Chapter 1 McGraw Hill Connect Psychology

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Science

The use of systematic methods to observe the natural world, including human behavior, and to draw conclusions.

Behavior

everything we do that can be directly observed

Mental Processes

The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly

Critical thinking

the process of reflecting deeply and actively, asking questions, and evaluating the evidence

empirical method

gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data, and logical reasoning

positive psychology

A branch of psychology that emphasizes human strengths.

What makes psychology a science? What are the goals of psychological scientists?

Psychology uses systematic methods to observe human behavior and draw conclusions. The goals fo psychological science are to describe, predict, and explain behavior. In addition, psychologists are often interested in controlling or changing behavior, and the use scientific methods to examine interventions that might help---for example, techniques that might reduce violence or promote happiness.

What four attitudes are at the core of the scientific approach?

Critical Thinking, skepticism, objectivity, curiosity

Which particular Freudian views of human nature have influenced general perceptions of what psychology is all about?

Freud believed that most of human behavior is caused by dark, unpleasant, unconscious impulses clamoring for expression. For Freud, even the average person on the street is a mysterious well of unconscious desires. Certainly, Freud has had a long lasting impact on psychology and on society. Freud based his ideas about human nature on the patients whom he saw in his clinical practice--- individuals who were struggling with psychological problems. His experiences with these clients, as well as his analysis of himself, colored his outlook on all of humanity. Freud once wrote, "I have found little that is 'good' about human beings on the whole. In my experience most of them are trash "

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

a German philosopher-physician, integrated philosophy and the natural sciences to create the academic discipline of psychology. Some historians say that modern psychology was born in December 1879 at the University of Leipzig, when Wundt and his students performed an experiment to measure the time lag between the instant a person heard a sound and the moment he or she pressed a telegraph key to signal having heard it.

What was so special about Wundt's Telegraph experiment?

Wundt's study was about the workings of the brain: He was trying to measure the time it took the human brain and nervous system to translate information into action. At the heart of this experiment was the idea that mental processes could be measured. This notion ushered in the new science of psychology.

Wundt and his collaborators concentrated on

Discovering the basic elements, or "structures," of mental processes. Their approach was thus called structuralism because of its focus on identifying the structures of the human mind, and their method of study was introspection.

Introspection means

looking inside our own minds, by focusing on our own thoughts (literally, "looking inside"). For this type of research, a person in Wundt's lab would be asked to think (introspect) about what was going on mentally as various events took place. For example, the individual might be subjected to a sharp, repetitive clicking sound and then might have to report whatever conscious thoughts and feelings the clicking produced. Introspection relies entirely on the person's conscious reflection. What made this method scientific was the systematic, detailed self-report required of the person in the controlled laboratory setting.

William James (1842-1910)

-gave the field an American stamp

- key question for psychology is not so much what the mind is (that is, its structures=structuralism) as what it is for (its purpose or function). James's view was eventually named functionalism.

What is structuralism?

Wundt's approach to discovering the basic elements, or structures, of mental processes; so called because of its focus on identifying the structures of the human mind.

How does functionalism contrast with structuralism?

In conrast to structuralism, which emphasized the components of the mind, functionalism probed the functions and purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual's adaptation to the environment. Whereas structuralists were looking inside the mind and searching for its structures, functionalists focused on human interactions with the outside world and the purpose of thoughts. If structuralism is about the "what" of the mind, functionalism is about the "why."

Unlike Wundt, James did not believe in the existence of

Rigid structures in the mind. Instead, James saw the mind as flexible and fluid, characterized by constant change in response to a continuous flow of information from the world. James called this natural flow of thought a "stream of consciousness."

Natural Selection

An evolutionary process in which organisms that are better adapted to their environment will survive and, importantly, produce more offspring.

What is meant when we say that a particular characteristic of an organism is adaptive?

if they help those members compete for food, survive, and reproduce

In what ways is Darwin's work relevant to psychology?

it is strongly supported by observation.

Biological approach (examining behavior and mental processes)

a focus on the body, especially the brain and nervous system. For example, researchers might investigate the way your heart raves when you are afraid or how you hands sweat when you tell a lie. Although a number of physiological systems may be involved in thoughts and feelings, the emergence of neuroscience has perhaps contributed the most to physiological psychology

Neuroscience

The scientific study of the structure, function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system, emphasizing that the brain and nervous system are central to understanding behavior, thought, and emotion.

The behavioral approach

emphasizes the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants. It focuses on an organism's visible interactions with the environment---that is, behaviors, not thoughts or feelings.

B.F. Skinner

Emphasized that psychology should be about what people do--- their actions and behaviors---and should not concern itself with things that cannot be seen, such as thoughts, feelings, and goals. He believed that rewards and punishments determine our behavior. For example, a child might behave in a well mannered fashion because her parents have previously rewarded this behavior. We do the things we do, behaviorists say, because of the environmental conditions we have experienced and continue to experience.

psychodynamic approach

an approach to psychology focusing on unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives (such as the drive for sex) and society's demands, and early childhood family experiences

The humanistic approach

An approach to psychology focusing on a person's positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose one's destiny.

Cognitive Approach

An approach to psychology focusing on the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems.

Evolutionary approach

An approach to psychology focusing on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.

Sociocultural Approach

an approach to psychology focusing on the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior

What are two differences between the cognitive and psychodynamic approaches to psychology?

Cognitive: An approach to psychology focusing on the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems.

Psychodynamic: An approach to psychology focusing on unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives (such as the drive for sex) and society's demands, and early childhood family experiences

How are the biological and evolutionary perspectives on psychology similar and how are they different?

Biological: A focus on the body, especially the brain and nervous system

Evolutionary: An approach to psychology focusing on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.

What specific ideas did B.F. Skinner's behaviorist approach emphasize?

Psychology should be about what people do--- their actions and behaviors---and should not concern itself with things that cannot be seen, such as thoughts, feelings, and goals.

What are some career options for a person with an undergraduate degree in psychology?

What careers might someone with a graduate degree in psychology pursue?

work as therapists, counselors, researchers, teachers, business consultants, or marketing researchers.

What are important distinctions between a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist?

A clinical psychologist typically has a doctoral degree in psychology, which requires approximately four to five years of graduate work and one year of internship in a mental health facility. In contrast, a psychiatrist is a physician with a medical degree who subsequently specializes in abnormal behavior and psychotherapy. Another difference between a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist is that a psychiatrist can prescribe drugs, whereas a clinical psychologist generally cannot.

Name five areas of specialization in psychology and describe the primary concerns of each.

1. Physiological psychology and behavioral neuroscience

Primary concerns 1: physical processes that underlie mental operations such as thinking and memory.

Primary concerns 2: focuses on biological processes, especially the brain's role in behavior

2. Sensation and Perception

Primary concerns: Focus on the physical systems and psychological processes that allow us to experience the world

3. Learning

Primary concerns: The intricate process by which behavior changes in response to changing circumstances.

4. Cognitive

Primary concerns: examines attention, consciousness, information processing, and memory.

5. Developmental

Primary concerns: How people become who they are from conception to death.

What has psychology increasingly come to recognize about the relationship between the mind and the body?

the mind is intricately connected to the body. When mental processes change, so do physical processes.

What are some mental processes that might be involved in efforts to change your physical body, as through diet or exercise?

Commitment, goal setting, and self-discipline

What is some real-life evidence of the body's impact on the mind? Give examples that are different from those in the text.

1. Diet-The brain gut link

2. Routine- The body's many circadian rhythms can dramatically influence thought patterns and behavior.

3. Dopamine fueled reward systems- alter behavior