Final Psych Test

Structuralism

Was based on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and investigate how these elements are related.

Functionalism

based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of the consciousness, rather than its structure

philosophy

enhances a person's problem solving capabilities

physiology

Study how the human body works

APA

American Psychological Association is the world's largest organization devoted to the advancement of psychology

Stream of Consciousness

Consciousness consists of a continuous flow of thoughts

Wilhelm Wundt

established the first psychology laboratory, structuralism, scientific study of conscious experience

Introspection

examination of one's own thoughts and feelings

Psychoanalysis

procedure used by Sigmund Freud to treat people troubled by psychological problems such as irrational fears, obsessions, anxieties.

Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist known for his work on the unconscious mind. Father of psychoanalysis.

Behaviorism

A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats. free will is an illusion, fundamental principle of behavior

John B. Watson

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat

Ivan Pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell, behaviorism.

Reinforcement

any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Humanism

A belief that emphasizes faith and optimism in human potential and creativity

Carl Rogers

Humanisic; self-concept and unconditional positive regard drive personality

Abraham Maslow

humanistic psychology; hierarchy of needs-needs at a lower level dominate an individual's motivation as long as they are unsatisfied; self-actualization, transcendence

cognitive

how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information

Sociocultural

study of how cultural and political experiences affect our life

evolutionary psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

Positive Psychology

the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive

Neurobiological Psychology

the scientific study of the biological bases of behavior and mental processes

developmental psychology (hard)

the scientific study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

experimental psychology (hard)

the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method

Psychometric Psychology (hard)

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

Social Psychology (hard)

the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Clinical Psychology (soft)

studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

counseling psychology (soft)

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

educational psychology (soft)

Work to improve curriculum design, achievement testing, teacher training, and other aspects of the educational process.

School Psychology (soft)

Usually work in elementary or secondary schools, where they test and counsel children having difficulties in school and aid parents and teachers in solving school-related problems.

industrial-organizational psychology (soft)

a subfield of psychology that studies and advises on workplace behavior. Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists help organizations select and train employees, boost morale and productivity, and design products and assess responses to them

Empiricism (1)

the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation

Theoretically Diverse (2)

Psychologists do not set out to collect isolated facts; they seek to explain and understand what they observe. Means diverse theories

Sociohistorical Context (3)

trends, issues, and values in society influence psychology's evolution. Similarly, progress in psychology affects trends, issues, and values in society.

Determined by Multiple Causes (4)

Behavior is complex, affected by many interacting factors

Culture (5)

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Heredity & Environment (6)

personal traits and abilities are governed either entirely by heredity or entirely by environment.

Subjectivity (7)

Decisions based on personal feelings rather than facts

Self-concept

a collection of beliefs about one's own nature, unique qualities, and typical behavior

Culture

the widely shared customs, beliefs, values, norms, institutions, and other products of a community that are transmitted socially across generations.

Nature

the influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical growth, intellectual growth, and social interactions

Nurture

the totality of environmental factors that influence the development and behavior of a person

Subjective

based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions

Skepticism

the idea that nothing can ever be known for certain

Theory

A system of interrelated ideas that is used to explain a set of observations

Scientific Method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

placebo effect

improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement

Mean, Median, & Mode

3 measures of central tendency

Correlations (positive and negative)

A measure of the extent to which two factors may vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other. Positive \= same direction. Negative \= opposite direction.

Control group

In an experiment, the group that either is not exposed to the treatment or receives a zero level of the independent variable

Experimental Group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

Dependent Variables

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

independent variable

variable that is manipulated

Extraneous Variables

any variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study

Experimental Research

research designed to discover causal relationships between various factors

Descriptive Research

research methods that involve observing behavior to describe that behavior objectively and systematically

Correlational Research

Research that examines the relationships between variables, whose purpose is to examine whether and how two variables change together.

Sensation

stimulation of sense organs

Perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information

absolute threshold

the weakest amount of energy that a person can detect half the time

difference threshold

the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli

signal detection

Individual conditions affect decision making when responding to stimuli

subliminal perception

the registration of sensory input without conscious awareness

sensory deprivation

a state in which there is little or no sensory stimulation

sensory adaptation

a decrease in sensitivity to a constant level of stimulation

sensation seeking

need for varied/complex sensations and experiences

trichromatic theory

theory of color vision that proposes three types of cones: red, blue, and green

opponent-process theory

the theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision

reconciling theories of color vision

eyes have 3 different kinds of cones, retina, thalamus, and visual cortex respond in opposite ways to opposite colors

frequency theory

theory of pitch that states that pitch is related to the speed of vibrations in the basilar membrane

volley theory

A theory of hearing that states that the firing rate of an acoustic nerve matches a sound wave's frequency.

place theory

in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Medulla

Controls unconscious vital function

Cerebellum

Balance and coordination

Pons

sleep and arousal

Reticular Formation

Muscle Reflexes, breathing, pain perception

Basal Gangalia

motor movement

Thalamus

relays messages

Hypothalamus

fighting, fleeing, feeding, mating,

Horomones

carry messages through the body in blood

pituitary gland

stores and releases hormones, master gland

Adrenal Glands

glands that help the body recover from stress and respond to emergencies

Hippocampus

memory and learning

Corpus Callosum

joins two hemispheres of brain and communicates

Occipital Lobe

vision

Temporal Lobe

hearing

Frontal Lobe

Higher level mental activites, muscle movement

Parietal Lobe

Feeling of touch

Wish-fulfillment Theory - Sigmund Freud

He believed that dreams were our way of discharging thoughts otherwise unacceptable to express and all dreams have a latent content, an underlying message in your unconscious.

Problem Solving Theory

a theory that dreaming provides the opportunity to creatively solve everyday problems because dreams are not hampered by logic or realism

activation-synthesis theory

a theory of dreaming; this theory proposes that the brain tries to make sense of random brain activity that occurs during sleep by synthesizing the activity with stored memories

Lucid Dreams

dreams in which the dreamer is aware that he or she is dreaming

Controlled Process

process that requires attention; it is often difficult to carry out more than one controlled process at a time

Automatic Process

Requires little conscious awareness and mental effort, minimal attention and does not interfere with the performance of other activities.

Sleep Disorders

serious and consistent sleep disturbances that interfere with daytime functioning and cause subjective distress

Circadian Rhythms

Internally generated patterns of body functions, including hormonal signals, sleep, blood pressure, and temperature regulation, which have approximately a 24-hour cycle and occur even in the absence of normal cues about whether it is day or night

Meditation

the focusing of the mind on spiritual ideas

Hilgard

Altered level of consciousness; dissociation

Sleep Apnea

a disorder in which the person stops breathing for brief periods while asleep