Unit 0 pt. 1 - History and Approaches - Vocab List

Vocabulary flashcards covering core psychological approaches, goals, terms, and key figures from Unit 0 pt. 1 - History and Approaches.

Biological Psych (Biopsych)

Explains behavior and mental processes through physical causes: genes, brain structures, neurotransmitters, and hormones.

Psychodynamic Psych

Behavior is driven by unconscious motives, internal conflicts, and unresolved childhood experiences.

Behavioral Psych

Behavior is learned from the environment through conditioning; only observable behavior should be studied.

Humanistic Psych

Emphasizes free will, personal growth, and the drive toward self-actualization rather than determinism.

Cognitive Psych

Studies how people take in, process, store, and retrieve information (memory, thinking, problem solving, language).

Evolutionary Psychology

Explains behavior as the result of natural selection; traits that aided survival and reproduction were passed down.

Social - Cultural Psychology

Studies how culture, social norms, and the presence of others shape thinking and behavior.

Empiricism

The view that knowledge comes from observation and experience, gained through systematic observation and experimentation.

Natural Selection

Traits that increase an organism's chance of survival and reproduction are more likely to be passed to future generations.

Applied Research

Scientific study aimed at solving practical, real-world problems.

Basic Research

Scientific study aimed at expanding the knowledge base, with no immediate practical application.

Psychometrics

The subfield concerned with measuring mental traits, abilities, and processes (designing and evaluating tests).

Human Factors Psych

Studies how to design machines, tools, and work environments to match human abilities and limits.

Clinical Psych

Diagnoses and treats psychological disorders and serious mental illness; PhD or PsyD, cannot prescribe in most states.

Counseling Psych

Helps people cope with everyday adjustment problems (school, career, relationships) rather than severe disorders.

Psychiatry

A branch of medicine; psychiatrists hold an MD and can prescribe medication to treat psychological disorders.

Control

A goal of psychology which attempts to alter the conditions that influence behavior.

Description

A goal of psychology which attempts to label and classify behaviors.

Determinism

The idea that all behaviors have prior causes that would completely explain one’s choices and actions, if all such causes were known.

Free Will

The idea that human beings are capable of freely making choices and decisions.

Gestalt Psychology

An early branch of psychology emphasizing the study of thinking, learning, and perception in whole units; not by examining individual parts.

Introspection

To look within; to examine one’s own thoughts, feelings, or sensations.

Prediction

A goal of psych which attempts to accurately forecast behavior.

Understanding

A goal of psych which attempts to state the causes of behavior.

Wilhelm Wundt

Structuralism, Father of Psych, opened the first psychology research lab.

Edward Titchener

Structuralist, used introspection to collect information.

William James

Functionalism, believed it was essential to study and understand the purpose or function of a behavior.

Max Wertheimer

Gestalt Psychology, believed it was important to analyse human experience in whole units.

Charles Darwin

Evolutionary Psych, theory of natural selection, behaviors that aid in species survival will be passed down through genetics.

Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalysis/psychodynamic perspective; argued the unconscious mind and childhood experiences drive behavior. Used dream analysis and free association.

John Watson

Founder of behaviorism; argued psychology should study only observable behavior. Known for the Little Albert experiment.

Ivan Pavlov

Discovered classical conditioning; dogs learned to salivate to a neutral stimulus paired with food.

B.F. Skinner

Operant conditioning; behavior is shaped by reinforcement and punishment (Skinner box).

A. Maslow

Humanistic; hierarchy of needs, with self-actualization at the top.

Carl Rogers

Humanistic; client-centered therapy, and the idea that growth requires unconditional positive regard.