Chapter 1 Psychology Terms

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structuralism

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By Edward Titchener, identifies basic building blocks, structures, & mental life through introspection and how they combine.

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functionalism

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studies how the mind functions to adapt humans and other animals to their environment. Influenced by Darwin's evolution theory.

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psychoanalytic school

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founded by Sigmund Freud, he believed that psychological problems are caused by conflicts between "acceptable" and "unacceptable" unconscious sexual or aggressive motives.

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behavioral perspective

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emphasizes objective, observable environmental influences on overt behavior. Founded by John B. Watson

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humanistic perspective

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stressed free will and self-actualization. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow are central figures. All individuals naturally strive to move toward self-actualization.

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positive psychology

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led by the humanistic approach, it's the scientific study of optimal human functioning

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cognitive perspective

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emphasizes thoughts, perception, and information processing. These psychologists study how we gather, encode, and store information.

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neuroscientific/biopsychological perspective

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examination of behavior through the lens of genetics and biological processes in the brain and other parts of the nervous system.

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evolutionary perspective

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stresses natural selection, adaptation, and evolution of behavior and mental processes.

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sociocultural perspective

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emphasizes social interactions and cultural determinants of behavior and mental processes.

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Contemporary psychology reflects seven major perspectives:

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psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic, behaviorist, humanist, cognitive, neuroscientific/biopsychological, evolutionary, and sociocultural

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biopsychosocial model

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A unifying theme of modern psychology that considers biological, psychological, and social processes.

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Name and describe an important woman that contributed greatly to psychology.

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Mary Calkins performed valuable research on memory, and served as first female president of the APA.
Francis Cecil Sumner became black to earn a Ph.D. in psychology

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basic research

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a research strategy conducted in universities or research laboratories by researchers who are interested in advancing general scientific understanding. Meets first three goals of psychology.

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applied research

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generally conducted outside the laboratory, meets the fourth goal of psychology: change existing real-world problems.

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scientific method

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Involves six basic steps cyclical and cumulative, and scientific progress comes from repeatedly challenging and revising existing theories and building new ones.

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informed consent

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A chief principle by the APA is that the researcher should fully inform the participant as to the nature of the study.

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debriefing

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When deception is used, this is an important guideline at the end of an experiment.

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experiment

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most powerful research method, in which an experimenter manipulates and controls the variables to determine cause and effect

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independent variable (IV) vs. depenedent variable

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Former is the variable that is manipulated to determine its effect on the dependent variable. Latter is the variable that is measured; it is affected by the independent variable

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experimenter bias

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Experimenters that unintioneny

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double-blind study

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neither the observer nor the participant knows which group received the experimental treatment.

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sample bias

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introduce error or bias into an experment.

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cross-cultural sampling

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isolates group differences in behavior that stem from researchers' ethnocentrism.

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random assignment

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a procedure that ensures that each participant is equally likely to be assigned to any particular group.

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social desirability response

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A type of bias where participants may try to present themselves in a good light or deliberately attempt to mislead the researcher.

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descriptive research

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research methods used to observe and record behavior (without producing causal explanations).

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placebos

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a type of control for participant bias that ensures that participants are unaware of which group they're in.

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naturalistic observation

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researchers systematically measure and record participants' behavior, without interfering.

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surveys

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measures a variety of psychological behaviors and attitudes that includes tests, questionnaires, polls, and interviews.

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case studies

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An in-depth study of a single research participant, for example for rare disorders.

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correlational research

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Scientific study in which the researcher observes or measures two or more variables to find relationships between them.

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correlation coefficient

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a numerical value that indicates the degree and direction of the relationship between the two variables.

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biological research

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examines the biological processes that are involved in our feelings, thoughts, and behavior. they study the brain and other parts of the nervous system.

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biological research

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examines the biological processes that are involved in our feelings, thoughts, and behavior. they study the brain and other parts of the nervous system.