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.