Part 1: Thinking Critically With Psychological Science (Modules 1-2)

Structuralism

an early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.

From the 1920s through the 1960s, the two major forces in psychology were _________ and _________ psychology.

behaviorism, Freudian

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2

As ______ waned, so did ______. Hoping to assemble the ______ from simple elements was rather like trying to understand a car by examining its disconnected parts.

introspection, structuralism, mind's structure

Behavior Genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

Wilhelm Wundt + students

- Psychology's First Laboratory (birth of psychology) - 1879 - create an experimental apparatus. their machine measured the time it took for people to press a telegraph key after hearing a ball hit a platform - was seeking to measure "atoms of the mind"—the fastest and simplest mental processes.

B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)

- This leading behaviorist rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior.

Community Psychologists

- a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups. - work to create social and physical environments that are healthy for all

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

- emphasized the ways our unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect our behavior. - influenced humanity's self-understanding - created Freudian (psychoanalytic) psycology

Margaret Floy Washburn

- first official female psychology Ph.D. - wrote the Animal Mind - the second female APA president in 1921. - she could not join the all-male organization of experimental psychologists

Aristotle

- greek naturalist + philosopher - before 300 bc - theorized about learning and memory, motivation and emotion, perception and personality.

Evolutionary Psychology and Behavior Genetics

- nature vs. nurture - Greek philosopher Plato (428-348 B.C.E.) assumed that we inherit character and intelligence and that certain ideas are inborn. - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) countered that there is nothing in the mind that does not first come in from the external world through the senses. - Charles Darwin + natural selection // 1859 origin of species (explains animals structures + behaviors) - Nurture works on what nature provides.

William James (6)

- philosopher-psychologist - wnte beyond labeling our inward thoughts and feelings by considering their evolved functions. - Under the influence of evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, James assumed that thinking, like smelling, developed because it was adaptive - believed consciousness was a function - studied down-to-earth emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and moment-to-moment streams of consciousness. - published the book Principles of Psychology (1890) (intro psych to the public)

Edward Bradford Titchener (4)

- psychologist - aimed to classify and understand elements of the mind's structure - engaged people in self-reflective introspection (looking inward), training them to report elements of their experience as they looked at a rose (etc) - structuralism's technique of introspection proved somewhat unreliable.

How did the cognitive revolution affect the field of psychology?

- recaptured the field's early interest in mental health processes - and made them legitimate topics for scientific study.

Mary Whiton Calkins

- student of Willam James @ Harvard - denied degrees from Harvard sister school - first female president of the American Psychological Association (APA) //1905

1. The ______ perspective in psychology focuses on how behavior and thought differ from situation to situation and from culture to culture, while the ______ perspective emphasizes observation of how we respond to and learn in different situations. 2. psychology is united by a common quest: __________.

1 .social-cultural, behavioral 2. describing and explaining behavior and the mind underlying it.

1. What was English essayist C. S. Lewis' view? 2. Wundt and Titchener focused on ________. 3. James also engaged in . 4. For these and other early pioneers, psychology was defined as " ________"

1. "there is one thing, and only one in the whole universe which we know more about than we could learn from external observation." That one thing, Lewis said, is ourselves: 2. inner sensations, images, and feelings 3. introspective examination of the stream of consciousness and emotion, hoping to understand their adaptive functions 4. the science of mental life.

1. That definition endured until the ________, when the first of two provocative American psychologists challenged it. ________, and later ________, dismissed ________ and redefined psychology as " ________" 2. You cannot observe a sensation, a feeling, or a thought, but ________. 3. This is known as _________.

1. 1920s, John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner, introspection, the scientific study of observable behavior 2. you can observe and record people's behavior as they are conditioned —as they respond to and learn in different situations. 3. behaviorism and was one of psychology's two major forces well into the 1960s

1. Psychology is less a set of findings than _______. 2. Our aim, then, is not merely to report results but ______. 3. You will see how researchers evaluate _______. And you will learn how all of us, whether scientists or simply curious people, _______. 4. _______, shaped by many forces, is particularly influenced by our understanding of _______.

1. a way of asking and answering questions. 2. also to show you how psychologists play their game. 3. conflicting opinions and idea, can think harder and smarter when experiencing and explaining the events of our lives. 4. Contemporary psychology, biology and experience, culture and gender, and human flourishing.

1. Our culture shapes our _______. 2. It influences our _______ of promptness and frankness, our attitudes toward premarital sex and varying body shapes, our tendency to be casual or formal, our willingness to make eye contact, our conversational distance, and much, much more. 3. Even when specific attitudes and behaviors vary by gender or across cultures, as they often do, ___________. Despite different genders, ________.

1. behavior 2. standards 3. the underlying processes are much the same; men and women are very similarly psychologically and biologically

HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY 1. As the __________ had rejected the early 1900's definition of psychology, other groups rejected the __________. 2. In the 1960s, humanistic psychologists, led by _________ found _________. 3. Rather than focusing on conditioned responses or childhood memories, the humanistic psychologists _________.

1. behaviorists, behaviorists' definition 2. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, both behaviorism and Freudian psychology too limiting. 3. focused on our needs for love and acceptance and on environments that nurture or limit personal growth.

Psychology also influences _____. And psychology deepens our ______.

1. culture, appreciation for how we humans perceive, think, feel, and act.

The scientific attitude—______________—prepares us to think harder and smarter. This thinking style, called critical thinking

1. curiosity, skepticism, humility 2. harder and smarter 3. critical thinking

Simultaneous with ________ emergence, psychologists in the 1960s pioneered a ________. This led the field back to ________. 2. Cognitive psychology today continues its scientific exploration of how ________. 3. The marriage of cognitive psychology (the science of mind) and neuroscience (the science of brain) gave birth to ________. This specialty, with researchers in many disciplines, ________.

1. humanistic psychology's, cognitive revolution.,the field back to its early interest in how our mind processes and retains information. 2. we perceive, process, and remember information, and of how thinking and emotion interact in anxiety, depression, and other disorders. 3. cognitive neuroscience, studies the brain activity underlying mental activity.

1. Critical thinkers are open to the possibility that _________. 2. Sometimes, they know, the best evidence _________. 3. Sometimes it challenges them and beckons us to a _________.

1. they (or you) might be wrong 2. confirms our intuitions 3. different way of thinking

1. what is the scientific attitude? 2. define and describe the steps of the scientific attitude

1. three basic attitudes that help make modern science possible - curiosity; does it work? when put to the test can its predictions be confirmed? - skepticism; what do you mean? how do you know? - humility; researchers must be willing to be surprised and follow new ideas

1. These _______ suggest different levels of analysis, which offer _______ . 2. Together, different levels of analysis form a _______, which considers the _______ 3. Each level of analysis offers a perspective for ___________.

1. tiered systems, complementary outlooks 2. biopsychosocial approach. influences of biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors 3. looking at a behavior or mental process, yet each by itself is incomplete

The nature-nurture issue recurs throughout this text as ___________.

1. today's psychologists explore the relative contributions of biology and experience

1. Psychology's first hundred years focused on __________ 2. Much of today's psychology continues the __________. 3. This approach is called ______. 4. These psychologist believe believe that ______ Thus, positive psychology uses ______ to explore the building of a " ______" that engages our skills, and a " ______" that points beyond ourselves.

1. understanding and treating troubles, such as abuse and anxiety, depression and disease, prejudice and poverty. 2. exploration of such challenges through research on human flourishing. 3. positive psychology 4. happiness is a by-product of a pleasant, engaged, and meaningful life, scientific methods, good life, meaningful life

1. To encompass psychology's concern with observable behavior and with inner thoughts and feelings, __________. 2. Behavior is______. Ex. Yelling, smiling, blinking, sweating, 3. Mental processes are ______.

1. we now define psychology as the science of behavior and mental processes. 2. anything an organism does—any action we can observe and record 3. our internal, subjective experiences—our sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings.

Before long, this new science of psychology became organized into different branches, or schools of thought, each promoted by pioneering thinkers. 2. Two early schools were ______ and ______.

2. structuralism, functionalism

Why did introspection fail as a method for understanding how the mind works?

People's self-reports varied, depending on the experience and the person's intelligence and verbal ability.

What were some important milestones in psychology's early development?

Wilhelm Wundt, Mary Whiton Calkins, Margaret Floy Washburn

What is contemporary psychology's position on the nature-nurture issue?

Psychological events often stem from the interaction of nature and nurture , rather than either of them acting alone.

What event defined the start of scientific psychology?

Scientific psychology began in Germany in 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology lab.

Psychiatrist

a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy. - may provide psychotherapy

Counseling Psychologists

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.

Clinical Psychologists

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

Applied Research

a scientific study that aims to solve practical problems. - used by industrial-organizational psychologists - use psychology's concepts and methods in the workplace to help organizations

Functionalism

an early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.

empirical approach

an evidence-based method that draws on observation and experimentation

Biopsychosocial Approach

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

List 7 of Psychology's Theoretical Perspectives

neuroscience, evolutionary, behavior genetics, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, social cultural

What advantage do we gain by using the biopsychosocial approach in studying psychological events?

provide a more complete view of than any one perspective could offer

Basic Research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base - builds psychology's knowledge base. - used by biological, developmental, cognitive, and social psyhologists

The school of ________ used introspection to define the mind's makeup; ________ focused on how mental processes enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

structuralism, functionalism

Levels of Analysis

the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon ex. school shooting and the causes behind it

Culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Cognitive Neuroscience

the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

nature-nurture issue

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.

What is natural selection?

the process by which nature selects from chance variations the traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment

Positive Psychology

the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

Cognitive Psychology

the study of mental processes, such as occur when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems.

Evolutionary Psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection.

critical thinking

thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions