Unit 1 Ap Phy vocab

Phycology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Empiricism

The idea that knowledge originates from experience and that science should rely on observation and experimentation.

Structuralism

An early school of thought promoted by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind.

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes function and how they enable organisms to adapt, survive, and thrive; influenced by William James.

Introspection

The process of examining one's own thoughts and feelings, used as a method of data collection in early psychology.

Behaviorism

A school of psychology that focuses on studying observable behavior and emphasizes the role of environmental factors in shaping behavior.

Humanistic Psychology

A perspective that emphasizes the growth potential of healthy individuals and focuses on individual potential for personal growth.

Cognitive Psychology

The study of mental processes such as perception, thinking, memory, and language.

Biopsychosocial Approach

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors in understanding human behavior.

Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud's theory of personality and therapeutic technique that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts.

Evolutionary Psychology

The study of how the natural selection of traits promotes the survival of genes.

Social-Cultural Psychology

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

Psychodynamic Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, often derived from Freud’s work.

Behavioral Psychology

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

Behavioral Psychology

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

Biological Psychology

The scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) processes and psychological processes.

Cognitive Neuroscience

The interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition (perception, thinking, memory, and language).