AP Psych Unit 1: History and Approaches
Basic research
Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
*Ivan Pavlov
Russian physiologist who pioneered the study of learning
Applied research
Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
*Plato
Student of Socrates; concluded that the mind is separable from body and continues after the body dies, and that knowledge is innate--born within us.
*Jean Piaget
Swiss biologist~ the last century's most influential observer of children
Industrial-organization (I/O) psychology
The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces
Levels of analysis
The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon
*Margaret Floy Washburn
The first woman to receive a psychology Ph.D.; synthesized animal behavior research in 'The Animal Mind'
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. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.
Natural selection
The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
Psychology
The science of behavior and processes
Cognitive psychology
The scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Social psychology
The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
Behavioral psychology
The scientific study of observable behavior and medical knowledge that applies that knowledge to health and disease
Psychometrics
The scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits
Personality psychology
The study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting
Experimental psychology
The study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method
Educational psychology
The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning
Social-cultural psychology
The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking
Evolutionary psychology
The study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection
Empiricism
The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation
Behaviorism
The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
*E.B. Tichener
Used introspection to search for the mind's structural elements
*Rosalie Rayner
Worked with Watson and showed how specific fears might be conditioned
*John B.Watson
Working with Rayner, championed psychology as the science of behavior and demonstrated conditioned responses in a baby who became famous as "Little Albert"
*John Locke
(1632-1704) British political philosopher; wrote 'An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,' in which he famously argued that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa--a "blank state"-- on which experience writes. This idea adding to Bacon's ideas, helped form modern empiricism.
*G. Stanley Hall
(1904) one of the first psychologists to describe adolescence; believed that this tension between biological maturity and social dependence creates a period of "storm and stress"
Psychiatry
A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy
Biological psychology
A branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior. (Some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, behavior geneticists, psychological psychologists, or biopsychologists.)
Counseling psychology
A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being
Human factors psychology
A branch of psychology that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use
Psychodynamic psychology
A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders.
Developmental psychology
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
Clinical psychology
A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
Functionalism
A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function--how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish
*Dorothea Dix
Advocated constructing mental hospitals to offer more humane methods of treatment; (1802-1887) "I...call your attention to the state of the Insane Persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages."
Structuralism
An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind
Biopsychosocial approach
An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis
*Sigmund Frued
Austrian physicist who developed the influential psychoanalytic theory of personality. (The controversial ideas of this famed personality theorist and therapist have influenced humanity's self-understanding.)
*Mary Whiton Calkins
Became a distinguished memory researcher and the American Psychological Association's (APA's) first female president in 1921; was mentored by William James
*Aristotle
Derived principles from careful observations; said knowledge is not preexisting, instead it grows from the experiences stored in our memories
*Carl Rogers
Emphasized the importance of current environmental influence on our growth potential, and the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied
*Wilhelm Wundt
Established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany
*Charles Darwin
Evolutionary theorist; 1859 'On the Origin of Species' explained the diversity of life by proposing the evolutionary process of natural selection: From among chance variations, nature selects the traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment
*Rene Descartes
Frenchman; agreed with Socrates and Plato about the existence of innate ideas and mind's being "entirely distinct from body" and able to survive its death. Dissected animals and concluded that the fluid in the brain's cavities contained "animal spirits"
Humanistic psychology
Historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth
*B.F. Skinner
Leading behaviorist, rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior
*Francis Bacon
One of the founders of modern science; fascinated by the human mind and its failings; "the human understanding, from its particular nature, easily supposes a greater degree of order and equality in things than it really finds"
*William James
Philosopher-psychologist; thought it more fruitful to consider the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings; encouraged explorations of down-to-earth emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and moment-to-moment streams of consciousness.
*Socrates
Philosopher-teacher of Plato; concluded that the mind is separable from body and continues after the body dies, and that knowledge is innate--born within us.
*Abraham Maslow
Pioneer; found behaviorism's focus on learned behaviors too mechanistic; described some priorities as a hierarchy of needs, beyond this lies the need to actualize one's full potential. Near the end of his life, he proposed that some people also reach a level of self-transcendence.