Key Terms and Concepts in Psychology

Key Terms and Concepts in Psychology

Core Psychological Concepts

• Psychology:

  • Etymology: Understanding the origin of the word.
  • Traditional “literal” meaning: The initial interpretation of the term.
  • Current description of the term: How psychology is defined and understood today.

• Structuralism versus Functionalism:

  • Structuralism: Focused on breaking down mental processes into their most basic components.
  • Functionalism: Emphasized the purpose of consciousness and behavior in adapting to the environment.

• Introspection:

  • The examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes.

• Empirical Research:

  • Research based on observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic. It relies on verifiable evidence.

• Behaviourism:

  • Early behaviorist view: Focused solely on observable behaviors and dismissed the importance of mental processes.
  • More generally: Considers behavior as a learned response to environmental stimuli.

• Behaviour:

  • Early behaviorist view: Actions and reactions that can be observed and measured.
  • More generally: Any observable action or reaction of a living organism.

• Consciousness:

  • Awareness of one's self and environment.

• Nature-Nurture (or Nature versus Nurture):

  • The debate over the relative contributions of genetic inheritance (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) to human development.

• Psychoanalytic Theory/Psychoanalysis:

  • Developed by Sigmund Freud, emphasizing the role of unconscious drives and conflicts in shaping behavior.

• Humanism and Humanistic Psychology:

  • Emphasizes the inherent goodness of people and their potential for personal growth and self-actualization.

Research Areas Within Psychology

• Developmental Psychology:

  • Studies the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes across the lifespan.

• Social Psychology:

  • Examines how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others.

• Experimental Psychology:

  • Uses scientific methods to investigate fundamental psychological processes such as sensation, perception, learning, and memory.

• Behavioural Neuroscience (and Biological Psychology):

  • Explores the biological and neural bases of behavior.

• Cognitive Psychology:

  • Studies mental processes such as attention, memory, problem-solving, and language.

• Personality:

  • Investigates individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

• Psychometrics:

  • The science of measuring mental capacities and processes.

• Educational Psychology:

  • Studies how people learn and the effectiveness of educational interventions.

• Health Psychology:

  • Applies psychological principles to promote health and prevent illness.

• Evolutionary Psychology:

  • Examines psychological traits and behaviors as products of natural selection.

• Positive Psychology:

  • Focuses on the study of positive emotions, character strengths, and conditions that enable individuals and communities to thrive.

Professional Psychology

• Clinical Psychology:

  • Provides assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders.

• Counselling Psychology:

  • Helps individuals cope with personal and interpersonal problems.

• School Psychology:

  • Works with students, families, and educators to promote academic and social-emotional well-being.

• Industrial/Organizational Psychology:

  • Applies psychological principles to the workplace to improve employee satisfaction, productivity, and organizational effectiveness.

• Psychiatry/Psychiatrist:

  • A branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Psychiatrists can prescribe medication.

Additional Key Terms

• Cognition:

  • The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

• Cell Assembly:

  • A group of neurons that become associated with each other through repeated activation.

• Natural Selection:

  • The process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more offspring.

• Theory:

  • A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses.

• Culture:

  • The customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or group.

• Subjectivity (of Experience):

  • The quality of being based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.