Week 1: PSYC 1100 Intro to Psychology (Ch.1)

Founders of Psychology

Willhelm Wundt and William James

William James in psychology

First American psychologist, studied functionalism

Sigmund Freud in psychology

Founded psychoanalytic theory, which focused on childhood experiences, the unconscious mind, and how problems arise from those

Gestalt psychology

Emphasizes that the mind percieves things as unified wholes rather than just collections of separate parts

Ivan Pavlov in psychology

Discovered classical conditioning

Classical conditioning

An unconscious process where an automatic, conditioned response becomes associated with a specific stimulus

John B. Watson in psychology

Founded behaviorism within psychology. He believed that objective analysis of the mind was impossible, and instead focused on observable behavior and ways to bring it under control

B.F. Skinner in psychology

Founded Skinnerian Analysis, which focused on how behavior was affected by its consequences, particularly reinforcement and punishment

Skinnerian analysis

A way to study behavior by looking at what triggers an action and what the person gets out of it afterward

Carl Rogers in psychology

Developed a client-centered therapy method where the patient takes a lead role in the therapy session

Margaret Flow Washburn in psychology

First woman to earn a doctorate in Psychology. She researched on animal behavior, and published an authoritative text on the subject.

Sensation vs perception

Sensation is sensory information (sounds, smell, sights), while perception is how we experience the world, influenced by our past experiences

Jean Piaget in psychology

Psychologist well known for his theories regarding changes in cognitive ability that occur as we move from infancy to adulthood

Operant Conditioning

a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition (or removal) of reward or aversive stimuli

Structuralism

Developed by Edward Titchener. Focuses on understanding the conscious experience through introspection

Behaviorism

Focus on observing and controlling behavior

Biopsychology

Study of how biology influences behavior

Biopsychosocial model

Perspective that asserts that biology, psychology, and social factors interact to determine an individual’s health

Clinical psychology

Area of psychology that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior

Cognitive psychology

Study of cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions

Counseling psychology

Area of psychology that focuses on improving emotional, social, vocational, and other aspects of the lives of psychologically healthy individuals

Developmental psychology

Studies physical and mental attributes of aging and maturation

Industrial-organizational psychology

Branch of psychology that applies psychological theories, principles and research to industrial and organizational settings

Dissertation

Long research paper about research, commonly required for a PhD

Empirical method

Method for acquiring knowledge based on observation, including experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities

Forensic psychology

Area of psychology that applies the science and practice of psychology to issues within and related to the justice system

Functionalism

Focused on how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment

Humanism

Perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans

Introspection

Process by which someone examines their own conscious experience in an attempt to break it into its component parts

-Ology

Suffix that denotes “scientific study of”

Personality psychology

Study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique

Personality trait

Consistent pattern of thought and behavior

PhD (doctor of philosophy)

Doctoral degree conferred in many disciplinary perspectives housed in a traditional college of liberal arts and sciences

Psychoanalytic theory

Focus on the role of the unconscious in affecting conscious behavior

Psychology

Scientific study of the mind and behavior

PsyD (doctor of psychology)

Doctoral degree that places less emphasis on research-oriented skills and focuses more on application of psychological principles in the clinical context

Sports and exercise psychology

Area of psychology that focuses on the interactions between mental and emotional factors and physical performance in sports, exercise, and other activities

Individualism

A social outlook that prioritizes the needs, goals, and independence of the individual over the group

Collectivism

A social outlook that prioritizes the needs, goals, and harmony of the group over the individual

For which concept is Abraham Maslow best known?

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a hierarchy of human eneds in motivating behavior

Which instrument isolates animals from the external environment, allowing researchers to control that animal’s rewards and punishments?

Skinner box (AKA operant chamber)

Five Factor model

Personality framework that includes different traits believed to underlie each individual’s basic tendences

In Carl Roger’s “On becoming a person,” he argued that “___________ for me is the highest authority”

Experience

Introspection refers to a process by which someone examines ______________ as objectively as possible

Their own conscious experience

Psychological perspectives in order from earliest to latest

Structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism, humanism

Rogerian style reflection

Conflict resolution strategy where the listener reflects content & current feeling, giving power. E.g. “You seem pretty anxious thinking about the test”