What is psychology? âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
How did psychology begin as a field? âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€Wundt- wanted to be separate from philosophy and
physiology
Psychology's 4 goals âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€to describe, explain, predict, and to change
Structuralism âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€Edward Titchener- every experience could be broken down into its individual
emotions and sensations
Functionalism âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€William James- how people work, play, and adapt to their surroundings
Behaviorism âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€John Watson-the study of behavior
Psychoanalysis âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€basis of modern psychotherapy. based off of Freud's ideas
Sigmund Freud's ideas âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€there is an unconscious mind into which we push or repress all of our
threatening urges and desires. Behavior stems from unconscious motivation
Gestalt Psychology âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€Max Wertheimer- studying whole patterns rather than small pieces of them
Psychodynamic perspective âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€unconscious mind and its influence over conscious behavior on
wary childhood experiences
Sociocultural perspective âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€combines social and cultural psychology
Biological perspective âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€human and animal behavior is seen as a direct result of events in the
body
Evolutionary perspective âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€focuses on the biological bases for universal mental characteristics
that all humans share (seeks to explain general mental strategies and traits)
Psychologist âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€no medical training but has a doctorate degree
Psychiatrist âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€has a medical degree and is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and
treatment of psychological disorders
Objective Introspection âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€the process of objectively examining and measuring ones own
thoughts and mental activities
Humanistic perspective âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€people have free will and strive for the achievement of ones full
potential (self- ization)
Phi phenomenon âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€the optical illusion of perceiving continuous motion between separate objects
viewed rapidly in succession (lights blinking on and off in a circle it seems)
Case study âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€an in-depth report about the details of a specific case (single participant)
Observation âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€the action or process of observing something or someone carefully or in order to
gain information
Survey âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€to ask a question or a series of questions in order to gather information
Correlation âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€prediction- takes a direction and has a magnitude (1 to -1)
Double blind study âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€neither the participants or experimenter knows the exact treatment
Single blind study âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€participants do not know the true purpose of the study or else do not know
which type of treatment they are recieving
Experiment âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€manipulation of one variable under controlled conditions so that resulting changes
in another variable can be observed
Independent variable âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€manipulated variable (I can change) - doesn't change at all (ex. time)
Dependent variable âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€variable affected by manipulation
Control group âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€similar subjects who don't receive special treatment
Experimental group âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent
variable
Operational definition âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€exact description of how the variable will be quantified and measured
Correlational coefficient âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€numerical index of degree of relationship
Neuron âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€cell in the nervous system that sends and receives information throughout the body
Sensory neuron âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€sends information from body to brain
Motor neuron âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€sends information from brain to body
Interneurons âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€connect sensory and motor neuronsÂÂ