Psychology: Schools of Thought

• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking that examines assumptions, assesses sources, uncovers hidden values, weighs evidence, and assesses conclusions, rather than blindly accepting arguments.
• Structuralism
  • An early school of thought promoted by Wundt.
  • Focused on the structure of the human mind.
• Functionalism
  • An early school of thought promoted by James, influenced by Darwin.
  • Focused on how the mind functions.
• Behaviorism
  • Psychology should be an objective science.
  • Studies behavior without reference to mental processes.
  • Most psychologists agree with the first point, but not the second.
• Humanistic Psychology
  • A perspective that emphasizes human growth potential.
• Cognitive Psychology
  • The study of mental processes, such as perception, learning, memory, thinking, communication, and problem-solving.
• Cognitive Neuroscience
  • The interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with mental activity, including perception, thinking, memory, and language.
• Biopsychosocial Approach
  • Integrates biological, psychological, and sociocultural viewpoints.
• Nature-Nurture Issue
  • The debate over the relative influence of genes and experience on psychological traits and behaviors.
  • Psychological science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.
• Dual Processing
  • The mind processes information simultaneously on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.
• Theory
  • An explanation using principles that organize observations and predict behaviors or events.
• Hypothesis
  • A testable prediction implied by a theory.
• Operational Definition
  • A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study.
  • Defines concepts (e.g., intelligence) by describing the operations used to measure them.
• Replication
  • Repeating a research study to see if the basic finding can be reproduced, often with different participants in different situations.
• Case Study
  • A descriptive technique where one individual or group is studied in depth to reveal universal principles.
• Naturalistic Observation
  • Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to control them.
• Survey
  • A technique for obtaining self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a group.
  • Usually involves questioning a representative, random sample.
• Population
  • All those in a group being studied, from which random samples may be drawn.
  • Does not refer to a country's whole population, except for national studies.
• Random Sample
  • A sample that fairly represents a population.
  • Each member has an equal chance of inclusion.
• Correlation Experiments
  • Measures the extent to which two factors vary together, indicating how well one predicts the other.
  • The correlation coefficient ranges from -1.00 to +1.00, with 0 indicating no relationship.
• Placebo Effect
  • An inactive substance or condition given to a control group in place of the actual treatment.
• Experimental Group
  • The group in an experiment exposed to the treatment (the independent variable).
• Control Group
  • The group in an experiment not exposed to the treatment.
  • Serves as a comparison for judging the effect of the treatment.
• Double-Blind Procedure
  • Neither the participants nor the research staff know who has received the treatment or a placebo.
• Dependent Variable
  • The factor that is measured in an experiment.
  • It may change when the independent variable is manipulated.
• Independent Variable
  • The factor that is manipulated in an experiment.
  • The variable whose effect is being studied.
• Confounding Variable
  • A factor other than the one being studied that might influence a study's results.
• Informed Consent
  • Giving people enough information about a study to decide whether they want to participate.
• Debrief
  • Explaining the study's purpose and any deceptions used to participants after an experiment ends.
• Plasticity
  • The brain’s ability to change by reorganizing after damage or building new pathways based on experience.
  • Especially prominent during childhood.
• Neuron
  • A nerve cell.
  • The basic building block of the nervous system.
• Cell Body
  • The part of a neuron containing the nucleus.
  • The cell’s life-support center.
• Dendrites
  • Neuron extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting them toward the cell body.
• Axon
  • Neuron extension that sends messages to other neurons or to muscles and glands.
• Action Potentials
  • A nerve impulse.
  • A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon.
• Glial Cells
  • Cells that support, nourish, and protect neurons.
  • Play a role in learning, thinking, and memory.
• Synapses
  • Junction between the axon tip of a sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of a receiving neuron.
  • The synaptic gap or cleft is the tiny gap at this junction.
• Neurotransmitter
  • Chemicals produced by neurons that cross the synaptic gap to carry messages to other neurons or to muscles and glands.
• All-or-None Law
  • A neuron's reaction of either firing with a full-strength response or not firing at all.
• Threshold
  • The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse.
• Refractory Period
  • A brief resting pause after a neuron has fired.
  • Subsequent action potentials cannot occur until the axon returns to its resting state.
• Nervous System
  • The body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network.
  • Consists of all the nerve cells of the central and peripheral nervous systems.
• Peripheral Nervous System
  • The sensory and motor neurons connecting the central nervous system to the rest of the body.
• Central Nervous System
  • The brain and spinal cord.
• Endocrine System
  • The body’s “slow” chemical communication system.
  • Consists of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream.
• Hormones
  • Chemical messengers manufactured by the endocrine glands.
  • Travel through the bloodstream and affect other tissues.
• Limbic System
  • Neural system (amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus) located below the cerebral hemispheres.
  • Associated with emotions and drives.
• Frontal Lobes
  • The portion of the cerebral cortex behind the forehead.
  • Involved in speaking, muscle movements, planning, and judgment.
• Parietal Lobes
  • The portion of the cerebral cortex at the top of the head and toward the rear.
  • Receives sensory input for touch and body position.
• Occipital Lobes
  • The portion of the cerebral cortex at the back of the head.
  • Includes areas that receive information from the visual fields.
• Temporal Lobes
  • The portion of the cerebral cortex roughly above the ears.
  • Includes areas that receive information from the ears.
• Motor Cortex
  • The area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.
• Somatosensory Cortex
  • The area at the front of the parietal lobes.
  • Registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
• Association Areas
  • Cerebral cortex areas involved in higher mental functions, such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.
• Corpus Callosum
  • A large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.
• Neurogenesis
  • The formation of new neurons.
• Consciousness
  • Our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment.
• Selective Attention
  • Focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
• Inattentional Blindness
  • Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.
• Change Blindness
  • Failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness.

An overview of the various schools of thought in psychology's history, from structuralism and functionalism to behaviorism, humanistic, cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience.