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Applied Research
Research that is designed to solve or examine specific, practical problems..
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Basic Research
Research designed to obtain knowledge for its own sake.
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Behavioral Neuroscience
A subfield of psych that examines brain processes and other physiological functions that underlie our behavior, sensory experiences, emotions, and thoughts.
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Behavioral Perspective
A view that emphasizes how the environment and learning experiences shape and control behavior.
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Behavior Genetics
The scientific study of the role of genetic inheritance in behavior.
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Behaviorism
A school of psychology that emphasizes the effects of learning and environmental control on behavior and maintains that the proper subject matter of psychology is observable behavior.
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Biological Perspective
A view that focuses on the role of biological factors in behavior, including biochemical and brain processes, as well as genetic and evolutionary factors.
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British Empiricism
A 17th century school of philosophy championed by Locke, according to which all the contents of the mind are gained experimentally through the senses.
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Cognitive Behaviorism
A behavioral approach that incorporates cognitive concepts, suggesting that the environment influences our thoughts and giving us information.
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Individualism
A cultural orientation, characteristics of many western nations that favors the achievement of individual over group goals (self-identity is based primarily on one's attributes and achievements). *compare: collectivism
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Interaction
The way in which one factor influences behavior depends on the presence of another factor.
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Mind-Body Dualism
The philosophical position that the mind is a nonphysical entity that is not subject to physecal laws and therefor can not be reduced to physical processes; body and mind are separate entities. *compare: monoism
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Monoism
The philosophical position that mental events are reducible to physical events in the brain, so that mind and body are one and the same.
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Natural Selection
The evolutionary process through which characteristics that increase the likelihood of survival and reproduction are preserved in the gene pool and thereby become more common in a species over time.
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Neurotransmitters
Chemical substances that are released from the atoms of one neuron, travel across the synapse space, and bind to specifically keyed receptors in another neuron, where they produce a chemical reaction that is either excitatory or inhibitory.
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Norms
Rules that specify what behavior is acceptable and expected for members of a particular culture or group.
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Object Relations Theory
The view that people form images or mental representations of themselves and other people as a result of early experiences w/caregivers.
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Positive Psychology Movement
A view that emphasizes the study of human strengths, fulfillment, and optimal living.
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Cognitive Neuroscience
An area of psychology that intersects the subfields of cognitive psych and physiological psych and examines brain processes that underlie mental activity.
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Cognitive Perspective
A view that emphasizes humans as rational information processors and problem solvers, and focuses on the mental processes that influence behavior.
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Cognitive Pychology
An area of psych that specializes in studying mental processes such as thinking, memory, planning, reasoning, attention, and perception.
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Collectivism
A cultural orientation that emphasizes the achievement of group rather than individual goals and in which personal identity is largely defined by ties to the larger social group. *compare: individualism
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Cultural Psychology
An area of psych, sometimes called cross-cultural psych that explores how culture is transmitted to its members and examines psychological similarities and differences that occur between people from diverse cultures.
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Culture
The enduring values, beliefs, behaviors and traditions that are shared by a large group of people and passed from one generation to the next.
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Defense Techniques
Unconscious processes that help us cope with anxiety and pain of traumatic experiences. They prevent the expression of anxiety-arousing impulses or allow them to appear in disguised forms. (walk a lap before a quiz)
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