Psychology Chapter 1 Test

How would a psychoanalyst explain aggression?

Aggressive impulses are common reactions to the frustrations of daily life. By holding in aggression. We set the stage for future explosions.

In what way are psychiatrists and psychologists different?

Psychiatrists can prescribe you medication and are medical doctors. Psychologists are not and cannot prescribe you medicine.

Biological Perspective

Subject Matter: nervous system, glands and hormones, genetic factors. Key Assumption: Biological processes influence behavior and mental processes.

Identify one example of the influence that Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory has had on popular culture.

When we try to determine the meaning of a dream, aggressive behavior, and the slip of a tongue.

clinical psychologist

a psychologist who diagnoses and treats people with emotional disturbances

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats

How do cognitive psychologists compare people's mental processes to the working computer?

Cognitive psychologists compare our strategies for solving problems as our mental programs or software.

How did the field of psychology develop?

It began in ancient Greece. In the 1500's 1600's and 1700's it revived because of scientific advances. This led to the rebirth of psychology in the 1800's.

How does knowledge of cultural differences enrich the study of psychology?

It would enrich the psychological study because people who are of different ethnic backgrounds have different experiences.

What defining characteristics of psychology differentiate it from other related social sciences?

Psychologists deal with behavior and mental processes. The social sciences deal with the structure of human society and the nature of the individual.

Psychoanalytic Perspective

Subject Matter: Unconscious processes, early childhood experiences Key Assumption: Unconscious motives influence behavior.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

founder of psychoanalysis, a controversial theory about the workings of the unconscious mind

Experimental Psychologists

the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method

Wilhem Wundt (1832-1920)

-viewed psychology as a science -observe + EXPERIMENTATION = psychology -first experiment on how people hear a sound faster than being aware of what the sound means (hitting a telegram key when a ball hit a hall) * opened the first psychology laboratory in Germany in 1879

social psychologists

Psychologists who study how people influence one another's behavior and mental processes, individually and in groups

personality psychologists

Psychologists who study the characteristics that make individuals similar to, or different from, one another

What is psychology and what are the five goals of psychology?

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. The goals of psychology are to observe, describe, explain, predict. and control the events they study.

William James (1842-1910)

Published THE PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY, the science's first textbook Established the Theory of Functionalism: How mental processes function in our lives

Describe the main differences between structuralism and functionalism.

Structuralism focuses on consciousness and the human mind. It breaks down a conscious experience and is objective and subjective. Objective is concrete and subjective is feelings. Functionalism has to do with behavior and how your environment changes you. We adapt to function.

Learning Perspective

Subject Matter: Environmental influences, learning, observational learning

Sociocultural Perspective

Subject Matter: Ethnicity, gender, culture, socioeconomic status Key Assumption: Sociocultural, biological, and psychological factors create individual differences.

Cognitive Perspective

Subject Matter: Interpretation of mental images, thinking, language Key Assumption: Perceptions and thoughts influence behavior

Evolutionary Perspective

Subject Matter: Physical traits, social behavior Key Assumption: Adaptive organisms survive and transmit their genes to future generation.

Humanistic Perspective

Subject Matter: Self-concept Key Assumption: People make free and conscious choices based on their unique experiences.

List the seven leading contemporary perspectives in psychology.

The seven leading contemporary perspectives are, biological perspective, evolutionary perspective, cognitive perspective, humanistic perspective, psychoanalytic perspective, learning perspective, and sociocultural perspective.

Define theory and principle.

Theory is a statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are and happen the way they do. Principle is a rule or law.

educational psychologist

a psychologist who is concerned with helping students learn

counseling psychologist

a psychologist who usually helps people deal with problems of living

School Psychologist

assesses and counsels students, consults with educators and parents, and performs behavioral intervention when necessary

John B. Watson

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat