Psychology Basics and History (DVSD) Flashcards

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Behavior

Not just human/ act, response and stimulus

Mental Processes

Cognition, brain, language, instincts

Wilhelm Wundt

1879- opened first psyc lab
Structuralism; first psych lab; "father of psychology

William James

Functionalism; studied people and their enviornment

John Dewey

Education psych; emphasis on experience and learning

Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalysis; role of unconscious

Ivan Pavlov

Physiologist; classical conditioning in dogs

John Watson

Behaviorism; Phobias- conditioned emotional response

Carl Rogers

Humansim; aim is to assist the individual to grow

Psychodynamic

Modern version of psycho analysis but more focused on the development
of a sense of self and the discovery of motivations behind a persons
behavior other than sexual motivations

Introspection

Method of self observations

Behavioral

Skinner studied apparent conditioning of voluntary behavior (reinforcement)

Conditioning

Training an animal or human to respond to a stimulus or event

Stimulus

An event or anything capable of influencing the activity of any
living creature

Response

Any behavior that results from a stimulus

Humanistic

Belief that people have free will, the freedom to choose their own destiny.

Self actualization

achieving ones full potential or actual self

Cognitive

Focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving and learning

Sociocultural

Focuses on the relationship between social behavior and culture.

Bio-psychological

Attributes behavior to biological events occurring in the body, such
as genetic influences, hormones, and the nervous systems

Evolutionary

Focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics
that all humans share and develop over time

Identity

A set of a behavior or personal characteristics by which an
individual is recognizable

Interpersonal Relationships

Ways of dealing with other eople, interactions with Parents ,friends,
teachers, etc

Self-Actualization

Taking responsibility for ones own life and decisions understanding
ones own psychological needs, self-direction (full human potential)

Society

The totality of social relationships among human beings

Scientific Method

Basic 4 step technique for investigating complex problems

Hypothesis

An educated guess about why things happen

Variables

Aspects of an experimental situation that can change

Controlled Variables

Aspects kept constant

Independent Variable

Only factor aloud to change in an experiment

Dependent Variable

Variable being measured; results of the change of independent variable

Experimental Group

Subjects that receive the independent variable

Single-blind Experiment

Both the control and experimental groups receive apparently identical
treatment and neither group knows the purpose

Double-Blind Experiment

A 3rd party controls the independent variable and placebos in order
to avoid subject and researcher reactions that might affect the results