Module 2: History and Perspectives in Psychological Science

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture notes.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes; uses scientific research methods; behavior includes all observable behavior; mental processes include thoughts, feelings, and dreams.

Basic research

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base; research with the explicit purpose of finding new information.

Applied research

The scientific study that aims to solve practical problems; applies what we already know.

Observable behavior

Behaviors that can be seen and measured (e.g., children playing, laughing, turning a page).

Unobservable behavior

Mental processes such as thoughts, emotions, and dreams that cannot be directly observed.

Introspection

describing one's conscious experience; a method used by Wundt.

Wilhelm Wundt

Founder of modern psychology; opened the first psychology laboratory in 1879; known as the father of psychology; used introspection and the scientific method to study consciousness.

Edward Titchener

Founder of structuralism; analyzed the intensity, clarity, and quality of conscious elements; viewed psychology as a descriptive science.

Structuralism

Theory that conscious experience can be understood by analyzing its basic elements and breaking consciousness into smallest parts.

Gestalt psychology

Perspective that emphasizes integrating pieces of information into meaningful wholes; the whole is different from the sum of its parts.

William James

First American psychologist; founder of functionalism; author of the first psychology textbook.

Functionalism

Theory that emphasizes the functions of consciousness and how it helps people adapt to their environment; focuses on function rather than structure.

Sigmund Freud

Founder of psychoanalysis; theory about the unconscious mind and how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior.

Psychoanalysis

Freud’s theory of personality and therapeutic technique that reveals unconscious motives and conflicts.

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist; discovered classical conditioning; learning occurs through associations; studied learning in animals; emphasized observable behavior.

Classical conditioning

Learning through associations between a neutral stimulus and a meaningful stimulus.

John Watson

Founder of behaviorism; argued psychology should study only observable behaviors; emphasized objective, scientific methods (e.g., Little Albert study).

Behaviorism

Theory that psychology should study only observable behaviors, not mental processes; today emphasizes learning through rewards and observation.

B.F. Skinner

Behavioral psychologist who developed operant conditioning and its real-world applications.

Operant conditioning

Learning through consequences (rewards and punishments) that shape behavior.

Carl Rogers

Humanistic psychologist who developed client-centered therapy; emphasized acceptance, genuineness, and empathy.

Abraham Maslow

Humanistic psychologist who proposed the hierarchy of needs, with self-actualization as a top need.

Jean Piaget

Pioneer in developmental psychology; proposed stage theory of cognitive development; studied how thinking develops in children.

G. Stanley Hall

First American to receive a PhD in psychology; opened the first psychology laboratory in the United States; first president of the APA.

Mary Whiton Calkins

First woman to complete the requirements for a Ph.D. in psychology; elected president of the APA in 1905.

Margaret Floy Washburn

First woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychology in the United States.

Francis Cecil Sumner

First African American to receive a Ph.D. in psychology.

Inez Beverly Prosser

First African American woman to earn an Ed.D. in psychology.

Kenneth Clark

Educational psychologist whose research on racial segregation influenced Brown v. Board of Education.

Mamie Phipps Clark

Educational psychologist whose work with segregation influenced Brown v. Board of Education.

Cognitive perspective

School focusing on how people think—how we take in, process, store, and retrieve information.

Biological perspective

School focusing on the physical structures and substances underlying behavior, thought, or emotion (brain chemistry, genetics, glands, etc.).

Social-Cultural perspective

School focusing on how thinking or behavior changes in different situations or due to cultural influences.

Behavioral perspective

Focus on how we learn through rewards, punishments, and observation; behavior explained by interactions with the environment.

Humanistic perspective

Focus on healthy people striving to reach their full potential; motivation by satisfying needs; belief in free will.

Psychodynamic perspective

Focus on how unconscious drives and conflicts affect behavior; modernized form of Freud’s theories.

Behavior genetics

School focusing on how much our genes and environment influence our individual differences.

Evolutionary psychology

School focusing on natural selection to study roots of behavior and mental processes; behavior explained by ancestors' survival and reproduction.

Positive psychology

Movement studying optimal human functioning and factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive; promoted by Martin Seligman.

Self-actualization

A key concept in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, representing the fulfillment of one's potential.

Hierarchy of needs

Maslow’s pyramid of needs, from basic physiological needs to self-actualization.

Introspection (revisited)

Describing one’s own conscious experiences; used by Wundt as a method in early psychology.