Psych Terms #1

Critical thinking

Critical thinking

Definition - thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden bias, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

Example - A sports drink says its the “most healthy sports drink,” but you find out its full of sugar by looking further into it.

Empiricism

Definition - The idea that knowledge comes from experience, and that observation and experimentation enable scientific knowledge

Example - You are testing a dish cleaning product to see if it cleans better than your current cleaner. You create and test and using experience and observation you find out it cleans better.

Structuralism

Definition - An early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener: used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.

Example - ?

Functionalism

Definition - 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

Example - Humans canine teeth are slowly going away because they are not necessary, how is this?

Behaviorism

Definition - The view Psych should be a

• Objective Science (Most agree with)

• Studies behavior without reference to mental processes (Most don’t agree with)

Example - ?

Humanistic psychology

Definition - a historically significant perspective that emphasizes human growth potential

Example - finding the ability that a person can grow to

Cognitive psychology

Definition - the study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems

Example - If I remember a flashcard cognitive psych can help figure out how.

Cognitive neuroscience

Definition - The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition

Example - If I remember a flashcard cognitive psych can help figure out how my brain remember.

Neuro = Brain

Psychology

Definition - The science of behavior and mental processes

Example - Finding what causes how you act and think

Nature-nurture issue

Definition - The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.

Example - When an issue is created by you environment of your genetics

Natural selection

Definition - The principle that inherited traits that better enable and organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will most likely be passed down to next generations

Example - My parents are short so I am short. My great grandparents were smarter so they survived instead of others.

Evolutionary psychology

Definition - The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

Example - The study of why some traits are better than others for survival

Behavior genetics

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

Example - How your genetics influence your behavior

Culture

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

Example - The culture in China is very different from Kenya

Positive psychology

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

Example - Why do people make good and bad decisions.

Biopsychosocial approach

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

Example - You must look at an issue from all 3 view points

Behavioral psychology

Definition - The scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning

Example - Studying actions of people and why they do it

Biological psychology

Definition - The scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes

Example - What connects mental and biological processes

· Psychodynamic psychology

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· Social-cultural psychology

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· Testing effect

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· SQ3R

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· Psychometrics

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· Basic research

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· Developmental psychology

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· Educational psychology

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· Personality psychology

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· Social psychology

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· Applied research

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· Industrial-organizational psychology

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· Human factors psychology

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· Counseling psychology

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· Clinical psychology

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· Psychiatry

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· Community psychologists

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· Hindsight bias

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· Theory

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· Hypothesis

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· Operational definition

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· Replication

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· Case study

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· Correlation

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· Correlation coefficient

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· Variable

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· Scatterplot

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· Illusory correlation

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· Regression toward the mean

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· Experiment

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· Experimental group

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· Control group

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· Random assignment

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· Double-blind procedure

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· Placebo effect

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· Independent variable

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· Confounding variable

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· Dependent variable

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· Validity

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· Informed consent

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· Debriefing

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· Descriptive statistics

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· Histogram

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· Mode

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· Mean

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· Median

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· Skewed distribution

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· Range

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· Standard deviation

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· Normal curve

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· Inferential statistics

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· Statistical significance

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