Chapter 1: AP Psych

What is some real-life evidence of the body's impact on the mind? Give examples that are diffrent from those in the text.

For example when you are hungry and can't think straight

Positive Psychology

A branch of psychology that emphasize human strengths.

Environmental Psychology

The study of the interactions between people and their physical environment. Psychologists in this field would explore the effects of physical settings on perception, cognition, learning, development, abnormal behavior, and social relations.

Health Psychology

A multidimensional approach to human health emphasizing psychological factors, lifestyle, and the nature of the healthcare delivery system. Psychologists in this field study the roles of stress and coping in people's lives.

Which particular Freudian views of human nature have influenced general perceptions of what psychology is all about?

A particular Freudian view of human nature that has influenced general perceptions of what psychology is all about is that it's mostly about psychological disorders, which is only a portion of psychology.

What are some career options for a person with an undergraduate degree in psychology? What careers might someone with a graduate degree in psychology pursue?

A person with an undergraduate degree in psychology could have occupations ranging from human resources and business consulting to doing casework for individuals struggling with psychological disorders. Those with graduate training in psychology might work as therapists, counselors, researchers, teachers, business consultants, or marketing researchers.

Evolutionary Approach

An approach to psychology centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.

Humanistic Approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing a person's positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose any destiny.

Cognitive Approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems.

Behavioral Approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants. It focuses on an organism's visible interactions with the environment. This view dominated psychological research under the helms of John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner.

Psychodynamic Approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives and society's demands, and early childhood family experiences. This view was popular with Sigmund Freud who used a technique known as psychoanalysis in order to unlock a person's unconscious conflicts by talking with the individual about their childhood, dreams, thoughts, and feelings.

Biological Approach

An approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system.

Sociocultural Approach

An approach to psychology that examines the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior.

What important distinction are there between a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist?

An important distinction between a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist is that a clinical psychologist has a doctoral degree in psychology which requires 4-5 years of graduate work plus a year of interning in a mental health facility, while a psychiatrist is a physician with a medical degree who specializes in abnormal behavior and psychotherapy. Psychiatrists can prescribe drugs.

Sport Psychology

Applies psychology's principles to improving sport performance and enjoying sport participation.

What specific ideas did B.F. Skinner's behaviorist approach emphasize?

B.F. Skinner's behaviorist approach emphasized that psychology should be about what people do, their actions and behaviors, and not be concerned with thoughts, feelings, and goals. He believed that rewards and punishments governs our behavior.

Natural Selection

Charles Darwin's principle of an evolutionary process in which organisms that are best adapted to their environment will survive and produce offspring.

Community Psychology

Concentrates on improving the quality of relationships among individuals, their community, and society at large. Psychologists in this field are scientists that provide accessible care for people with psychological problems.

Developmental Psychology

Concerned with how people become who they are, from conception to death. Psychologists in this field study child development, adult development, and aging.

School and Educational Psychology

Concerns children's learning and adjustment in school.

In what ways is Darwin's work relevant to psychology?

Darwin's work is relevant to psychology because it shows that we are the way we are so that we can survive in our environment and it's strongly supported by observation.

Social Psychology

Deals with people's interactions with one another, relationships, social perceptions, social cognition, and attitudes.Psychologists in this field are interested in the influence of groups on individuals' thinking and behavior and in the ways that the groups tend to influence our own attitudes.

Behavior

Everything we do that can be directly observed.

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Focuses on the workplace (the workers and the organizations that employ them).

Empirical Method

Gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data, and logical reasoning.

Name five areas of specialization in psychology and describe the primary concerns of them.

Physiological psychology and behavioral neuroscience-interested in the physical processes that underlie the mental operations such as vision and memory developmental psychology- Concerned with how people become who they are from conception to death sensation and perception- focus on the physical systems and physiological processes that allow us to experience the world cognitive psychology- examines attention, consciousness, information processing, and memory learning- Behavior changes in response to certain circumstances

Clinical and Counseling Psychology

Psychologists in this field diagnose and treat people with psychological problems. Sometimes they work with people to help solve practical problems in life.

What has psychology increasingly come to recognize about the relationship between the mind and the body?

Psychology has come to recognize that the mind and the body are heavily connected.

What makes psychology a science? What are the goals of psychological scientists?

Psychology is a science because it uses systematic methods to observe human behavior and draw conclusions. As a science, it's goals are to describe, predict, and explain behavior.

Motivation and Emotion

Researchers in this field study how individuals persist to attain a difficult goal and how rewards affect the experience of motivation. Emotion researchers study the physiological and brain processes that underlie emotional experience, the role of emotional expression in health, ad the possibility that emotions are universal.

Sensation and Perception

Researchers studying in this field focus on the physical systems and psychological processes that allow us to experience the world.

Physiological Psychology/Behavioral Neuroscience

Researches studying in this field are interested in learning more about the physical processes that underlie mental operations such as vision and memory. Behavioral neuroscience is similar in that focuses on the brain's role in behavior.

What is structuralism? How does functionalism contrast with structuralism?

Structuralism is the discovery of basic elements or structures of mental processes. It differs from functionalism, in that functional emphasizes the functions and purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual's adaptation to the environment.

Personality Psychology

Studies personality, consisting of the relatively enduring characteristics of individuals. Psychologists in this field study traits, goals, motives, generics, personality development, and well-being.

Psychology of Women and Gender

Studies the physiological, social, and cultural influences on women's development and behavior. Those that focus on gender study how our biological sex influences our ideas about ourselves as men and women.

Forensic Psychology

The field of psychology that applies psychological concepts to the legal system.

Cognitive Psychology

The field of psychology that examines attention, consciousness, information processing, and memory. Psychologists in this field are interested in skills and abilities such as problem solving, decision making, expertise, and intelligence.

What four attitudes are at the core of the scientific approach?

The four attitudes at the core of the scientific approach are: critical thinking, skepticism, objectivity, and curiosity.

Which approach to psychology focuses on self-fulfillment, altruism, and personal growth?

The humanistic approach is most interested on self-fulfillment, altruism, and personal growth.

Learning

The intricate process by which behavior changes to adapt to changing circumstances.

Critical Thinking

The process of reflecting deeply and actively, asking questions, and evaluating the evidence. It reduces the likelihood that conclusions will be based on unreliable personal beliefs, opinions, and emotions.

Which approach to psychology is most interested in early childhood relationships?

The psychodynamic approach is most interested in early childhood relationships.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Psychopathology

The scientific study of psychological disorders and the development of diagnostic categories and treatments for those disorders.

Neuroscience

The scientific study of the function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system, emphasizing that the brain and nervous system are central to understanding behavior, thought, and emotion. Neuroscientists believe that thoughts and emotions have a physical basis in the brain.

Cross-Cultural Psychology

The study of culture's role in understanding behavior, thought, and emotion. Psychologists in this field compare the nature of psychological processes in different cultures with a special interest in whether psychological phenomena are universal or culture-specific.

Mental Processes

The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly.

Science

The use of systematic methods to observe the natural world, including human behavior, and to draw conclusions.

What is meant when we say that a particular characteristic of an organism is adaptive?

When we say that a particular characteristic of an organism is adaptive, we are referring to how it makes an organism better able to survive.

Functionalism

William Hame's approach to mental processes, emphasizing the functions and purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual's adaptation to the environment.

Structuralism

William Wundt's approach to discover the basic elements, or structures, of mental processes; so called because of its focus on identifying the structures of the human mind.

What are some mental processes that might be involved in efforts to change your physical body, as through diet or exercise?

commitment, goal setting and self-discipline