Psychology Chapter 1

Front 1

Psychology

Back 1

The scientific investigation of mental processes (thinking, remembering and feeling) and behaviour. Understanding a person requires attention to the individual's biology, psychological experience and cultural context.

Front 2

Biopsychology

Back 2

Examines the physical basis of psychological basis of psychological phenomena such as motivation, emotion and stress.

Front 3

Cross-Cultural Psychology

Back 3

Tries to distinguish universal psychological processes from those that are specific to particular cultures.

Front 4

Free Will vs Determinism

Back 4

Do we freely choose our actions or is our behaviour caused- determined by things outside our control?

Front 5

Mind-Body Problem

Back 5

The question of how mental and physical events interact.

Front 6

Wilhelm Wundt

Back 6

Founded the first psychological laboratory in 1879

Front 7

Structuralism

Back 7

Uncover the basic elements of consciousness through introspect

Front 8

Functionalism

Back 8

Explains psychological processes in terms of the role, or function, they serve.

Front 9

Psychological Perspectives

Back 9

Psychodynamic Perspective, Behaviourist Perspective, The Cognitive Perspective, The Humanistic Perspective,The Evolutionary Perspective

Front 10

The Psychodynamic Perspective

Back 10

People's actions are determined by the way thoughts, feelings and wishes are connected in their minds. Many of these mental events occur outside \conscious awareness. These mental processes may conflict with one another, leading to compromises among competing motives. Many of the associations between feelings and behaviours or situations that guide our behaviour are expressed unconsciously.

Front 11

The Behaviourist Perspective

Back 11

Focuses on the way objects or events in the environment come to control behaviour through learning. Behaviour can be controlled by environmental consequences that either increase or decrease their likelihood of occurring.

Front 12

The Cognitive Perspective

Back 12

Focuses on the way people perceive, process, and retrieve information, Philosophical questions led to many cognitive psychologists to emphasise the role of reason in creating knowledge.

Front 13

The Humanistic Perspective

Back 13

Focuses on the uniqueness of the individual. Assumes that people are motivated to become self-actualised - reach their full potential. Client-Centred therapy emphasised conscious. goal-directed choices and the need for individuals to realise their true potential - to self-actualise.

Front 14

Nature vs Nurture

Back 14

To what extent do psychological processes reflect biological or environmental influences? Ex: To what extent is intelligence inherited, and how do genes and environment interact to influence intellectual functioning?

Front 15

Rationalism vs Empericism

Back 15

To what extent does knowledge about the world come from observation and experience or from logic and reasoning? Ex:How do children come to understand that other people have thoughts and feelings?

Front 16

Reason vs Emotion

Back 16

To what extent are people guided by their knowledge or by their feelings (and to what extent should they be)? Ex: Should people choose their mates based on 'gut feelings', or should they carefully weigh a potential partner's cost and benefits if they want to have a happy, long-lasting marriage.

Front 17

Continuity vs Discontinuity with other animals

Back 17

To what extent are humans similar to other animals (that is, to what extent is human psychology continuous with the psychology of other animals)? Ex: To what degree can studying fear responses in rats inform psychologists about the nature of human emotions?

Front 18

Individualism vs Relationality

Back 18

To what extent are humans fundamentally self-interested or oriented towards relating to and helping other people? Ex: Do people ever really help others without any benefit to themselves or are they motivated by other considerations, such as desires to feel good about themselves or avoid guilt?

Front 19

Conscious vs Unconscious

Back 19

To what extent are people conscious of the contents of their mind and the causes of their behaviour? Ex: Can people describe themselves accurately or are they unaware of many aspects of their personality?

Front 20

Mental vs Physical

Back 20

To what extent can we understand psychological events independent of their neural basis? Ex: How many kinds of memory are there? When we hold a phone number in mind briefly as we reach for the phone, are we using different neural 'hardware' than we store that number for keeps?

Front 21

Introspection

Back 21

The process of looking inward reporting one's own conscious experience.