Psychology 2e Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology
Observation
Information obtained through the senses
Social Psychology
Psychology specialty focused on how individuals interact with and relate to others
Health Psychology
Psychology specialty focused on how physical health can be impacted by psychological and social factors
Sensation and Perception
Psychology specialty focused on perception and sensation of external stimuli
Developmental Psychology
Psychology specialty focused on psychological development over a human lifespan
Cognitive Psychology
Psychology specialty focused on studying cognitions and their relationship to an individual's actions and experiences
I/O Psychology
Psychology specialty focused on the application of psychological principles and theories to industrial settings
Personality Psychology
Psychology specialty focused on the development of patterns of thoughts and how they might influence behavior
Biopsychology
Psychology specialty that studies the interaction of biology, behavior, and mental processes
Evolutionary Psychology
Psychology specialty that studies the ultimate biological causes behind behavior and mental processes
William James (1842-1910)
The first American psychologist who introduced Darwinian concepts to the study of psychology
Wilhem Wundt (1832-1920)
The founder of psychology as a scientific study. Brought about the movement of Structuralism to psychology
Psychology
The scientific study of the mind and behavior
Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), Kurt Koffka (1886-1941), and Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1967)
Three German psychologists who immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century, bringing with them the Gestalt principles of psychology
Gestalt Goal of Psychology
To examine how the components of the human mind relate to the whole and how the components result in a objectively unique whole
James' Goal of Psychology
To examine the mind in its whole, rather than focusing on individual components
Freud's Goal of Psychology
To examine the role of the unconscious mind and early childhood experiences in the human mind
Goals of Humanism
To forgo the previously deterministic nature of psychology in favor of a more empathetic approach
Wundt's Goal of Psychology
To identify the components of consciousness and how those components result in the conscious experience
Goals of Behaviorism
To study observable behavior, in particular learning behavior and inborn qualities
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
A Russian physiologist famous for his research into conditioned and learned behaviors.
Scientific Law
A concise statement that seeks to explain a wide range of natural phenomena
Experiment
A means to verify a hypothesis
Empirical Method
A method in which knowledge is acquired from observation and experiments, rather than arguments or previous authorities
Introspection
A method of self-observation in which the subject examines their conscious experience as objectively as possible
Voluntarism
A philosophical belief that humans possess free will and should know if they are participating in an experiment
Hypothesis
A proposed explanation for an observation
Gestalt Psychology
A school of psychology concerned with the sensory experience and how they innately relate back to the whole mind, and how the mind perceives and processes that relation
Functualism
A school of psychology focused on how certain mental activities help an organism fit into its environment
Humanism
A school of psychology focused on the potential of innate good in humans and personal autonomy
Structuralism
A school of psychology that aimed to identify the contents of mental processes (components) rather than the processes' function (whole).
Behaviorism
A school of psychology that shifted the focus from the subjective unconscious to the objective and observable behavior of organisms
Scientific Method
A systematic approach used in scientific study
Noam Chomsky
American linguist who influenced the growth of cognitive science and psychology
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
An American psychologist famous of developing a hierarchy of human needs in terms of motivating behavior
Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
An American psychologist who emphasized the role of the patient over the clinician in the context of psychological therapies
B.F Skinner (1904-1990)
An American psychologist who focused on the nature of consequences, particularly reinforcement and punishment, on behavior
John B. Watson (1878-1958)
An American psychologist whose work centered on understanding observable behavior and controlling said behavior
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
An Austrian neurologist who founded the school of psychoanalysis within the study of psychology
Theory
An explanation of a natural phenomena that stems from a extensively tested and verified hypothesis
American Psychological Association (APA)
An organization that represents psychologists in the United States. It was founded in 1892.
Empirical
Based on observation or experimentation
