Introduction to Psychology Key Concepts and Definitions

A set of 29 vocabulary flashcards covering key psychological terms, historical movements, scientific inquiry principles, and foundational concepts from the lecture notes.

Behaviourism

An approach that dominated the first half of the 20th century of North American psychology and had a singular focus on studying only observable behaviour, with little to no reference to mental events or instincts as possible influences on behaviour

Biopsychosocial model

A means of explaining behaviour as a product of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors

Clinical psychology

The field of psychology that concentrates on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

Cognitive psychology

A modern psychological perspective that focuses on processes such as memory, thinking, and language

Critical thinking

Involves exercising curiosity and skepticism when evaluating the claims of others, and with our own assumptions and beliefs

Determinism

The belief that all events are governed by lawful, cause-and-effect relationships

Dualism

The idea that there are properties of humans that are not material (i.e., there is a mind or soul separate from the body)

Empiricism

A philosophical tenet that knowledge comes through experience

Falsifiable

The hypothesis is precise enough that it could be proven false

Functionalism

The study of the purpose and function of behaviour and conscious experience

Gestalt psychology

An approach emphasizing that psychologists need to focus on the whole of perception and experience, rather than its parts

Humanistic psychology

Focuses on the unique aspects of each individual human, each person’s freedom to act, their rational thought, and the belief that humans are fundamentally different from other animals

Hypothesis (plural: hypotheses)

A testable prediction about processes that can be observed and measured

Intergenerational trauma

The transmission of the negative social and emotional consequences of oppression from one generation to the next

Localization of brain function

The idea that certain parts of the brain control specific mental abilities and personality characteristics

Materialism

The belief that humans, and other living beings, are composed exclusively of physical matter

Nature and nurture relationships

The inquiry into how heredity (nature) and environment (nurture) influence behaviour and mental processes

Personality psychology

The study of how different personality characteristics can influence how we think and act

Principle of parsimony

The simplest of all competing explanations (the most “parsimonious”) of a phenomenon should be the one we accept

Pseudoscience

An idea that is presented as science but does not actually utilize basic principles of scientific thinking or procedure

Psychoanalysis

A psychological approach that attempts to explain how behaviour and personality are influenced by unconscious processes

Psychology

The scientific study of behaviour, thought, and experience, and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social, and environmental factors

Psychophysics

The field of study that explores how physical energy such as light and sound and their intensity relate to psychological experience

Scientific literacy

The ability to understand, analyze, and apply scientific information

Scientific method

A way of learning about the world through collecting observations, developing theories to explain them, and using the theories to make predictions

Social psychology

The study of the influence of other people on our behaviour

Structuralism

An attempt to analyze conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements, and to understand how these elements work together

Theory

An explanation for a broad range of observations that also generates new hypotheses and integrates numerous findings into a coherent whole

Zeitgeist

Refers to a general set of beliefs of a particular culture at a specific time in history