Unit 1 - Foundations: History

Psychology

study of behavior and the mind

Behavior

natural process subject to natural laws, observable actions

Dualism

greek concept of dividing world into body and spirit; brain vs mind

Rene Descartes + dualism

early philosopher studying dualism, behaviorist - mind is not subject to natural laws and observable

John locke + empiricism

philosopher expanding on descartes, mind is under control of natural laws as well; humans are born knowing nothing

Empiricism

acquisition of truth through observations and experiences

Tabula rasa

“blank slate” Locke term that describes infants are born knowing nothing; everything must be learning, not innate

Thomas Hobbes and materialism

philosopher states soul or similar aren’t important/real, consciousness is just machinery of brain; materialism - only things that exist are matter and energy

Charles darwin and evolutionary theory

Philosopher w/ theory of natural selection; Evolutionary theory - explains differences between species and justifies animals can be used to study humans

Natural selection

over time things have involved into what they are through survival of the fittest, most desirable traits are formed through adapting to their environment; Charles Darwin

Wilhelm wundt and Structuralism

founder of psychology, studied consciousness (as opposed to unconscious mind); structuralist

Structuralism

theory that understanding smallest parts of mind would lead to understanding its overall structure; looking for patterns of thought through interviews highlighting the conscious mind

Edward titchener and introspection

student of Wundt; studied introspection - presenting stimulus to subject and asking conscious experience, comparing to other patient’s descriptions

William james and functionalism

American psychologist opposed to structuralism; functionalism - function of the mind is most important, like how it solves things as opposed to just consciousness

Dorothea Dix

female psychologist advocating for mentally ill, founded first public mental hospital in US, asylums

Mary Whiton Caulkin

first female psychology graduate student, denied a PhD

Margaret Floy Washburn

First female PhD in psychology, second female president of the American Psychological Association (APA)

G. Stanley hall

First president of the APA

Biological psychology

field of psych connecting behavior to anatomy and physiology (esp of nervous system); biological experimentation to psychological proceses

Behavior genetics

field of psychology studying how genetics (genes) influence psychological characteristics; biological predispositions and how environment has influenced

Behaviorism

study of observable behavior; states mind and its events aren’t important as you can’t observe it

John watson and classical conditioning

psychologist conducted Little Albert experiment - classical condnitioning to make child associate white furry things to fear; behaviorist

BF skinner and operant conditioning

Skinner box Psychologist; operant conditioning - study of providing a reward/punishment

cognitive psychology

study of how we think, brain patterns and thought; combines structuralist approach of looking at components of thought and functionalist approach of understanding purpose of thought; more used than behaviorist

Humanistic approach

study focusing on free will, consciousness, and awareness, holistic study of personality to refute behaviorism; personal goals and values influencing behavior

Abraham maslow and self-actualization

humanist, psychologist w/ hierarchy of needs; self-actualization is built up - attained through accepting yourself, metacognition

Carl rogers and unconditional positive regard

humanist, psychologist studying therapy and states need for unconditional positive regard + need for positive self-concept important for self-actualization

psychodynamic/psychoanalytic approach

study of the unconscious mind and stresses importance of early childhood experiences and relationship to parents to development

Sigmund freud and psychoanalytic theory

developed psychonalalytic theory - concerned with unconscious experience and people’s mental problems

Conscious mind vs unconscious mind

mentlal state we have ready access to vs processes we don’t have access to but still influence our behaviors

Repressed

things buried in the unconscious mind, undesirable; important to uncover in psychoanalytic theory

Sociocultural approach

study of how the environment someone is in influences behavior and is perceived; cultural values vary and must be taken into account of behavior

Evolutionary approach

study based on theories of Darwin; behavior is explained by how adaptive it is to our survival, such as fear

Biopsychosocial approach

holistic study of biological, psychological, and social factors contributing to behavior and mental processes

Biological domain

domain of human processes and internal changes affecting behavior

Social domain

domain studying how humans are affected by others around them

Clinical domain

domain assessing and treating psychological disorders

Counseling domain

domain relating to therapy, guiding people

Developmental domain

domain studying how people develop intellectually, socially, and emotionally over time

Educational domain

domain studying learning and effectiveness of school programs

Experimental

domain dealing with experiments

Industrial-organizational

domain relating to dealing with workplaces

Personality

domain studying personality

Psychometric

domain dealing with how to measure things in psychology

Positive

domain focusing on positive aspects and strengths of human behavior