Psychology Vocab

The scientific study of human thought and human and animal behavior. Explores both environmental and biological influences on personality and behavior.

Everyone has their own perception of the world which is unique to their own life experiences.

You must study specific examples of something in nature to understand it’s essence. Gaining knowledge from observation and data; the beginnings of experimental psychology with only drawing conclusions based of specific observations.

Dualism theory, which recognizes a duality or two-part quality to human existence; physical and nonphysical; these two parts interact in a cause-effect relationship.

All individuals are born a "blank slate" and experiences in the world shape the person

An approach to understanding subjects, including behavior, by examining data rather than using intuition or reason alone.

The basic ideas that would later become the theory of behaviorism; and his ideas also contribute greatly to the ongoing debate between nature vs. nurture.

"Father of psychology." First person to study humans in a laboratory setting. Wished to move the field of psychology away from philosophy and more towards scientific and measurable aspects or empirical.

The act of looking into one's own thoughts and feelings. Wundt used this idea to study humans, asking people to share their conscious experiences (sensations, perceptions, and first reactions) in relation to many different objects.

Student of Wundt. Brought Wundt's ideas to the united states; studied the conscious experience by breaking it down into basic 'structures', studying them, and then putting together the pieces of the 'human puzzle.' Coined the term structuralism

early school of thought (sometimes thought of as the first school of psych) promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

American philosopher. Physician and professor at Harvard. One of the many who were critical of structuralism. Believed in examining the function of the consciousness instead. Coined the term 'stream of consciousness' and the approach of 'functionalism. Wrote the first American psych textbook.

William James

The view that organisms change over time as they adapt to their environment and adaptations that serve the function of promoting survival are passed on to offspring

a person's thoughts and conscious reactions to events, perceived as a continuous flow

First female president of the APA (1905); A student of William James; denied the PhD she earned from Harvard because of sexism (later, posthumously, it was granted to her)

First female to earn a PhD in psychology, from Cornell; she was very interested in animal behavior and will later impact behaviorists.

Rights activist on behalf of mentally ill patients - created first wave of united states mental asylums.

First president of the American Psychological Association; created the first psychological laboratory in united states at John Hopkins university; translated Freud into English.

states that looking at the whole shape of form is greater than the sum of its parts

founder of gestalt psychology

school of psychology developed by william james that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

founder of the psychoanalytic approach; created modern therapy; used dream interpretation, free association, etc.

freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions; also interested in finding the latent (hidden) means of dreams; because of its lack of scientific objectivity, it was criticized greatly

the id: our wants and desires (sex & aggression) \n the superego: our conscience (leads us to do the right thing) \n (these two above where often at odds with each other) \n the ego: allows people to get what the want/desire inside the confines of society

instinctual desires such as those for sexual pleasure and self-preservation was a source of psychological energy

arose from criticisms placed on the psychoanalytic approach; rather than focusing on one's unconsciousness, they focuses on one's observable behavior

early behaviorist; famous for the "Little Albert" experiments on fear conditioning

responses that produce a satisfying effect while likely be repeated; developed by edward throndike with his 'cats in puzzle box experiments'

stimulus and response learning (behaviors that are awarded will be repeated, and behaviors that are punished will eventually stop)

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events; shown in watson's 'little albert' experiment and pavlov's experiments with salivating dogs

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

believed in radical behaviorism and created operant conditioning chamber (using reinforcement schedules and consequences)

the idea that behavior should be studied objectively using the scientific method and only what can be seen of observed is measurable

skinner box; where an animal (usually a rat of pigeon) is trained to complete a voluntary behavior, in which once it is completed, the animal would receive an award, increasing the likelihood of the behavior occurring again

studies how thinking and perception influence behavior; studies the brain activity with topics such as memory, problem-solving, decision-making, and perception.

swiss developmental psychologist who created 4 stages of cognitive development; studied how children's cognitive development unfolds

approach that addressed perceived flaws in both the psychoanalytic and behavioral approaches; developed by carl rogers abraham maslow; focused on meeting needs and personal growth

therapist who helped lead humanistic psychology; used group therapy and empathy with clients

Humanistic psychologist known for his "Hierarchy of Needs" and the concept of "self-actualization"

emphasizes the impact of people's culture, religion, ethnicity, gender, income level, and overall environment on the individuals they become.

this approach mainly focuses on primarily examining how genetics, the nervous system, hormones, and the brain structures, influence a person's thinking and behavior

this approach dates back to charles darwin and his thoughts on natural selection and survival of the fittest, the process by which the genes that are most beneficial for survival are passed down to future generations; studies how behavior comes from genetics and beneficial genes

integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints