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Chapter 1 Psychology Terms
Terms that go along with Chapter 1 in Schacter's Psychology book.
30
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
09/12/2011

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Term
Psychology
Definition
Scientific study of mind and behavior
Term
Mind
Definition
Our private inner experience of perceptions thoughts, memories, and feelings
Term
Behavior
Definition
Observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals
Term
Nativism
Definition
philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn
Term
Philosophical Empiricism
Definition
philosophical view that all knowledge is acquired through experience
Term
Phrenology
Definition
A now defunct theory that specific mental abilities and characteristics, ranging from memory to the capacity for happiness, are localized in specific regions of the brain
Term
Physiology
Definition
Study of biological processes, especially in the human body
Term
Stimulus
Definition
Sensory input from the environment
Term
Reaction Time
Definition
The amount of time taken to respond to a specific stimulus
Term
Consciousness
Definition
A person's subjective experience of the world and the mind
Term
Structuralism
Definition
The analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind.
Term
Introspection
Definition
The subjective observation of one's own experience.
Term
Functionalism
Definition
The study of the purpose mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environments
Term
Natural Selection
Definition
Charles Darwin's theory that the features of an organism that help it survive and reproduce are more likely than other features to be passed on to subsequent generations
Term
Hysteria
Definition
a temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of emotionally upsetting experiences
Term
Unconscious
Definition
The part of the mind that operates outside of conscious awareness but influences conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Term
Psychoanalytic Theory
Definition
Sigmund Freud's approach to understanding human behavior that emphasizes the importance of unconscious mental processes in shaping feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
Term
Psychoanalysis
Definition
A therapeutic approach that focuses on bringing unconscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders
Term
Humanistic Psychology
Definition
An approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings
Term
Behaviorism
Definition
An approach that advocates that psychologists restrict themselves to the scientific study of objectively observable behavior
Term
Response
Definition
An action or physiological change elicited by a stimulus.
Term
Reinforcement
Definition
The consequences of a behavior that determine whether it will be more likely that the behavior will occur again.
Term
Illusions
Definition
Errors of perception, memory, or judgment in which subjective experience differs from objective reality.
Term
Gestalt Psychology
Definition
A psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts.
Term
Cognitive Psychology
Definition
The scientific study of mental processes, including perception, thought, memory, and reasoning.
Term
Behavioral Neuroscience
Definition
An approach to psychology that links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other bodily processes.
Term
Cognitive Neuroscience
Definition
A field that attempts to understand the links between cognitive processes and brain activity.
Term
Evolutionary psychology
Definition
a psychological approach that explains mind and behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by natural selection
Term
Social psychology
Definition
A subfield of psychology that studies the causes and consequences of interpersonal behavior.
Term
Cultural psychology
Definition
the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members.
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