Chapter 1 * Psychology: the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. * Theories: * Structuralism: the school of psychology that stresses the basic units of experience and combinations in which they occur. * Wilhelm Wundt * Founded the first psychology laboratory * Edward Bradford Titchner * Psychodynamic: personality theories contending that behavior results from psychological factors within the individual, often outside conscious awareness. * Sigmund Freud * Most influential person of the 20th century * Behaviorism: school of psychology that studies only observable and measureable behavior. * John B. Watson * B. F. Skinner * Revisited behaviorism * Humanistic: school of psychology that emphasizes nonverbal experience and altered states of consciousness as a means of realizing one’s full potential. * Max Wertheimer * Wolfgang Köhler * Kurt Koffka * Gesalt: school of psychology that studies how people perceive and experience objects as whole patterns. * Gesalt * Means “whole” or “form” * Cognitive: school of psychology devoted to the study of mental processes in the broadest sense. * Research Methods * Naturalistic observation: research method involving the systematic study of animal or human behavior in natural settings rather that in the laboratory. * Case study: intensive description and analysis of a single individual or just a few individuals. * Survey research: research technique in which questionnaires or interviews are administered to a selected group of people. * Correlational research: research technique based in the naturally occurring relationship between two or more variables. * Experimental method: research technique in which an investigative deliberately manipulates selected events or circumstances and then measures the effects of those manipulations on subsequent behavior. * Milgram study * Milgram was studying obedience, not learning. * He wanted to find out whether ordinary people would obey orders to cause another person pain. * To find out what he wanted to know, Milgram had to deceive his participants. * The stated purpose of the experiment – to test learning – was a lie. * The “learners” were Milgram’s accomplices, who had been trained to act as though they were being hurt; the machines were fake; and the learners received no shocks at all. * Critics argued, the “teachers” – the real subjects of the study – were hurt. * Careers in psychology * Psychiatrist: specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of behavior disorders. * Psychoanalyst: is a psychologist or psychiatrist who has received additional specialized training in psychoanalytic theory and practice. * Clinical psychologist: assess and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders ranging from short-term crises to chronic disorders such as schizophrenia. * Counseling psychologist: help people cope with situational problems, such as adjustment to college, choosing a vocation, resolving marital problems, or dealing with death of a loved one. * Social worker: may also treat psychological problems.
Chapter 3 * Sensation: the experience of sensory stimulation. * Absolute threshold: the least amount of energy that can be detected as stimulation 50% of the time. * Rods: receptor cells in the retina responsible for night vision and perception of brightness. * Cones: receptor cells in the retina responsible for color vision. * Dark adaptation: increased sensitivity of rods and cones in darkness. * Light adaptation: decreased sensitivity of rods and cones in brightness. * Decibel: unit of measurement for the loudness of sounds. * Hearing disorders * Irreversible hearing loss