Edward Bradford Titchener

used introspection to search for the mind’s structural elements

William James and Mary Whiton Calkins

pioneering memory researcher and the first woman president of the American Psychological Association

Margaret Floy Washburn

first woman to receive her PH.D; animal behavior; The Animal Mind 

 Behaviorism

the view that psychology should be objective science that studies behavior without reference to the mental processes. 

  Humanistic psychology

historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people

John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner

Psychology= science of behavior famous experiment: “Little Albert”

 B. F. Skinner

leading behaviorist, rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior.

Sigmund Freud

The controversial ideas of this famed personality theorist and therapist have influenced humanity’s self-understanding

 Cognitive Neuroscience

the study of brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language)

Psychology

The science of behavior and mental processes

Nature-Nurture Issue

the controversy over the relative contributions of genetics verses development

Natural Selection

the principle that among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

 Charles Darwin

Darwin argued that natural selection shapes behaviors as well as bodies.

Levels of Analysis

the differing complementary views from biological to psychological to social-cultural for analyzing any given phenomenon

Biopsychosocial Approach

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological and social-cultural levels of analysis

Basic Research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

Applied Research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Counseling Psychology

a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being

Clinical Psychology

a branch of psychology that studies assesses and treats people with psychological disorders

  Psychiatry

A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (drug) treatment as well as psychological therapy

Positive Psychology

the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.

Community Psychology

a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups

 Hindsight Bias

the tendency to believe after leaning an outcome that one would have foreseen it aka I knew it all along phenomenon

Overconfidence

example: thinking we can unscramble the words in two seconds when it takes us a minute

 Perceiving Random Events

example: being turned down 3 times after asking guys on dates and thinking, oh well I’ll just try tomorrow because I must be having a bad day therefore everyone will say no

Critical Thinking

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Instead it examines assumptions and evaluates “facts”

 Culture

 the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Informed Consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate.

 Debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study including its purpose and any deceptions to its participants

Theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

 Hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

 Operational Definition

a statement of the procedures used to define research variables Example: human intelligence may be operationally defined as “what an intelligence test measures”

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

  Case Study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic Observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

   Survey

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Population

all the cases in a group being studied, from which camples may be drawn 

 Random Sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

 Correlation

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well wither factor predicts the other

 Correlation Coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)

 Scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation); types: perfect positive and perfect negative correlation; no relationship

  Experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable.)By random assignment of participants the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.

Experimental Group

in an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.

  Control Group

in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

  Random Assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups.

Double-Blind Procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo.  Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

Placebo Effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.

Independent Variable

the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

 Confounding Variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment.

 Dependent Variable

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

  Mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

   Mean

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores

Median

the middle score 

Range

the difference between the highest and the lowest scores in a distribution 

Standard Deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.

 Normal Curve

(normal distribution) a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean 

Statistical Significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance.

    Memory

 the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

 Recall

a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

 Recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only to identify items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test

      Relearning

 a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

Encoding

the processing of information into the memory system- for example, by extracting meaning

   Storage

the retention of encoded information over time

   Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

Sensory Memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system 

Short-Term Memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

  Long-Term Memory

 the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.  Includes knowledge, skills, and experience

  Working Memory

 A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long0term memory

  Explicit Memory

 memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare” aka declarative memory

Effortful Processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

 Automatic Processing

 unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

    Implicit Memory

 retention independent of conscious recollection aka non declarative memory

    Iconic Memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

 Echoic Memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

   Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

  Mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices; example: PEMDAS

   Spacing Effect

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through masses study or practice.

   Testing Effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply reading, information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning

    Shallow Processing

 encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words.

 Deep Processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.

 Explicit Memory

 memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare” aka declarative memory (takes work to learn)

 Hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

      Implicit Memory

retention independent of conscious recollection aka non-declarative memory (learning without trying)

Cerebellum

the cerebellum plays an important part in our forming and storing of implicit memories.

  Flashbulb Memory

 a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event (example: car crash)

Long-Term Potentiation

an increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

  Learning

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

     Associative Learning

learning that certain events occur togeth. The events may be two stimuli ( as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequence (as in operant conditioning)

 Stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

Cognitive Learning

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language.

  Classical Conditioning

 a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

·      Behaviorism

 the view that psychology should be objective science that studies behavior without reference to the mental processes. 

·      Respondent Behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

·      Neural Stimulus NS

 in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

·      Unconditioned Response UR

 in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth)

·      Unconditioned Stimulus US

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally-naturally and automatically- triggers a response (UR)

·      Conditioned Response CR

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

·      Conditioned Stimulus CS

in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)

·      Acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response.  In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.

·      Higher-Order Conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone (AKA second-order-conditioning)

·      Extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced

·      Spontaneous Recover

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

·      Generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

·      Discrimination

 in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus