Terms and definitions
Functionalism - the school of psychology that emphasizes the uses or functions of the
mind rather than the element of experience.
Introspection - deliberate looking into one's own cognitive processes to examine one's
thoughts and emotions.
Applied research - research conducted an effort tofind solutions to particular
problems.
Reinforcement -a stimulus that follows a response and increases the frequency of the
response.
Behaviorism - the school of psychology that defines psychology as the study of
observable behavior and studies relationships between stimuli and responses.
Pure research - research conducted without concern immediate applications.
Structuralism - the school of psychology that argues that the mind consists of three
basic elements ( sensations, feelings, and images ) that combine to form experience.
Theories - A set of hypothesized statements about the go among events
Psychology - the scientific study behavior a mental processes.
Psychoanalysis - the school of psychology that emphasizes the importance of unconscious
motives and conflicts as determinants of human behavior.
Biological perspective - the approach to psychology that seeks to understand the nature of the
links between biological processes and structures such as the functioning of the brain.
Cognitive - having to do mental processes such as sensation and perception, memory,
intelligence, language, thought, and problem solving.
Gestalt psychology - prominent in Germany in 1930. The school of psychology that
emphasizes the tendency to organize perceptions into wholes and to integrate separate
stimuli into meaningful patterns.
Humanism - stresses the human capacity for self-fulfillment.
Sociocultural perspective - the view that focuses on the roles of ethnicity, gender, culture,
and socioeconomic status in behavior and mental processes.
Social cognitive theory - the school of psychology in the behaviorist tradition that includes
cognitive factors in the explanation and prediction of behavior.
Existentialism - views people as free to choose and as being responsible for choosing ethical
conduct.
Gender - the culturally defined concepts of muscularity and femininity.
Functionalism - the school of psychology that emphasizes the uses or functions of the
mind rather than the element of experience.
Introspection - deliberate looking into one's own cognitive processes to examine one's
thoughts and emotions.
Applied research - research conducted an effort tofind solutions to particular
problems.
Reinforcement -a stimulus that follows a response and increases the frequency of the
response.
Behaviorism - the school of psychology that defines psychology as the study of
observable behavior and studies relationships between stimuli and responses.
Pure research - research conducted without concern immediate applications.
Structuralism - the school of psychology that argues that the mind consists of three
basic elements ( sensations, feelings, and images ) that combine to form experience.
Theories - A set of hypothesized statements about the go among events
Psychology - the scientific study behavior a mental processes.
Psychoanalysis - the school of psychology that emphasizes the importance of unconscious
motives and conflicts as determinants of human behavior.
Biological perspective - the approach to psychology that seeks to understand the nature of the
links between biological processes and structures such as the functioning of the brain.
Cognitive - having to do mental processes such as sensation and perception, memory,
intelligence, language, thought, and problem solving.
Gestalt psychology - prominent in Germany in 1930. The school of psychology that
emphasizes the tendency to organize perceptions into wholes and to integrate separate
stimuli into meaningful patterns.
Humanism - stresses the human capacity for self-fulfillment.
Sociocultural perspective - the view that focuses on the roles of ethnicity, gender, culture,
and socioeconomic status in behavior and mental processes.
Social cognitive theory - the school of psychology in the behaviorist tradition that includes
cognitive factors in the explanation and prediction of behavior.
Existentialism - views people as free to choose and as being responsible for choosing ethical
conduct.
Gender - the culturally defined concepts of muscularity and femininity.
