Human Psychology Lecture Notes

Comprehensive flashcards covering the introductory concepts, historical schools, developmental stages, learning theories, memory, intelligence, and motivation as discussed in the Human Psychology lecture notes.

Psychology

The scientific study of mental processes and behavior of humans and other animals.

Psyche

An ancient Greek word meaning breath, spirit, or soul.

Psychologist

A professional, practitioner, or researcher in the field of psychology, classified as social or behavioral.

Basic psychology

A branch of psychology concerned with answering questions about behavior through psychological theory and research.

Applied psychology

A branch of psychology that utilizes knowledge to actively intervene in the treatment of mental or emotional disorders, and is used in business, education, and governance.

Mental processes

The thoughts, feelings, and motives experienced privately that cannot be observed but can be inferred from behavior.

Behavior

The action or reaction of a human or animal in response to external or internal stimuli.

Overt behavior

Open and observable actions, such as a frown.

Covert behavior

Behavior not directly observed but may be inferred from overt behavior, such as an increased heart beat.

Wilhelm Wundt

The professor regarded as the father of experimental psychology who founded the first lab of psychological research in Leipzig, Germany, in 1879.

Hermann Ebbing Haus

A contributor to psychology known for the pioneer study of memory.

Ivan Pavlon

Identified in the notes as the father of classical conditioning.

James McKeen Cattel

The individual who generated the first program of mental testing in 1890.

Psychoanalytic school

Founded by Sigmud Freud, this school posits that behavior is determined by powerful inner forces buried in the unconscious mind.

Free association

A technique where the patient relaxes and talks about anything that comes to mind to bring repressed feelings to conscious awareness.

Behaviorism school

Introduced by John B. Watson in 1913, emphasizing that observable behavior, not inner experience, is the only reliable source of information.

Gestalt school

Founded by Max Wertheimer, it focuses on the idea that humans perceive the external world as an organized pattern and that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Humanistic school

A school supported by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, believing individuals are controlled by their own values and choices and possess a self-actualizing tendency.

Cognitivism school

Founded by Ulric Neisser, it explores internal mental states like belief and desire using scientific methods while rejecting introspection.

Structuralism school

A school associated with William James and Wilhem Wundt that sought to describe and explain conscious experience like feelings and sensations through introspection.

Existentialism school

Follows the philosophy of Gabriel Marcel, Seren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche, focusing on subjective human experience and free choices.

Eclecticism school

An approach where psychologists select and use what seems best from a wide variety of sources and theories.

Psychosomatic disorders

Disorders related to psychological factors but not biological causes.

Intrinsic motivation

Motivation coming from within an individual based on their belief system or personal desire.

Extrinsic motivation

Motivation derived from external stimuli such as money, rewards, or threat of punishment.

Cognition

Defined by Ulric Neisser as all processes by which sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered, and used.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process involving an association between a previously neutral stimulus and a stimulus that naturally evokes a response.

Operant Conditioning

A method of learning that occurs through reward and punishment for behavior, involving the modification of voluntary behavior.

Observational Learning

Learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others, requiring a social model.

Growth

Quantitative changes in humans over time, such as height, muscle growth, or physical maturation of internal systems.

Development

Qualitative changes involving cognitive and emotional shifts beginning during the prenatal period.

Down Syndrome

A form of mental retardation related to mother's age, frequently resulting from extra chromosomes.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

A condition caused by alcohol intake during pregnancy resulting in abnormal facial characteristics and growth retardation.

Memory Encoding

The first stage of memory involving taking information through senses and transforming it into a form such as acoustic, visual, or semantic signals.

Short Term Memory (STM)

Memory with a limited capacity of approximately $7 \times \frac{+}{-} \times 2$ bits of information, lasting up to $30\,\text{seconds}$.

Displacement

A process in short-term memory where new information pushes out old information.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

The measure of intelligence calculated as the ratio between mental age and chronological age: $IQ = \frac{MA}{CA} \times 100$.

Fluid intelligence

Intelligence reflecting information processing capabilities, reasoning, and memory.

Crystallized intelligence

The accumulation of information, skills, and strategies learned through experience applied to problem-solving.

Phonology

The study of the smallest basic units of speech called phonemes that affect meaning.

Syntax

The rules that indicate how words and phrases can be combined to form sentences.

Semantics

The rules governing the meaning of words and sentences.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A theory of motivation arranging needs in order of importance: Physiological, Safety, Love and belonging, Esteem, and Self-actualization.

Homeostasis

The state of equilibrium the body tends to maintain in internal physiological processes like temperature and fluid levels.