Chapter One
Naturalistic observation
Observing behaving as it unfolds in natural settings
Natural selection
Physical features that help plants and animals adapt to their environments are retained evolution
Psychoanalysis
A Freudian approach to psychotherapy emphasizing the exploration of unconscious using free association, dream interpretation, resistances, and transference to uncover unconscious conflicts
Uncritical acceptance
A failure to evaluate claims with sufficient logical rigor
Cognitive unconscious
A part of the mind of which we are subjectively aware and therefore not open to introspection
Imageless thought
An old term describing the inability of introspectionists to become subjectively aware of some mental processes; an early term describing the cognitive unconscious
Superstition
An unfounded belief help without objective evidence or in the face of falsifying evidence
Stimulus
Any physical energy that affects a person and evokes a response
Psychodynamic theory
Any theory of behavior that emphasizes internal conflicts, motives, and unconscious forces
Radical behaviorism
B.F. Skinner's philosophy of the science of human behavior; most influential type of behaviorism for guiding the science and practice of behavior analysis.
Phrenology
Claimed that the shape of the skull reveals personal traits; was revealed to be a pseudoscience since psychological research demonstrated that bumps on the head have nothing to do with talent or ability
Observational data
Data that come form watching participants and recording their behavior
Physiological data
Data that comes from participants' physiological processes (including measures of the brain and heart, muscles, and the production of hormones
Dynamic unconscious
In Freudian theory, the parts of the mind that are beyond awareness, especially conflicts, impulses, and desires not directly known to a person
Empirical evidence
Information gained from direct observation
Structured observation
Observing behavior in situations that have been set up by the researchers
Self-report data
Probably the most common form of data collection that psychologists use
Neo-Freudians
Psychologists who accepts the broad features of Freud's theory but have revised the theory to include the role of cultural and social factors while still accepting some of its basic concepts
Biopsychology
Study of the physical brain and body structures that underlie behavior and mental processes
Free will
The ability to freely make choices that are not controlled by genetics, learning, or unconscious forces; the idea that human being are capable of making choices or decisions themselves
Determinism
The idea that all behavior has prior causes that would completely explain one's choices and actions if all such causes were known
Graphology
The study of handwriting; a more recent example of flawed a reasoning characteristics
Industrial/organizational psychology
The study of people at work
Confirmation bias
The tendency to remember or notice things that confirm our expectations and ignore the rest