AP psychology Unit 1

-counseling psychology -a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living and in achieving a greater well-being

A lot of people use counseling psychology to resolve issues in their marriages, at school, or their home lives.

-personality psychology -the study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

A person's personality psychology makes up who they are and how they act and interact with other people's personalities.

-psychometrics -the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

A psychologist might use psychometrics to analyze a persons psychological growth.

-applied research -scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Applied research is used to find a solution to a problem at hand, so if someone is experiencing issues, applied research will be used to solve that problem.

-behavioral psychology -the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning

Behavioral psychology depicts how we act based on triggers from the outside world and in our minds.

-biological psychology -a branch of psychology that studies the links between biological and psychological processes

Biological psychology refers to examining emotions to learn how they relate to the brain function.

-natural selection -the principle that among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passes on to succeeding generations

Charles Darwin devised the idea of natural selection when studying animals, and now it is known that it applies to human behavior and traits as well.

-cognitive neuroscience -the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition

Cognitive neuroscience is a way in which we can learn how our minds processes and retains information, it is also important in finding ways to treat disorders.

-cognitive psychology -the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Cognitive psychology will show how we process things in our minds and how they will be displayed in the real world (outside our minds).

-behaviorism -the view that psychology should be and objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with the first one...not the second one.

Created by Watson and Skinner this view called behaviorism would explain how the brain works without studying the emotions and inner feelings.

-developmental psychology -the scientific study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

Developmental psychology is used to study a person from birth to the end of their life by examining their physical, cognitive, and social changes.

-educational psychology -the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning

Educational psychology can be used to determine what kind of learning environment a person might need in order to be successful.

-structuralism -an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind

Edward Titchener wanted people to look inside to understand the mind, the introspective view, also known as structuralism.

-empiricism -the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely only on observation and experimentation

Empiricism goes along with John Locke's thesis of the mind being a blank state and learning from experience.

-experimental psychology -the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method

Experimental psychology was created and used by exclusive psychologists trying to define psychology by experimenting.

-functionalism -a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function-how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish

Functionalism was encouraged by William James, this required exploring your emotions, memories, habits, etc.

-human factors psychology -the study of how people and machines interact and the design of safe and easily used machines and environments

Human factors psychology is probably taken into effect when designing a workplace, or starting a new business with machinery and workers.

-industrial-organizational psychology -the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

Industrial-organizational psychology can be used to make changes in a work place in order to accommodate everyone.

-levels of analysis -the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenom

Just like the make-up of our bodies, the levels of analysis explain the steps and building blocks of psychology.

-nature-nurture issue -the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

Nature-nurture issue has been long debated in the world of psychology, the main point is asking whether or not the genes and our life experiences influence our behaviors and how we act.

-psychiatry -a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical treatments as well as psychology therapy

Psychiatry has become very popular of late, as a way to resolve psychological issues that counseling may not fix.

-psychodynamic psychology -a branch of psychological that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

Psychodynamic psychology shows how your internal emotions that you are unaware of affect your observable behavior.

-clinical psychology -a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

Psychologists use clinical psychology to prescribe patients with a fix to their psychological issues.

-psychology -the science of behavior and mental processes

Psychology is the one term used to wrap up all the previous terms into one study.

-evolutionary psychology - the study of roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection

Referring back to natural selection, evolutionary psychology will show how the genetics affect your behavior and can be compared to those family members before you.

-humanistic psychology -historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential personal growth

Rogers and Maslow felt that the study of psychology should be based more on the growth of an individual instead of their behaviors they called it humanistic psychology.

-basic research -pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Scientists use basic research to continue to learn more about the mind and body to be able to treat those with psychological disorders.

-social psychology -the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Social psychology is helpful in learning about how we thrive in situations with other people.

-social-cultural psychology - the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

Social-cultural psychology is how the outside world and the things we are involved in affect our behavior and our mental precesses.

-biopsychosocial approach -an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

The biopsychosocial approach uses the levels of analysis to build up to psychology. One without the others is incomplete.