Psychology Key Concepts Quiz

Behavioral Psychology

• Focuses on observable behaviors and learning processes.
• Operant Conditioning: Proposed by B.F. Skinner, emphasizing learning through rewards and punishments.
• Classical Conditioning: Introduced by Ivan Pavlov, involves learning through associations between stimuli.
• Behavior Modification: Techniques aimed at changing maladaptive behavior patterns.
• Commonly applied in therapeutic settings, educational practices, and behavior management.

Social Psychology

• Examines individual thought, emotion, and behavior in social contexts.
• Social Influence: Explores how social pressure affects behavior, including conformity and compliance.
• Group Dynamics: Studies behaviors within groups, focusing on roles and established norms.
• Prejudice and Discrimination: Investigates attitudes and actions towards individuals based on their group membership.
• Insights derived are applicable to marketing, relationship dynamics, and broad social issues.

Clinical Psychology

• Concentrates on the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.
• Assessment Methods: Utilizes clinical interviews, psychological tests, and various observational techniques to evaluate patients.
• Treatment Modalities: Includes psychotherapy (like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and medication alongside holistic approaches.
• Relies on the DSM-5: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for systematic classification.
• Applies to the treatment of conditions such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Developmental Psychology

• Studies human growth and development across the lifespan.
• Stages of Development: Identifies key phases including infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and aging, based on Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages.
• Cognitive Development: Explores how thinking develops over time, following Jean Piaget's theories.
• Attachment Theory: Developed by John Bowlby, focuses on the emotional bonds between caregivers and children.
• Applications are seen in developing educational strategies, parenting practices, and understanding transitions through life stages.

Cognitive Psychology

• Investigates mental processes like perception, memory, and problem-solving.
• Information Processing: Analyzes how humans perceive, process, and retain information.
• Cognitive Biases: Identifies systematic thinking errors such as confirmation bias and availability heuristic.
• Memory Models: Discusses classifications like working memory versus long-term memory and the multi-store model.
• Relevant in enhancing learning, decision-making processes, and therapies aimed at correcting cognitive distortions.

Cognitive Psychology

• Study of mental processes such as perception, memory, reasoning, and problem-solving.
• Information Processing Model conceptualizes the mind as a processor of information, involving input, processing, and output stages.
• Cognitive Biases refer to systematic patterns that deviate from norm or rational thinking, influencing judgment and decision-making.
• Types of Memory:
  • Short-term memory holds information temporarily; long-term memory stores information over extended periods.
  • Explicit memory involves conscious recall, while implicit memory entails unconscious influences on behavior.
• Decision Making is affected by heuristics and biases that influence how judgments are formed and choices are made.

Developmental Psychology

• Study focused on psychological growth and changes throughout the human lifespan.
• Key Theories include:
  • Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development: Four stages—sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational—each representing qualitative shifts in thinking.
  • Erikson's Psychosocial Development outlines eight stages from infancy to adulthood, each with a unique psychosocial crisis that individuals must resolve.
  • Attachment Theory highlights the significance of early relationships, identifying three styles: secure, avoidant, and ambivalent attachment.
• Areas of Focus encompass emotional, social, and cognitive development at various life stages.

Social Psychology

• Study examines how individuals affect and are affected by social contexts and interactions.
• Key Concepts include:
  • Social Influence mechanisms include conformity (changing behavior to match others), compliance (agreeing to requests), and obedience (following authority).
  • Group Dynamics encompass phenomena such as groupthink (poor decision-making due to group cohesion), social loafing (reduced effort in groups), and deindividuation (loss of self-awareness in groups).
  • Attitudes and Persuasion involve how attitudes are formed, changed, and the role cognitive dissonance plays in altering behaviors to align with beliefs.
  • Prejudice and Discrimination focus on the origins and impacts of societal bias.

Clinical Psychology

• Branch dedicated to diagnosing and treating mental disorders.
• Key Areas include:
  • Assessment Techniques: Involves various methods, including interviews, psychological tests, and observational approaches to evaluate mental health.
  • Therapeutic Approaches:
    • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) aims to transform negative thought patterns that contribute to mental health issues.
    • Psychodynamic Therapy explores unconscious processes and childhood experiences as sources of emotional difficulties.
    • Humanistic Therapy emphasizes self-actualization and personal growth as central therapeutic goals.
• Common Disorders addressed include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, and psychotic disorders.

Behavioral Psychology

• Focuses on observable behaviors and their learning processes through conditioning.
• Key Principles include:
  • Classical Conditioning, demonstrated by Pavlov's dogs, involves learning through association between stimuli.
  • Operant Conditioning explains how behaviors are learned based on the consequences, including reinforcement (to increase behavior) and punishment (to decrease behavior).
  • Behavior Modification employs behavioral techniques to alter maladaptive behaviors effectively.
• Applications span therapy, educational practices, and behavior change initiatives.