chapter1-5psychology201file.txt

Research that is designed to solve or examine specific, practical problems..

Research designed to obtain knowledge for its own sake.

A subfield of psych that examines brain processes and other physiological functions that underlie our behavior, sensory experiences, emotions, and thoughts.

A view that emphasizes how the environment and learning experiences shape and control behavior.

The scientific study of the role of genetic inheritance in behavior.

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.

A view that focuses on the role of biological factors in behavior, including biochemical and brain processes, as well as genetic and evolutionary factors.

A 17th century school of philosophy championed by Locke, according to which all the contents of the mind are gained experimentally through the senses.

A behavioral approach that incorporates cognitive concepts, suggesting that the environment influences our thoughts and giving us information.

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

The way in which one factor influences behavior depends on the presence of another factor.

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

The philosophical position that mental events are reducible to physical events in the brain, so that mind and body are one and the same.

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.

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.

Rules that specify what behavior is acceptable and expected for members of a particular culture or group.

The view that people form images or mental representations of themselves and other people as a result of early experiences w/caregivers.

A view that emphasizes the study of human strengths, fulfillment, and optimal living.

An area of psychology that intersects the subfields of cognitive psych and physiological psych and examines brain processes that underlie mental activity.

A view that emphasizes humans as rational information processors and problem solvers, and focuses on the mental processes that influence behavior.

An area of psych that specializes in studying mental processes such as thinking, memory, planning, reasoning, attention, and perception.

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

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.

The enduring values, beliefs, behaviors and traditions that are shared by a large group of people and passed from one generation to the next.

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)