Perspectives
This approach emphasizes the profound influence of social and cultural factors on human behavior and mental processes. It explores how cultural norms, social roles, and group dynamics shape our thoughts and actions. This perspective highlights the importance of understanding individuals within their social and cultural context.
Sociocultural Psychology
In the early 20th century, John B. Watson and later B.F. Skinner rejected the study of the mind entirely, arguing that psychology should focus only on observable behavior. is a school of thought that focuses on the study of observable behavior rather than internal mental states like thoughts and feelings. It believes that all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment and that these behaviors can be scientifically studied and measured.
Behaviorism/ Behavioral Psychology
Introspection is..
Introspection is the process of examining one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. It was the primary research method of structuralism, the first school of psychology.
The tendency to give more weight to negative experiences or information than positive ones is known as what?
Negativity Bias
The tendency to seek out, interpret, and remember information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs. This bias is a key reason for the echo chambers we see in online communities and social media.
Confirmation Bias
This perspective examines the biological basis of behavior and mental processes. It explores the role of the brain, nervous system, genetics, and hormones in shaping our thoughts and actions. Advancements in technology, such as fMRI and PET scans, have made it possible to directly observe brain activity, providing a deeper understanding of the biological underpinnings of behavior.
Biological Psychology
Developed by Sigmund Freud, this school of thought revolutionized the understanding of the mind by introducing the concept of the unconscious mind. Freud believed that unconscious desires, conflicts, and memories significantly influence behavior. This type of therapy involves techniques like free association and dream analysis to bring unconscious material to consciousness.
Psychodynamic/ Psychoanalysis
This form of psychology is a school of thought that emerged in Germany in the early 20th century as a direct challenge to structuralism and behaviorism. The core idea of this psychology is that the whole is different from the sum of its parts. It focuses on how the human mind organizes and perceives sensory information as an integrated whole, rather than as a collection of separate, individual components.
Gestalt Psychology
A researcher is studying the brain activity of a person while they are solving a complex math problem. This researcher is likely a practitioner of which field?
Neuroscience
The reliance on the first piece of information received when making decisions. For example, in a negotiation, the first offer often sets the tone and limits the range of subsequent offers.
Anchoring Bias
This form of psychology investigates how people perceive, think, remember, and solve problems. This perspective views the mind as an information-processing system, similar to a computer, and has had a profound impact on fields ranging from education to artificial intelligence.
Cognitive Psychology
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow reacted against the determinism of psychoanalysis and the mechanistic view of behaviorism. This type of psychology emphasizes the importance of personal growth, free will, and the innate potential for good in all people. It focuses on the individual's subjective experience, self-actualization, and the search for meaning.
Humanistic psychology
The school of thought that studies how natural selection has shaped the mind and behavior through adaptation.
Evolutionary Psychology
The tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered.
Anchoring Bias
The "I knew it all along" effect. After an event has occurred, this bias makes us believe that the outcome was predictable, even if it wasn't. This can lead to overconfidence in our ability to make future predictions.
Hindsight Bias
A therapist helps a client by exploring their past relationships and childhood experiences to uncover hidden, unconscious conflicts. This therapist is likely practicing which approach?
Psychodynamic
This school of thought was created in Liepzig, Germany, in 1879. Itwas founded by Wilhelm Wundt, the "father of psychology," who established the first psychology lab. This perspective aimed to break down mental processes into their most basic components, using introspection (the self-examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings) as its primary research method.
Structuralism
Example of this school of thought:
The mind tends to "fill in the blanks" to perceive a complete figure or form. We see a complete circle even if parts of its outline are missing.
Gestalt Psychology
Dr. Martin primarily works with clients in her office, encouraging them to discuss their earliest memories and their dreams. She believes that many of their current struggles, such as anxiety and low self-esteem, stem from unresolved conflicts and repressed feelings from their childhood. She helps them uncover these hidden issues to find relief.
Psychodynamic Psychologist
The tendency for an impression created in one area to influence an impression in another area. For example, if we perceive someone as physically attractive, we might also assume they are more intelligent, kind, or successful than they actually are.
Halo/ Horn Effect
A psychologist who is interested in how a child's thinking, memory, and language develop over time is most likely from which school of thought?
Cognitive Psychology
In the U.S., William James challenged structuralism with this school of thought. Influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution, functionalism focused on the purpose and function of mental processes and behavior. It explored how mental activities help organisms adapt to their environments, leading to a broader scope of study that included observation and more objective measures.
Functionalism
The lack of objectivity made it impossible for this school of thought to meet the standards of a true science. This led to a shift in the field towards more objective, observable methods, a change that paved the way for the rise of behaviorism.
Structuralism and Introspection
A cognitive bias where a person's decision-making is influenced by the way information is presented rather than objective facts.
Framing Bias
This is a cognitive bias in which people with low ability in a specific area tend to overestimate their competence in that area. Essentially, they lack the metacognitive skills—the ability to think about one's own thinking—to recognize their own incompetence.
Vice versa, very intelligent people may underestimate their abilities and feel like a "fraud" or "fake." Despite evidence of their accomplishments, they believe their success is due to luck or deception, not their own talent.
The Dunning Kruger Effect