Introduction to Psychology - Chapter 1

Vocabulary flashcards covering fundamental concepts, historical perspectives, contemporary fields, and academic and career pathways in Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology.

Psychology

The scientific study of the mind and behavior.

Hypothesis

A tentative explanation proposed by a researcher to explain how or why a phenomenon happens, which fits into the context of a scientific theory.

Scientific Theory

A broad explanation or group of explanations for some aspect of the natural world that is consistently supported by evidence over time.

Empirical Method

A method for acquiring knowledge based on observation, including experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities.

Critical Thinking

The active application of a set of skills to information for the understanding and evaluation of that information.

Wilhelm Wundt

A German scientist who was the first person to be referred to as a psychologist, author of Principles of Physiological Psychology (1873), and founder of the first psychological laboratory at the University of Leipzig in 1879.

Introspection

A process by which someone examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible in an attempt to break it into its component parts (referred to by Wundt as internal perception).

Voluntarism

The notion that people have free will and should know the intentions of a psychological experiment if they are participating.

Structuralism

A historical perspective developed by Edward Titchener focused on understanding conscious experience and the contents of mental processes through introspection rather than their function.

Functionalism

A perspective established by William James, John Dewey, and Charles Sanders Peirce that focused on how mental activities helped an organism adapt and fit into its environment, emphasizing the operation of the whole mind.

Adaptation

A trait of an organism that has a function for the survival and reproduction of the individual because it has been naturally selected.

Psychoanalytic Theory

A perspective popularized by Sigmund Freud that focuses on the role of a person's unconscious mind and early childhood experiences in affecting conscious behavior.

Gestalt Psychology

A psychological approach emphasizing that although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, perception responds to how those parts relate to each other as a whole (translating roughly to 'the form in its whole').

Conditioned Reflex

A form of learning behavior studied by Ivan Pavlov where an animal or human produces an unconscious reflex response to an initial stimulus and is conditioned to produce that response to an associated secondary stimulus.

Behaviorism

An approach to psychology championed by John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner that focuses on observing and controlling overt behavior rather than unobservable conscious mental processes.

Operant Conditioning Chamber

A device developed by B. F. Skinner (also known as a Skinner box) that isolates a subject and uses an indicator such as a lever or button to deliver positive reinforcement or punishment to modify behavior.

Humanism

A perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans, personal control, and intentionality.

Hierarchy of Human Needs

A motivational framework proposed by Abraham Maslow asserting that basic survival needs must be met before higher-level needs motivate behavior, ultimately leading toward self-actualization.

Client-Centered Therapy

A therapeutic technique developed by Carl Rogers where the patient takes a lead role in the therapy session while the therapist displays unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy.

Unconditional Positive Regard

A therapeutic practice in client-centered therapy where the therapist accepts their client for who they are, no matter what they might say.

Cognitive Revolution

A movement emerging in the 1950s that shifted psychology's focus back to the scientific study of the mind and mental functioning through collaboration with linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science.

Feminist Psychology

An approach stimulated by Naomi Weisstein that re-evaluates women's contributions to psychology, studies psychological gender differences, and critiques male biases within scientific research.

WEIRD Societies

An acronym representing western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic populations, which have historically been overstudied and inaccurately generalized to non-WEIRD populations.

American Psychological Association (APA)

The largest professional organization representing psychologists in the United States, composed of 54 divisions dedicated to advancing and disseminating psychological knowledge.

Biopsychology

The study of how biology, particularly the structure and function of the nervous system, influences behavior.

Evolutionary Psychology

A field of study that seeks to determine the ultimate biological causes of behavior based on how traits adapt to physical and social environments through natural selection.

Sensation and Perception

An area of study focused on both the physiological aspects of sensory systems and the psychological experience and interpretation of that sensory information.

Cognitive Psychology

The area of psychology that focuses on studying cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to our experiences and actions.

Developmental Psychology

The scientific study of development across a lifespan, including physical maturation, cognitive skills, moral reasoning, and social behavior.

Object Permanence

The understanding that physical things continue to exist even if they are hidden from direct view, studied in infant cognitive development by Jean Piaget.

Personality Psychology

The scientific study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique.

Personality Trait

A relatively consistent pattern of thought and behavior across various situations and over the lifespan.

Five Factor Model

A personality model proposing that individual variations in personality can be captured across five dimensions: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion.

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how we interact with and relate to others, including obedience, prejudice, attraction, interpersonal conflicts, and social influence.

Research Confederate

An individual who pretends to be a participant in a research study but is actually working for the researcher with specific instructions on how to behave.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

A subfield of psychology that applies psychological theories, principles, and research findings to workplace environments, personnel management, and organizational structure.

Health Psychology

A subfield focused on how health is affected by the complex interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

Biopsychosocial Model

A perspective asserting that health and illness are determined by an interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors.

Sport and Exercise Psychology

The branch of psychology that focuses on the interactions between mental and emotional factors and physical performance in sports, exercise, and demanding physical activities.

Clinical Psychology

The area of psychology focused on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior.

Counseling Psychology

An area of psychology that focuses on improving emotional, social, vocational, and health-related outcomes in individuals who are considered psychologically healthy.

Forensic Psychology

An area of psychology that applies the science and practice of psychology to questions and issues within and related to the justice system.

Dissertation

A long research paper or bundled collection of published articles describing research conducted as part of doctoral training, defended before a committee of expert reviewers.

PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)

A doctoral degree conferred in many disciplinary perspectives housed in a traditional college of liberal arts and sciences, typically requiring research and a dissertation.

PsyD (Doctor of Psychology)

A doctoral degree that places less emphasis on research-oriented skills and focuses primarily on the clinical application of psychological principles.

Postdoctoral Training Program

A program that allows young scientists who have earned their PhD to further develop their research programs and broaden their skills under the supervision of professionals in the field.