Ap Psychology Chapter One Terms

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Psychology

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The science that studies behavior and the psychological and cognitive processes that underlie it, and the profession that applies the accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems.

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Overt

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Open to view or knowledge; not concealed or secret

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Empirical

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The premise that knowledge should be acquired through observation.

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Cognitive

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The mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge.

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Mental Processes

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The performance of some composite cognitive activity; an operation that affects mental contents; "the process of thinking"; "the cognitive operation of remembering"

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Covert

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Concealed; secret; disguised

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Behavior

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Any overt (observable) response or activity by an organism.

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Ecclectic

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In psychotherapy, drawing ideas from two or more systems of therapy instead of committing to just one system.

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Structuralism

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

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Bias

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Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair

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Functionalism

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

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Psychological Perspectives

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Psychodynamic, Behaviorism, Cognitive, Socio-Cultural, Humanism, Evolutionary

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Theory

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

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Hypothesis

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A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables.

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Culture

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

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Psychodynamic

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All the diverse theories descended from the work of Sigmund Freud that focus on unconscious mental forces.

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Behaviorism

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

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Nature vs Nurture

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Centers on the relative contributions of genetic inheritance versus environmental factors to human development

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Cognitive

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The mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge.

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Rationality vs Irrationality

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Rational thinking is defined as thinking that is consistent with known facts. Irrational thinking is thinking that is inconsistent with (or unsupported by) known facts

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Humanism

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A theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential of personal growth.

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Stability vs Change

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This concept explores how much of one's behavior is consistent and how much is changeable over a lifespan

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Evolutionary

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Theoretical perspective that examines behavioral processes in terms of their adaptive value for a species over the course of many generations.

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Applied Research vs Basic Research

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Applied research examines a specific set of circumstances, and its ultimate goal is relating the results to a particular situation while basic research focuses on fundamental principles and testing theories

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Clinical Psychologist

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Psychologists who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and everyday behavioral problems.

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Counseling Psychologist

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Psychologists who specialize in the treatment of everyday adjustment problems.

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Industrial/Organizational Psychologist

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The branch of psychology concerned with the application of psychological principles to the workplace.

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Health Psychologist

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The subfield of psychology concerned with how psychosocial factors relate to the promotion and maintenance of health and with the causation, prevention and treatment of illness.

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Educational Psychologist

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An educational psychologist studies how children and adults learn in educational settings, in a continual effort to improve upon current teaching methods

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Psychiatrist

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Physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.

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Developmental Psychology

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The sequence of age-related changes that occur as a person progresses from conception to death.

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Social Psychology

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Focuses on interpersonal behavior and the role of social forces in governing behavior. Typical topics include attitude formation, attitude change, prejudice, attraction, conformity, aggression, intimate relationships and behavior in groups.

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Experimental Psychology

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Encompasses the traditional core of topics that psychology focused on heavily in its first half-century as a science: sensation, perception, learning, conditioning, motivation and emotion.

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Cognitive Psychology

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Focuses on "higher" mental processes, such as memory, reasoning, information processing, language, problem solving, decision making and creativity.

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Physiological Psychology

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Examines the influence of genetic factors on behavior and role of the brain, nervous system, endocrine system and bodily chemicals in the regulation of behavior.

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Personality

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An individual's unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits.

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Psychometrics

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The measurement of mental traits, abilities, and processes

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Applied Psychology

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The branch of psychology concerned with everyday, practical problems.