Psychology Chapter 1

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Psychology

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The science of individual behavior and mental processes.

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Structuralism

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A historical school of psychology devoted to uncovering the basic structures that make up mind and thought. Structuralists sought the "elements" of conscious experience.

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Introspection

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The process of reporting on one's own inner conscious experience.

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Functionalism

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A historical school of psychology that believed mental processes could best be understood in terms of their adaptive purpose and function.

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Biological View

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The psychological perspective that searches for the causes of behavior in the functioning of genes, the brain and nervous system, and the endocrine (hormone) system.

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Evolutionary View

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A relatively new perspective in psychology that views behavior and mental processes in terms of genetic adaptations for survival and reproduction.

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Cognitive View

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The psychological perspective that emphasizes mental processing and interpretation of experience.

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Cognitions

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Mental processes, such as thinking, memory, sensation, and perception.

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Psychodynamic View

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A viewpoint that emphasizes the understanding of mental disorders in terms of unconscious needs, desires, memories, and conflicts.

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Humanistic View

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A viewpoint that emphasizes human ability, growth, potential, and free will.

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Behavioral View or Behaviorism

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A psychological perspective that finds the source of our actions in environmental stimuli, rather than in inner mental processes.

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Sociocultural View

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A psychological perspective that emphasizes the importance of social interaction, social learning, and a cultural perspective.

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Cultural

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A term referring to a somplex blend of language, beliefs, customs, values, and traditions developed by a group of people and shared with others in the same environment.

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Experimental Psychologists

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Psychologists who do research on basic psychological processes- as contrasted with applied psychologists.

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Applied Psychologists

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Psychologist who use the knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to solve human problems.

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Clinical Psychologists

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Psychological practitioners who specialize in the treatment of mental disorders.

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Counseling Psychologists

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Psychological pracitioners who help people deal with a variety of problems, including relationships and vocational choice. Counseling psychologists are less likely than clinical Psychologists to do long-term therapy with persons having sever mental disorders.

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Industrial and Organizational Psychologists

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Applied psychologists who specialize in modifying the work environment to maximize productivity and moreale. They are often called I/O psychologists.

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Engineering Psychologists

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Applied psychologists who specialize in making objects and environments easier, more efficient, or more comfortable for people to use.

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School Psychologists

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Applied psychologists with expertise in the problems of teaching and learning.

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Rehabilitation Psychologists

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Applied psychologists who help people with physical and mental disorders adapt to the problems of everyday life and work.

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Psychiatrists

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Physicians who specialize in the treatment of mental disorders.

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Psychoanalysts

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Specialists (usually psychiatrists) who use Freudian methods of treating mental disorders.

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Psuedoscience

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Any approach to explaining phenomena in the natural world that does not use empirical ovservation or othe raspects of the scientific method.

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Scientific Method

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A 5-step process for empirical investigation of a hypotheses under conditions designed to control biases and subjective judgments.

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Empirical Investigation

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An approach to research that relies on sensory experience and observation as research data.

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Theory

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A testable explanation for a set of facts or observations.

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Hypothesis

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A statement predicting the outcome of a scientific study; a statement describing the relationship among variables in a study.

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Operational Definitions

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Specific descriptions of concepts involving the conditions of a scientific study. Operational definitions are state in terms of how the concepts are to be measured or what operations are being employed to produce them.

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Independant Variables

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A stimulus conditino that is so named because the xperimenter changes it independently of all the other carefully controlled experimental conditions.

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Randomization

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A process by which chance alone determined the order in which the stimulus was presented.

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Data

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Information, especially information gathered by a researcher to be used in testing a hypothesis.

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Dependent Variable

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The measured outcome of a study; the responses of the subjects in a study.

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Experiment

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A kind of research in which the researcher controls all the conditions and directly manipulates the conditions, including the independent variable.

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Experimental Conditions

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The stimulus conditions involved in exposing those in the experimental group to the special treatment being investigated.

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Experimental Group

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THose subjects in an experiment who are exposed to the treatment of interest.

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Control Group

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Those subjects who are used as a comparison for the experimental group. The control group is not given the special treatment of interest.

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Control Condition

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The stimulus conditions for the control group- conditions that are identical to the experimental condition in every respect, except for the special treatment given to the experimental group.

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Correlation Study

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A form of research in which the relationship between variables is studied, but without the experimental manipulation of an independent variable. Correlational studies can't determine cause-and-effect relationships.

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Correlation Coefficient

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A statistic, r, that indicates the relationship between two variables. Correlation coefficeients can range from -1.0 to 0 to +1.0.

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Survey

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A technique used in correlational research that typically involves seeking people's responses to a prepared set of verbal items.

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Naturalistic Observation

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A form of correlational research involving behavioral assessment of people or animals in their home surroundings.

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Case Study

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Research that involves a single subject (or, at most, a few subjects).

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Double-Blind Control

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An experimental procedure in which both researches and subjects are uniformed aobut the nature of the independent variable being administered.

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Confounding Variables

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Factors that could be confused with the independent variable and thus distort the results of a study.