Psych Ch.1

The first person to distinguish psychology from philosophy or biology

William Wundt

The belief that we see reality as it really is (objectively and without bias); that the facts are plain for all to see.

niave realism

Founded by Titchener, division of psychology that seeks to identify all aspects of thinking

Structuralism

Founded by William James, a division of psychology influenced by Darwin that seeks to uncover the purpose of behavior and thoughts.

Functionalism

Researched by BF Skinner, Watson, and Pavlov, a faction of psychology that seeks to objectively test the laws of behavior.

Behaviorism

Founded by Jean Piaget, a class of psychology that factors in a person's conscious thoughts and stimulus as a reason for behavior.

Cognitivism (cognitive psychology)

An arm of psychology headed by Sigmund Freud that focuses on unconsious thoughts and desires as an explaination for behavior.

Psychoanalysis

The "devil", unconsious urges and desires

Id

The consious self, the part of you that weighs decisions, stuck in the middle

Ego

The "angel", where morals and ideals are stored

Superego

The tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions, leading to statistical errors.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to stick to initial beliefs when evidence contradicts them.

Belief Perseverence

Principal that sometimes the simplest solution is the correct one.

Occam's Razor

What was Sigmund Freud right about?

There are unconscious drives that lead to behaviors.

What is the definition of psychology?

The study of the mind, brain, and behavior

Rungs on a ladder of analysis with lower levels tied most closely to biological influences and higher levels tied most closely to social influences

levels of analysis

Caused by several factors

multiply determined

Variations among people in their thinking, emotion, personality, and behavior

Individual differences

explanation for a large number of findings in the natural world

Scientific theory

Assertion about the world that is not testable

metaphysical claim

A set of claims that seem scientific but aren't

pseudoscience

A loophole that defenders of a theory use to protect their theory from falsification

Ad hoc immunizing hypothesis

The tendency to detect meaningful patterns in random stimuli

Patternicity

A theory proposing that our awareness of our death leaves us with an underlying sense of terror with which we cope by adopting reassuring cultural worldviews

Terror management theory

An error of assuming that because one thing is associated with another, it must cause the other

Correlation-Causation Fallacy

a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument

Fallacy

Capable of being disproved

Falsifiable

When a study's findings are able to be duplicated ideally by independent investigators

Replicability

The fact that the size of certain psychological findings appears to be shrinking over time

Decline effect

Method by which trained observers carefully reflect and report on their mental experiences

Introspection

Principal that organisms that possess adaptations survive and reproduce at a higher rate than do other organisms

Natural Selection

A relatively new field of psychology that examines the relation between brain functioning and thinking

Cognitive neuroscience

A discipline that applies Darwin's theory of natural selection to human and animal behavior

Evolutionary psychology

Research examining how we can use basic research to solve real-world problems

Basic research

Type of psychologist that performs assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders; also does research

Clinical Psychologist

Type of psychologist that works with people experiencing temporary or relatively self contained problems

Counseling Psychologist

Type of psychologist that studies how and why people change over time

Developmental psychologist

Use research methods to study memory, language, thinking and social behaviors of humans

Experimental psychologist

Examines the physiological bases of behavior in animals and humans

Biological psychologist

works in prisons, jails, etc. to assess and diagnose inmates and assist with their rehabilitation and treatment; others conduct research on eyewitness testimony or jury decision making

Forensic psychologist

Works in companies and businesses to help select productive employees, evaluate performance, examine the effects of different working and living conditions on behavior

Industrial-Organizational (aka environmental) psychologists