Empiricism
The idea that knowledge comes from experience
Mary Whiton Calkins
The first female president of the American Psychological Association. She created self-psychology, which emphasized a self-evaluation of one’s personal experiences.
Charles Darwin
Developed theories of evolution and natural selection. His beliefs inspire the evolutionary approach in psychology.
Dorothea Dix
An advocate for the mentally ill by highlighting the deplorable conditions in asylums. She created the first mental hospitals in America.
Sigmun Freud
the father of psychoanalysis.
G. Stanley Hall
Known as the founder of educational psychology and child psychology. He shaped adolescent themes in psychology.
William James
Wrote the Principles of Psychology and is the founder of functionalism. He created the James-Lange theory and mentored Mary Whiton Calkins.
Ivan Pavlov
known for his work in classical conditioning
Jean Piaget
Created stages of development for children including the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operation phases.
Carl Rogers
A humanist psychologist who created client-centered therapy where the therapist guides personal growth.
B.F. Skinner
A behaviorist psychologist. He created the theory of operant conditioning where he studied how consequences shape behavior.
Margaret Floy Washburn
The first woman granted a Ph.D. in psychology.
John B. Watson
The father of behaviorism. He is famous for the controversial Little Albert experiment
Wilhelm Wundt
Created the first psychology laboratory. Also the founder of structuralism.
Structuralism
structure is more important than function. the mind must be broken into elements to understand the brain and its functions
Introspection
people try to understand the thoughts or emotions they are experiencing at the time.
Fuctionalism
came after structuralism and was created to understand how the conscious mind is related to behavior
Behaviorism
was the study of observable events. This theory shifted psychology from a study of the unconscious and conscious mind to a more science-based study based on observable events.
Gestalt
says that the whole is different than the sum of its parts. Looks at the mind and behavior as a whole. It suggests that human minds do not focus on small components. Instead, humans see the greater whole.
psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic
approach focuses on the study of the unconscious mind. It states that behavior is determined by past experiences. Sigmund Freud is the key individual that used this approach, and he built his theories based on it.
humanistic
approach believes that humans have free will and the ability to grow. All individuals are striving to reach self-actualization and their greatest potential with this approach.
evolutionary
approach uses evolutionary biology to explain human behavior. Also, it looks at how natural selection due to variable traits promotes the survival of genes
Biological
perspective states that behavior is based on physical processes, such as those relating to the brain, hormones, and other chemicals.
cognitive
approach states that thought processes impact the way people behave. It focuses on memory, intelligence, perception, problem-solving, language, and learning influencing behavior (internal processes of the mind).
biopsychosocial
acknowledges the person as a whole and tries to look at all of the patient's circumstances. It looks at biological, psychological, and social factors to understand a person’s behavior.
sociocultural
studies how thinking and behavior vary across cultures and situations.
Biological psychology
states that physical processes shape behavior.
Clinical psychology
is a section of psychology focused on assessing and treating mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.
Cognitive psychology
studies the mental processes associated with thinking, knowing, and communicating.
Counseling psychology
focuses on personal issues that are not classified as mental disorders. These types of therapists help people cope with challenges and crises in life.
Developmental psychology
studies social, physical, and cognitive changes throughout the lifespan.
Educational psychology
is the study of how psychological processes can impact and improve learning and teaching.
Experimental psychology
uses the experimental method to examine relationships between behavior and the mind.
Industrial-organizational psychology
studies the relationships between work and people in order to help companies increase productivity, boost morale, and select and train employees.
Personality psychology
is the study of how personality affects the way people think and behave.
Psychometric psychology
focuses on psychological measurement and is concerned with the design of psychological examinations.
Social psychology
studies how humans are influenced by one another and how we relate and think about each other.
Positive psychology
focuses on making human existence more fulfilling, rather than focusing on the treatment of mental illness. It promotes strengths and virtues to improve the lives of people and communities.
Experiments
Manipulates one or more independent variables to determine the effects of certain behavior.
Correlational Studies
Involves looking at the relationships between two or more variables and is used when performing an experiment is not possible.
Survey Research
The collection of information reported by people about a particular topic.
Naturalistic Observations
A researcher observes a subject's behavior without intervention.
Case Studies
A case study is an in-depth study of an individual or a small group.
Longitudinal Studies
The same individuals are studied over a long period of time from years up to decades.
Cross-Sectional Studies
examines people of different groups at the same time. For example, studying people that are different ages at the same time to see what differences can be attributed to age.
Hawthorne Effect
people behave differently when they know they are being watched, which could impact the results
Basic Research
is performed to learn about something. It is curiosity-driven and used to expand upon knowledge. It doesn't have an immediate objective.
Applied Research
answers specific questions and is used to solve a problem or do something of practical use
Operational Definition
are statements of the exact procedures used in the study, which would eventually allow other researchers to replicate the research.
Independent Variable
the variable that changes in an experiment.
Dependent Variable
the effect of the change in the experiment.
Confounding Variable
an outside influence that changes the effect of the dependent and independent variables
Control Variable
the variable that's kept the same throughout an experiment.
Random Assignment
when participants are assigned to each experimental group with an equal chance of being chosen
Random Sampling
randomly selecting people from the population to be in the experiment as a whole
Sampling bias
is a result of a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample.
Experimenter bias
is when researchers influence the results of an experiment to portray a certain outcome. A double-blind procedure is when neither the researcher or the participants know what groups the participants have been assigned to. This helps prevent bias when the researcher is looking over the results.
Hindsight Bias
the tendency to believe that you knew what was going to happen
External validity
refers to how generalizable the results of the experiment are. For example, if the study on a drug is done on an Asian, middle-aged, average-weight man with high blood pressure, can the results be generalized to the population?
Internal validity
is when a study shows a truthful cause-and-effect relationship and the researcher is confident that the changes in the dependent variable were produced only by the independent variable.
Correlational
To detect naturally occurring relationships; to assess how well one variable predicts another
Descriptive statistics
involves the use of numerical data to measure and describe the characteristics of groups, and this includes measures of central tendency and variation.
Inferential statistics
involves using statistical methods to make inferences about a population based on data. It allows you to draw conclusions about a population based on the characteristics of a sample. Specifically, it provides a way to see validity drawn from the results of the experiment
Informed Consent
participants must agree to participate
debriefing
If deception was used, the researchers must explain the true purpose of the experiment after it has occurred
The Milgram Experiment
is a very famous demonstration showing how people will obey authority figures even when they disagree.