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Chapter 1
Into to Psy
38
Psychology
Graduate
03/14/2011

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Adaptive traits
Definition
Adaptive traits are characteristics that help organisms to adjust and survive in their environment.
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behavioural genetics

Definition

 

 

behavioural genetics— a field that examines the genetic and environmental bases of differences among individuals on psychological traits

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behaviourist perspective

Definition

 

 

The perspective pioneered by John Watson and B. F. Skinner, which focuses on the relationship between observable behaviours and environmental events or stimuli; also called behaviourism.

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biopsychology or behavioural neuroscience

Definition

 

 

 

biopsychology (or behavioural neuroscience), which investigates the physical basis of psychological phenomena such as memory, emotion and stress.

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Cartesian dualism

Definition

 

 

Cartesian dualism (the doctrine of dual spheres of mind and body) by demonstrating that human conduct follows laws of behaviour

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cognition

Definition

 

 

cognition, or thought,

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cognitive perspective

Definition

 

 

The cognitive perspective focuses on the way people perceive, process and retrieve information.

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cross-cultural psychology

Definition

 

 

cross-cultural psychology, which tests psychological hypotheses in different cultures

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empathy

 

Definition

 

 

The capacity to understand another person's experience, both cognitively and emotionally

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empiricism

Definition

 

 

empiricism — the belief that the path to scientific knowledge is systematic observation and, ideally, experimental observation.

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ethology

Definition

 

 

 

ethology, which studies animal behaviour from a biological and evolutionary perspective

Term
evolutionary perspective
Definition
 evolutionary perspective argues that many behavioural tendencies in humans, from the need to eat to concern for our children, evolved because they helped our ancestors survive and rear healthy offspring.
Term
evolutionary psychologists,
Definition
 evolutionary psychologists, who apply evolutionary thinking to a wide range of psychological phenomena
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free will versus determinism

Definition
free will or determinism; that is, do we freely choose our actions or is our behaviour caused — determined — by things outside our control?
Term
functionalism
Definition
functionalism emphasised the role — or function — of psychological processes in helping individuals adapt to their environment.
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Term
Gestalt psychology
Definition
Gestalt psychology. The Gestalt psychologists argued that perception is not a passive experience akin to taking photographic snapshots. Rather, perception is an active experience of imposing order on an overwhelming panorama of details by seeing them as parts of larger wholes (or gestalts).
Term
humanistic
Definition
Humanistic theories focus on the uniqueness of the individual.
Term
ideal self
Definition
A person's view of what she or he would like to be
Term
inclusive fitness
Definition
inclusive fitness, which refers not only to an individual's own reproductive success but also to his or her influence on the reproductive success of genetically related individuals
Term
information processing
Definition
information processing: the environment provides inputs, which are transformed, stored and retrieved using various mental ‘programs’, leading to specific response outputs.
Term
introspection
Definition
introspection, the process of looking inward and reporting on one's conscious experience.
Term
localisation of function
Definition
localisation of function, or the extent to which different parts of the brain control different aspects of functioning
Term
mind–body problem,
Definition
mind–body problem, the question of how mental and physical events interact.
Term
natural selection
Definition
natural selection. Darwin argued that natural forces select traits in organisms that are adaptive and are likely to be passed on to their offspring.
Term
nature–nurture
Definition
nature–nurture controversy. Advocates of the ‘nurture’ position maintain that behaviour is primarily learned and not biologically ordained.
Term
paradigm
Definition
 paradigm is a broad system of theoretical assumptions that a scientific community uses to make sense of its domain of study.
Term
person-centred,
Definition
person-centred and relies on the therapist showing empathy. The idea is to treat people with respect and warmth, stressing every individual's freedom to make their own choices in life.
Term
perspectives,
Definition
schools of thought, or what we will call perspectives.
Term
psychiatrists
Definition
At the time of writing, becoming a registered psychologist able to practise in Australia takes a minimum of six years.
Term
psychodynamic perspective,
Definition
psychodynamic perspective rests on three key premises. First, people's actions are determined by the way thoughts, feelings and wishes are connected in their minds. Second, many of these mental events occur outside of conscious awareness. And third, these mental processes may conflict with one another, leading to compromises among competing motives.
Term
psychodynamic
Definition
 psycho-dynamics, or the dynamic interplay of mental forces.
Term
psychological anthropologists
Definition
People who study psychological phenomena in other cultures by observing people in their natural settings
Term
reproductive success
Definition
 Reproductive success refers to the capacity to survive and produce offspring.
Term
self-actualisation
Definition
self-actualisation — the idea that people are motivated to reach their full potential.
Term
self-concept
Definition
An organised pattern of thought and perception about oneself
Term
sociobiology
Definition
 sociobiology, which explores possible evolutionary and biological bases of human social behaviour
Term
structuralism
Definition
structuralism. Unlike Wundt, Titchener believed that experimentation was the only appropriate method for a science of psychology and that concepts such as ‘attention’ implied too much free will to be scientifically useful.
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