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MrsVanDyke Chapter 1
History and Perspectives
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Psychology | The scientific study of behavior and mental processes |
| Empirical Approach | A study conducted via careful observations and scientifically based research |
| pseudopsychology | Erroneous assertions or practices set forth as being scientific psychology |
| Experimental Psychologists | Psychologists who do research on basic psychological processes-- as contrasted with applied psychologists; also called research psychologists |
| Teachers of Psychology | Psychologists whose primary job is teaching, typically in high schools, colleges and universities |
| Applied Psychologists | Psychologists who use the knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to solve human problems |
| Psychiatry | A medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders |
| Structuralism | A historical school of psychology devoted to uncovering the basic structures that make up mind and thought. Structuralists sought the "elements" of conscious experience |
| Introspection | The process of reporting on one's own conscious mental experiences |
| Functionalism | A historical school of psychology that believed mental processes could best be understood in terms of their adaptive purpose and function |
| Gestalt psychology | a historical school of psychology that sought to understand how the brain works by studying perception and perceptiual learning. |
| Behaviorism | A historical school that has sought to make psychology an objective science focused only on behavior to the exclusion of mental processes |
| Psychoanalysis | An approach to psychology based on Sigmund Freud's assertions, which emphasize unconscious processes. |
| Biological View | The psychological perspective that searches for the causes of behavior in the functioning of genes, the brain and nervous system, and the endocrine system |
| Neuroscience | The field devoted to understanding how the brain creates thoughts, feelings, motives, consciousness, memories, and other processes |
| Evolutionary Psychology | A relatively new specialty in psychology that sees behavior and mental processes in terms of their genetic adaptations for survival and reproduction |
| Developmental View | The psychological perspective emphasizing changes that occur across the lifespan |
| Cognitive View | The psychological perspective emphasizing mental processes, such as learning, memory, perception, and thinking, as forms of information processing |
| Cognitions | Mental processes, such as thinking, memory, sensation, and perception |
| Cognitive Neuroscience | An interdisciplinary field emphasizing brain activity as information processing |
| Clinical View | The psychological perspective emphasizing mental health and mental illness |
| Psychodynamic Psychology | A clinical viewpoint emphasizing the understanding of mental disorders in terms of unconscious needs, desires, memories, and conflicts |
| Humanistic Psychology | A clinical viewpoint emphasizing human ability, growth, potential, and free will |
| Behavioral View | A psychological perspective that finds the source of our actions in environmental stimuli, rather than in inner mental proceses |
| Sociocultural View | A psychological perspective emphasizing the importance of social interaction, social learning, and a cultural perspective |
| Culture | A complex blend of language, beliefs, customs, values, and traditions developed by a group of people and shared with others in the same environment |
| Trait View | A psychological perspective that views behavior and personality as the products of enduring psychological charcteristics |
| Confirmation Bias | The tendency to attend to evidence that complements and confirms our beliefs or expectations, while ignoring evidence that does not. |