Applied History of Psychology/Vocabulary
Contrasting Concepts
editConcept | Opposing Concept |
---|---|
Functionalism | Structuralism |
Nomothetic | Idiographic |
Behaviorism | Hormic |
Behavorism | Gestalt |
Reductionism | Gestalt |
Nativism (Nature) | Empiricism (Nuture) |
Innate (Nature) | Learned (Nuture) |
Vocabulary
editEngram
editThe neural representation of memory that has been stored.
Equipotentiality
editThe principle that if certain areas of specialization, the specialization may be lost is the whole area is removed; but it may not be lost if a small part of the area is spared or other parts of the brain may take on the role of the damaged portion.
Ethology
editThe scientific study of animals in their natural environment to learn about the animals' natural and instinctive behaviors. Karl Lorenz and Nikolaas Tinbergen were considered ethologists.
Functionalism
editEmphasis on the how or why of mental operations rather than the content.
General Factor of Intelligence
editAlso known as 'g'. General intelligence that is thought to underlie specialized types of intelligence. Often measured by correlating results of a variety of intellectual tasks (subtests) which results in an IQ score.
Gestalt
editFocus on the whole as an area of interest rather than reducing mental operations to their parts.
Hormic
editFocus on instincts.
Idiographic
editFocuses on the individual case. A perspective in psychology that is opposite to the nomological approach.
Evolutionary Theories
editLarmarck: An organism can pass on characteristics that it acquired during its lifetime to its offspring
Darwin: Specific variations give the advantage or disadvantage in the competition for a mate. The inherited traits that are passed down to the offspring make it more likely for an organism to survive and reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations
Longitudinal Research
editA research method where the same individual is studied over several time points.
Maturation
editDevelopment after birth in an orderly sequence. For example, a baby learns to crawl, then, proceeds to learn to walk (p. 412).
Mass Action
editMemory cannot be confined to a cortical area, but is dispersed throughout the cortex.
Nativism
editWe are born to perceive as we do.
Neuroscience
editPhysiological psychology that is mainly concerned with the brain and nervous system. The aim is to understand the relationship between mind and body, or mind and brain.
Nomothetic
editA science of quantitative laws. A perspective in psychology that is opposite to the idiographic approach.
Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny
editDead end theory in developmental psychology by Ernst Haeckel. Theory suggested that the growth and development changes in size and shape of a particular organism reflect evolution from the beginning of its fertilization (embryo) and developing through its adulthood.
Operationism
editA point of view where scientific concepts are defined by their measurement.
Phenomenology
editThe study of how individual experiences determine the way that we perceive; related to the subjective sensory experience.
Phrenology
editPhrenology is the belief of mapping the brain with specific areas to precise functions. In the 18th and 19th century Phrenology was widely accepted but not academically proven. It was even believed that certain mental behaviors could be measured by the size of a specific portion of the brain. Phrenology was eventually proven to be pseudoscience, but contributed towards further developing the neuroscience field.
Reductionism
editExplaining complex phenomena by reducing it to its units or elements.
Sociobiology
editField related to psychology. Focuses on the influence of evolution on the social behavior of humans and animals.
Structuralism
editEmphasis on the content of consciousness rather than the process.
Vicarious Functioning
editA concept developed by Franz that an eliminated habit may be restored through learning in another part of the brain.
Schools and Systems
editAnimal Psychology
editStudy of psychology of animals either because an animal model is a convenient substitute for humans or to learn more about animal behavior and cognition.
Clinical psychology
editFocuses on providing professional services to people who are mentally unwell. Clinical psychologists assess, diagnose, treat, and prevent mental disorders. The field was named and defined by Witmer in 1907.
Comparative Psychology
editStudy of the cross-species relationships between humans and animals in search for the understanding of human behavior.
Cognitive Psychology
editThis perspective focuses on the whole range of mental activities, including attention and perception, and higher mental processes such as remembering.
Organizational Psychology
editThe application of psychological principles to the workplace. The study of helping an organization perform at its best when considering the needs of the workers and the organization as a whole.
Theories
editCannon's Emergency Theory
editSuggests that emotions result when the thalamus sends a message to the brain in response to a stimulus, resulting in a physiological reaction; we react to a stimulus and experience the associated emotion at the same time. Cannon’s theory contradicts James-Lange theory, which argues that physiological responses occur first and result and are the cause of emotions.
References
editHilgard, E. R. (1987). Psychology in America: A historical survey. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers.