Psychology- Chapter 1
Terms
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- What is Psychology?
- The scientific study of the causes of behaviour; also, the application of the findings of psychological research to the solution of problems
- Causal event
- an event that causes another event to occur
- Physiological psychology
- - the branch of psychology that studies the physiological basis of behavior ( they study most behavior phenomena that can be observed in non-human subjects)
- Comparative psychology
- the branch of psychology that studies the behaviors of a variety of organisms in an attempt to understand the adaptive and functional significance of the behaviors and their relation to evolution
- Behavior analysis
- the branch of psychology that studies the effect of the environment on behavior—primarily, the effects of the consequences of behavior on the behaviors themselves (eg. Learning and motivation)
- Behavior genetics
- the branch of psychology that studies the role of genetics on behavior
- Cognitive psychology
- the branch of the psychology that studies complex behaviors and mental processes such as perception, attention, learning and memory, verbal behavior, concept formation, and problem solving
- Cognitive neuroscience
- the branch of psychology that attempts to understand cognitive psychological functions by studying the brain mechanisms that are responsible for them.
- Developmental psychology
- the branch of psychology that studies the changes in behavioral, perceptual, and cognitive capacities of organisms as a function of age and experience
- Social psychology
- the branch of psychology devoted to the study of the effects people have on each other’s behaviour
- Personality psychology
- the branch of psychology that attempts to categorize and understand the causes of individual differences in patterns of behavior
- Evolutionary psychology
- the branch of psychology that explains behavior in terms of adaptive advantages those specific behaviors provided during the evolution of a species. Evolutionary psychologies use natural selection as a guiding principle
- Cross-cultural psychology
- the branch of psychology that studies the effects of culture on behavior
- Clinical psychology
- the branch of psychology devoted to the investigation and treatment of abnormal behavior and mental disorders
- Clinical neuropsychologist
- a psychologist who specializes in identification and treatment of the behavioral consequence of nervous system disorders and injuries
- Health psychologist
- a psychologist who works to promote behaviors and lifestyles that improve and maintain health and prevent illness
- School psychologist
- a psychologist who deals with behavioral problems of students at school
- Consumer psychologist
- a psychologist who helps organizations that manufacture products or that buy products or services
- Community psychologist
- a psychologist who works for the welfare of individuals in the social system, attempting to improve the system rather than treating people as problems
- Organizational psychologist
- a psychologist who works to increase efficiency and effectiveness of organizations
- Engineering psychologist
- a psychologist who studies the ways that people and machines work together and helps design machines that are safer and easier to operate
- Forensic psychologist
- a psychologist who studies human behavior as it may relate to the legal system and to matters involving criminal justice
- Animism
- the belief that all animals and all moving objects possess spirits providing their motive force
- Reflex
- an automatic response to a stimulus, such as the blink reflex to the sudden unexpected approach of an object toward the eyes
- Dualism
- the philosophical belief that reality consists of mind and matter
- Model
- a relatively simple system that works on known principles and is able to do at least some of the things that a more complex system can do
- Empiricism
- the philosophical view that all knowledge is obtained through the senses
- Materialism
- a philosophical believe that reality can be known only through an understanding of the physical world, of which the mind is a part
- Doctrine of specific nerve energies
- Johannes Muller’s observation that different nerve fibres convey specific information from one part of the body to the brain or from the brain to one part of the body
- Experimental ablation
- the removal or destruction of a portion of the brain of an experimental animal for the purpose of studying the functions of that region
- Psychophysics
- the branch of psychology that measures the quantitative relation between physical stimuli and perceptual experience
- Structuralism
- the system of experimental psychology that began with Wundt; it emphasized introspective analysis of sensation and perception
- Introspection
- literally, “looking within,†in an attempt to describe one’s own memories, perceptions cognitive processes, or motivations
- Functionalism
- - the strategy of understanding a species’ structural or behavioural features by attempting to establish their usefulness with respect to survival and reproductive success
- Behaviorism
- a movement in psychology that asserts that the only proper subject matter for scientific study in psychology is observable behavior
- Law of effect
- Thorndike’s observation that stimuli that occur as a consequence of a response can increase or decrease the likelihood of making that response again
- Humanistic psychology
- an approach to the study of human behavior that emphasizes human experience, choice and creativity, self-realization, and positive growth
- Gestalt psychology
- a movement in psychology that emphasized that cognitive processes could be understood by studying their organization, no their elements
- Information processing
- an approach used by cognitive psychologists to explain the workings of the brain; information received through the senses is processed by systems of neurons in the brain