Introduction to Psychology - Key Terms and Concepts

Vocabulary flashcards detailing key terminology, foundational psychological concepts, research methods, scientific reasoning, and pseudoscientific concepts from the lecture transcript.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes, derived from the Greek 'psyche' (mind) and '-ology' (study of).

Psyche

The Greek word meaning 'the mind'.

Behaviorism

A historical field of psychology focused exclusively on the study of observable behavior to ensure scientific objectivity.

Nature Nurture Debate

The ongoing debate examining how much of development is predetermined by inherited genetics (nature) versus shaped by environmental experiences and culture (nurture).

Social Psychology

The branch of psychology focused on how people think about, classify, and behave around other individuals.

Jean Piaget

A developmental psychologist who discovered how fundamental changes in children's thinking occur over time.

Clinical Psychology

The field of psychology concerned with the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of mental illnesses and conditions.

Pathologize

The practice of classifying or labeling an individual as abnormal simply for being different or eccentric.

Science

A system and process for acquiring objective knowledge about the world through empirical observation and experimentation.

Empiricism

The practice of relying on observation, experimentation, and objective evidence to derive knowledge and evaluate claims.

Skepticism

An orientation involving the refusal to accept a claim as true until it has been evaluated using sufficient evidence.

Control Group

The baseline group in an experiment that does not receive the experimental treatment, used to compare against the group that does.

Mozart Effect

The widely held belief that exposing infants to classical music boosts intelligence, based on misinterpretations of a study on college students.

Confirmation Bias

The human tendency to seek out and favor evidence that supports pre-existing beliefs while ignoring or dismissing contradictory evidence.

Cynic

An individual who refuses to accept truths or change their mind even when presented with overwhelming evidence.

Francis Bacon

A philosopher who documented confirmation bias in 1620, describing how human understanding draws everything to support a adopted opinion.

Carl Sagan

A prominent scientist and writer in the 1970s and 1980s who highlighted how scientists willingness to change their minds based on evidence distinguishes science from politics or religion.

Pseudoscience

A set of beliefs or practices that appear scientific on the surface but lack empirical evidence and scientific rigor.

Phrenology

A 19th-century pseudoscientific theory claiming that personality traits and mental capacities could be determined by the shape and bumps of the skull.