Exam 1 Content - PSYC

Milgram Experiment

performed by Jewish psychologist Stanley Milgram in 1963 in response to the testimonies of Nazi soldiers in the Nuremberg trials; ultimately sought to test people’s obedience to authority; participants held the role of “teachers” who, under the instruction of an experimenter, administered shocks increasing in lethality to a confederate “learner” if a question was answered incorrectly; despite pleas from the “learners” 65% of participants administered shocks to the maximum voltage, even after the “learners” stopped verbally responding

confederate

an actor playing a role in a psychological experiment; appear as another participant to the actual participants

behaviorism revolution

a movement in psychology and political science that took place in the early 1960s, emphasizing the study of observable behavior as a consequence of reward or punishment

psychology

scientific study of behavior and mental process

behavior

everything we do that is directly observed

mental processes

privately experienced thoughts, motives, and feelings that are not directly observed

critical thinking

reflecting deeply and actively, asking questions, and evaluating evidence

pseudoscience

information without scientific research that uses scientific terminology

empirical method

gaining knowledge through observation, collecting data, and logical reasoning

positive psychology

a branch of psychology that emphasizes human strengths

philosophy

the rational investigation of underlying principles of being and knowledge

Wilhelm Wundt

one of the fathers of psychology who combined philosophy and the natural sciences; performed an experiment to measure the lag between hearing sound and pressing a key

structuralism

an idea from Wundt that focused on identifying structures of the human mind

introspection

the practice of looking in one’s own mind by focusing on one’s own thoughts

William James

one of the fathers of psychology who developed the idea of functionalism

functionalism

studying what the mind is for, its purpose and how it adapts to the environment

natural selection

an idea from Charles Darwin that there is an evolutionary process where organisms that are better fit to survive the environment produce more offspring

Inez Beverly Prosser

the first Black American woman to get a PhD in psychology in 1933

biological

an approach to psychology that focuses on biology and the body, including the brain and nervous system

neuroscience

the study of the function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system

behavioral

a psychological approach that focuses on observations of behavioral responses and their environmental determinants

John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner

psychologists who practiced the behavioral approach; the latter believed that behavior was determined by rewards and punishment

psychodynamic

a psychological approach that focuses on unconscious thought, conflict between biological drives, society’s demands, and early childhood family

Sigmund Freud

a psychologist who believed early parental relationships shaped personality; believed human nature and human behavior was from dark, unpleasant, and unconscious impuses

psychoanalysis

unlocking unconscious conflicts by talking about one’s childhood memories, dreams, thoughts, and feelings

humanistic

a psychological approach that focuses on humans’ positive qualities, capacity for growth, and freedom to choose destiny

cognitive

a psychological approach that focuses on the mental processes involved in knowing

informational processing

how the mind interprets, weights, stores, and applies information in decision making

consciousness

the experience representing the inner, mental life

evolutionary

a psychological approach that focuses on evolutionary ideas a basis of human behavior

sociocultural

a psychological approach that focuses on how social and cultural environments influence behavior

practioners

individuals who focus on helping others, often in clinical settings, and offer guidance

evidence-based practice

using psychological tools that are supported by empirical research

physiological psychology

the study of the physical processes that underly mental operations

behavioral neuroscience

the study of biological processes and the brain’s role in behavior

sensation and perception

the study of the physical systems and psychological processes that allow humans to experience the world

learning

the process of behavior changing in response to changing circumstances

cognitive psychology

the study of attention, consciousness, information processing, memory, and skills and abilities

developmental psychology

the study of the biological and environmental factors that influence human development

motivation and emotion

the study of how humans persist towards a goal and the effect of rewards; the physiological and brain processes in emotion, emotion’s role in health, and the possibility of universal emotion

women and gender

the study of psychology, sociology, and culture on women’s development and behavior

personality psychology

the study of the relatively enduring characteristics of individuals

social psychology

the study of interactions, relationships, social perceptions and cognition, and attitudes

industrial-organizational psychology

the study of workplace interactions including personnel and HR management and social influences in organizations and organizational leadership

clinical/counseling psychology

a field that focuses on diagnosing and treating people with psychological problems

health psychology

the study of human health emphasizing psychology, lifestyle, and the nature of the healthcare system

community psychology

the study of how to improve quality of relationships, community, and society

school and education psychology

the study of children’s learning and adjustment

environmental psychology

the study of people’s interaction with the physical environment

forensic psychology

a field where psychological concepts are used in the legal system

sports psychology

a field where psychological principles aide in sport performance and enjoyment

cross-cultural psychology

the study of cultural influence on behavior, thought, and emotion

purpose of psychology

discovering mental shortcuts and tendencies that are common to all healthy humans and using that knowledge to optimize ourselves and society

evolutionary mismatch

the inconsistency between the cognitive behavioral instincts humans are evolved (optimize society to a hunter-gatherer and nomadic lifestyle) and the drastic difference of modern society in comparison to that world

cognitive behavioral theory

the study of learning to notice self-undermining patterns of behavior

meta analysis

a statistical analysis of several prior studies on the same topic; one of the strongest forms of scientific evidence

left hemisphere

the side of the brain that is performs most activity related to the production and recognition of words

right hemisphere

the side of the brain that is most associated with visual processing

corpus callosum

the part of the brain that connects the left and right hemisphere; when cut the left and right hemispheres operate independently of each other

self fulfilling prophecy

the idea that expectations others have or one has of themself can lead to that individual to producing that behavior