreliable.

Functionalism

An early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function – how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.

William James

A legendary teacher – writer who offered an important 1890 psychology text.

Mary Whiton Calkins

Mentored by William James, became a pioneering memory researcher, and the first woman to be the president of the American psychological association.

Margaret Floy Washburn

The first woman to receive a psychology, PhD, Washburn synthesized animal behavior research.

Behaviorism

The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologist today agree with the fact it should be objective, but not with the fact that it should not reference mental processes.

John B Watson and Rosalie Rayner

Working with Raynor, Watson Championed psychology as the scientific study of behavior. In a controversial study on a baby, he and Raynor showed that fear could be learned.

B. F. Skinner

The leading behaviorist rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior.

Psychoanalytical psychology

Emphasize the ways are unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect our behavior.

Sigmund Freud

The controversial ideas of this famed personality, theorist, and therapist have influenced humanities self understanding.

Humanistic Psychology

Historically significant perspective that emphasized human growth potential.

Who founded humanistic psychology?

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

Cognition

How are mind processes and retains information.

Cognitive Psychology

The study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems.

Cognitive neuroscience

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition.

Psychology

The science of behavior and mental processes.

Ivan Pavlov

Pioneered the study of learning

Jean Piaget

The last centuries, most influential observer of children.

nature-nurture issue

The long-standing controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.

Natural Selection

The principal that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will most likely be passed on to succeeding.

Evolutionary psychology

The study of evolution of a behavior in the mind, using principles of natural selection

Behavior genetics

The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on the behavior of individuals

Charles Darwin

Darwin argued that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies.

Culture

The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people in transmitted from one generation to the next.

Positive psychology

The scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

Biopsychosocial approach

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints

Behavioral psychology

Scientific study of observable behavior and its explanation by principles of learning.

Biological psychology

The scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes

Psychodynamic psychology

A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior and uses that info to treat people with psychological disorders.

Social-culture psychology

The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.

Testing Effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.

SQ3R

Study Method: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review.

Psychometrics

The scientific study of the measurements of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

Basic Research

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Developmental psychology

A branch of psychology, that studies, physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan

educational psychology

The study of How psychology processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning.

personality psychology

The study of individuals’ characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting

Social psychology

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Applied research

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Industrial – organizational psychology

The application of psychology concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior and workplaces.

Human factors psychology

A field of psychology applied within industrial – organizational psychology that explains how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use.

Counseling psychology

A branch of psychology that assist people with problems in living and achieving greater well-being

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 are licensed to provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy.

Community psychology

A branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups.

Dorothea Dix

Led the way to humane treatment of those with psychological disorders.