AP PSYCHOLOGY MODULES 1-8
1.Empiricism: the view that knowledge originates in experience and
that science should, therefore, rely on observation and
experimentation.
2.Structuralism: early school of thought promoted by Wundt and
Titchner; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human
mind.
3.Functionalism: a school of thought promoted by James and influenced
by Dar- win; explored how mental and behavioral processes function -
how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.
4.Experimental Psychology: the study of behavior and thinking using the
experi- mental method.
5.Behaviorism: the view that psychology (1) should be an objectiv
science that
(2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. • Most
research psy- chologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
6.Humanistic Psychology: a historically significant perspective that
emphasized the growth potential of healthy people.
7.Cognitive Neuroscience: the interdisciplinary study of the brain
activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory,
and language).
8.Psychology: the science of behavior and mental processes.
9.Nature-Nurture Issue: the longstanding controversy over the relative
1/
9
, contribu- tions that genes and experience make to the development of
psychological traits and behaviors. • Today's science sees traits and
behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.
10.Natural Selection: the principle that, among the range of inherited
trait varia- tions, those contributing to reproduction and survival will
most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.
11.Levels of Analysis: t he differing complementary views, from
biological to psychological to social- cultural, for analyzing any
given phenomenon.
12.Biopsychosocial Approach: an integrated approach that incorporates
biologi- cal, psychological, and social- cultural levels of analysis.
13.Behavioral Psychology: the scientific study of observable behavior,
and its explanation by principles of learning.
14.Biological Psychology: the scientific study of the links between
biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. •
Some biological psychol- ogists call themselves - behavioral
neuroscientists, - neuropsychologists, - behavior geneticists, -
physiological psychologists, or - biopsychologists.
15.Cognitive Psychology: the scientific study of all the mental activities
associat- ed with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
16.Evolutionary Psychology: the study of the evolution of behavior
and mind, using principles of natural selection.
17.Psychodynamic Psychology: a branch of psychology that studies how
uncon- scious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that
information to treat people with psychological disorders.
2/
9
1.Empiricism: the view that knowledge originates in experience and
that science should, therefore, rely on observation and
experimentation.
2.Structuralism: early school of thought promoted by Wundt and
Titchner; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human
mind.
3.Functionalism: a school of thought promoted by James and influenced
by Dar- win; explored how mental and behavioral processes function -
how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.
4.Experimental Psychology: the study of behavior and thinking using the
experi- mental method.
5.Behaviorism: the view that psychology (1) should be an objectiv
science that
(2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. • Most
research psy- chologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).
6.Humanistic Psychology: a historically significant perspective that
emphasized the growth potential of healthy people.
7.Cognitive Neuroscience: the interdisciplinary study of the brain
activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory,
and language).
8.Psychology: the science of behavior and mental processes.
9.Nature-Nurture Issue: the longstanding controversy over the relative
1/
9
, contribu- tions that genes and experience make to the development of
psychological traits and behaviors. • Today's science sees traits and
behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.
10.Natural Selection: the principle that, among the range of inherited
trait varia- tions, those contributing to reproduction and survival will
most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.
11.Levels of Analysis: t he differing complementary views, from
biological to psychological to social- cultural, for analyzing any
given phenomenon.
12.Biopsychosocial Approach: an integrated approach that incorporates
biologi- cal, psychological, and social- cultural levels of analysis.
13.Behavioral Psychology: the scientific study of observable behavior,
and its explanation by principles of learning.
14.Biological Psychology: the scientific study of the links between
biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes. •
Some biological psychol- ogists call themselves - behavioral
neuroscientists, - neuropsychologists, - behavior geneticists, -
physiological psychologists, or - biopsychologists.
15.Cognitive Psychology: the scientific study of all the mental activities
associat- ed with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
16.Evolutionary Psychology: the study of the evolution of behavior
and mind, using principles of natural selection.
17.Psychodynamic Psychology: a branch of psychology that studies how
uncon- scious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that
information to treat people with psychological disorders.
2/
9
