empiriscm
the idea that knowledge is the result of experience and that scientific knowledge is developed through observation and experimentation
behavioral perspective
how learned and observable behaviors impact behavior and mental processes
biological perspective
how biological (genetics, neural, hormonal) and physiological processes impact behavior and mental processes
cognitive perspective
interpretation of a situation & mental processes (thoughts, memories, problem-solving) impact behavior and mental processes
evolutionary perspective
natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes
humanistic perspective
a way of evaluating an individual as a whole, rather than looking at them only through a smaller aspect of their person
psychodynamic perspective
encompasses a number of theories that explain both normal and pathological personality development in terms of the dynamics of the mind.
social-cultural perspective
behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures
biopsychosocial approach
systematically considers biological, psychological, and social factors and their complex interactions in understanding health, illness, and health care delivery
basic research
scientific inquiry that aims to increase psychology's knowledge base
applied research
scientific inquiry that aims to use psychology to solve practical problems
human-factors psychology
how people interact with machines and technology
central tendencies
a statistic that identifies a single value as representative of the entire distribution of data
standard deviation
a measure which shows to what extent the values in a data set deviate from the mean
normal curve
statistical significance
helps quantify whether a result is likely due to chance or to some factor of interest
Wilhemn Wundt
established the first psychology law in 1879
William James
Introduced funtionalism