Psychology Unit 1

Sociocultural example

If the social peer group of this person thinks this is cool, he will too although in most cases he knows that the culture of Americans would not approve of his behavior. Structuralism: In a carefully controlled situation trained participants would report their thoughts on aggression or through the use of introspection and Wundt and others who followed the same approach would map out the basic structure of the thought processes. This style of research was soon abandoned because it led to a lack of reliability in results because the experimental methods used were too subjective.

John Locke

Described the human mind as a blank state shaped by our experiences.

Wilhelm Wundt

Established the first laboratory in Germany: beginning the study of pysch.

Pyschodynamic example

Some childhood memory is suppressed and in a stressful situation the driver acts out because of repressed fear or anger.

Behaviorism example

The driver has learned that aggressive behavior is ok because he was not punished for behaving aggressively.

Humanism example

The driver should look to himself and ask what has frustrated him to the point that he has behaved poorly.

Functionalism

William James, this approach states that to survive, human behavior has to keep changing to fit the environment.

John 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

Structuralism

by Wilhelm Wundt, was the first formal approach in psychology. Wundt opened the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879. Thus, psychology became a science. He used introspection, where the person look into themselves and identify and isolate the elements of their behavior. Wundt is know as the FATHER OF PSYCHOLOGY.

Jean Piaget

cognitive development

Eveloutionary approach

looks at the adaptation of behavior through genetics that have allowed us to survive and thrive.

Neuroscience Approach

looks at the genetic contributions to behavior: the chemical balances and imbalances that can cause behavior to change.

Sociocultural approach

looks to see how behavior varies due to differences in culture, age, gender and social situations.

Natural Observation

means you watch the behavior in a natural environment. This is done by Overt observation - the observer can be seen Covert observation - the observer cannot be seen

applied pyschologists

use their knowledge of psychological theories and principles to solve real world problems.

experimental method

A clear statement of the problem to be studied. Operational definitions, which are defining terms by means of how they are being measured, are added. The hypothesis, otherwise known as an educated guess, sets the direction of the research. Do you know the difference between control groups, and the experimental groups in an experiment? Check out the LEARN section. The dependent variable depends on the independent variable. Confounding Variable A conclusion is then reached. This method that allows you to do a cause and effect.

Longitude studies

A type of research that involves studying the same group of individuals over an extended period of time. This allows researchers to look at changes over time. However, they do require enormous amounts of time and tend to be very expensive.

Humanism

Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, presented a positive approach to the study of behavior. The humanistic approach looks at people as basically healthy and happy and in control of their behavior as a product of free will. It looks at an ideal image that we strive to be, and a real image that we realize we are. The further these two images are from each other the more frustrated a person becomes, and then the result is a more negative behavior. You can only assist people in understanding their behavior and helping them bring about change. We strive to be self-actualized.

Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist known for his work on the unconscious mind. Father of psychoanalysis.

correlation studies

Correlational studies are used to investigate relationships between variables. Correlation is determined by a mathematic equation resulting in a number called the correlation coefficient. The correlation coefficient is a measure of strength and can range from -1.00 to +1.00.. There are three possible results of a correlational study: a positive correlation, a negative correlation, and no correlation.

Frantz Fanon

French writer who urged a decolonization of the mind as well as society

Functionalism examples

Functionalists would focus on the mental activity involved with the expression on aggressive behavior.

Evolutionary example

In the survival of the fittest attitude, the driver shows aggression when the other driver is perceived to be blocking his forward momentum.

Cognitive Approach

It started in Germany with a group of psychologist called the Gestalt psychologists. It focused on the importance of our mental abilities in guiding behavior. Cognitive psychology was advanced into a modern day approach by the work of John Piaget in the 1950's. He focused on how we interpret, organize, store and retrieve information.

Behavorism

John B. Watson, known as the father of behaviorism. It is also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. His approach is only concerned with observable behavior. If the behavior cannot be observed and measured, it is not of any importance to a behaviorist. This theory has had a large impact on education.

Pyschodynamic

Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis. These are the main components of this approach: childhood the unconscious the conflicts between the biological or sexual instinct and what society expects. Freud believed that the unconscious sexual drives or conflict from childhood trauma shape behavior. He also believed in the importance of dreams. He believed dreaming was the time the unconscious could express itself.

Aristotle

Suggested that the heart is the mechanism of mental process.

Neuroscience example

The driver either has a genetic condition or he is on some type of drug causing the aggressive/violent behavior.

Charles Darwin

Theory of evolution and survival of the fittest.

Survey method

This is asking people about their behavior. There are two important things you have to do. You must get a random sample. You must consider biasing. The survey interview method are that it seems quick and easy, but downside of the survey interview method is lack of random samples and biasing.

Cross-sectional research

This method often used in developmental psychology. It looks at different groups of people who differ in the variable of interest, but share other characteristics such as socioeconomic status, educational background, and ethnicity. Any differences between groups can presumably be attributed to age differences rather than to other variables.

Cognitive Example

What the driver thinks about aggression will affect his behavior. For the behavior to change the thinking about aggressive behavior must change.

G. Stanley Hall

american psychologist who established the first psychology research laboratory in the United States and founded the American Psychological Association

Statistics

are the mathematical tools that helps show the results of research. The most often used statistics are the measures of central tendency - or the mean, median and mode. Psychologists use statistics to organize, summarize, and interpret the information they collect. These three measures are used to define central tendency.

Ivan Pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

research pyschologist

design and conduct experiments exploring how people act, think, behave, interact, learn, feel, and perform under different conditions.

Abraham Maslow

humanistic psychology; hierarchy of needs-needs at a lower level dominate an individual's motivation as long as they are unsatisfied; self-actualization, transcendence

clinical psychologist

involved with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders. They cannot prescribe medication.

forensic psychologist

involves applying psychology to the field of criminal investigation and the law

industrial psychologist

is the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations.

B.F. Skinner

operant conditioning

William James

published The Principles of Psychology, the science's first textbook; responsible for theory of functionalism

School Psychologist

work within the educational system to help children with emotional, social, and academic issues.