Psychology Key Terms and Concepts

  • Empiricism

    • Definition: The belief that all knowledge is derived from sensory experience rather than being innate.
    • Key Characteristic: Utilizes the experimental scientific method in psychology.

  • Comparison of Behavioral and Biological Approaches

    • Behaviorism:
    • Belief that all behavior is learned through the environment.
    • Mechanisms: Involves classical and operant conditioning.
    • Stance: Nurture.
    • Biological Psychology:
    • Belief that behavior is influenced by genetics, hormones, and neurochemistry.
    • Mechanism: Focus on biological factors.
    • Stance: Nature.
    • Reductionism: Both approaches are reductionist - they simplify behavior to either environmental or biological factors and ignore a holistic approach.
    • Treatment Methods:
    • Classical conditioning applied in systematic desensitization for phobias.
    • Biological treatments developed for mental illnesses.

  • Schema

    • Definition: A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing.
    • Development: Schemas become increasingly complex with accumulated information.

  • Nature/Nurture Debate

    • Approaches on the Side of Nature:
    • Biological
    • Psychodynamic (compromise between nature and nurture)
    • Approaches on the Side of Nurture:
    • Behaviorist
    • Humanistic
    • Social Learning Theory
    • Psychodynamic (again, a compromise)

  • Introspection

    • Definition: A technique devised by Wundt for individuals to examine their own mental and emotional states.

  • Role of Reinforcement in Behavior

    • Definition: Refers to stimuli that strengthen and increase the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.

  • Conditions of Worth

    • Definition: Imposed conditions necessary for earning positive regard from significant others.

  • Vicarious Reinforcement

    • Definition: Learning through observation of someone else being reinforced for a behavior.

  • Free Will

    • Definition: The ability to act according to one’s own discretion without external influences.

  • Determinism

    • Definition: The belief that behavior is determined by forces both external and internal beyond an individual’s control.

  • Free Will vs. Determinism Debate

    • Free Will Approaches:
    • Humanistic
    • Determinism Approaches:
    • Biological (Genetic determinism)
    • Psychodynamic (Psychic determinism)
    • Behaviorist (Environmental determinism)

  • Hard vs. Soft Determinism

    • Soft Determinism: Constraints on behavior exist, but there’s still freedom to make choices within these constraints.
    • Hard Determinism: All behavior is determined by factors outside an individual’s control.

  • Classical Conditioning (Pavlov's Study)

    • Procedure: Pavlov paired the ringing of a bell (neutral stimulus) with dog food (unconditioned stimulus).
    • Result: The bell became a conditioned stimulus, leading to a conditioned response (salivation) without the food.

  • Congruence

    • Definition: The similarity between a person’s ideal self and their self-image.
    • Incongruence: Disparity between ideal self and self-image.

  • Cognitive Neuroscience

    • Definition: An area of psychology focused on the neural bases of cognitive functions.

  • Self-Actualization

    • Definition: The achievement of one’s true potential (Rogers). For Maslow, it’s experiencing periods of extreme euphoria and creativity and is the final stage in his hierarchy of needs.