intro to psych

• Holism - Humanistic psychology adopts a holistic perspective, considering individuals as integrated wholes rather than as a collection of isolated parts or behaviors.
• Cultural Influence on Behavior - This approach emphasizes how cultural norms, values, and customs impact an individual's thoughts, emotions, and actions.
• Sociocultural Approach -The sociocultural approach focuses on the role of ethnicity, gender, culture and socioeconomic status in behavior and mental processes.
• Personal Responsibility and Freewill - The humanistic approach emphasizes personal responsibility and free will.
• Cultural Relativism - Cultural relativism is a key concept, suggesting that behaviors, norms, and values should be understood within the cultural context in which they occur.
• Sociocultural Approach - Changing your behavior in line with other people or external factors is called Social Influence.
• Sociocultural Approach - The sociocultural approach looks at how people’s behavior, thoughts and feelings are influenced by the actual or imagined presence of other people.
• Cross-Cultural Research - Cross-cultural research compares psychological phenomena across different cultures to identify universal principles as well as cultural variations.
• Socialization and Development - The socio-cultural approach explores how individuals acquire cultural knowledge and values through socialization processes within their communities.
• Research Methods - Psychologists conduct and analyse their research using various approaches such as experimental research, correlational research, descriptive research, longitudinal research, cross-sectional research, quasi-experimental research, and meta-analysis.
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of needs, with basic physiological and safety needs at the lower levels, followed by psychological needs for love and belonging, esteem needs, and ultimately, self-actualization at the pinnacle.
• Behaviorism, led by John B. Watson and later B.F. Skinner, emphasized the study of observable behavior, rejecting the study of consciousness.
• The mind functions by combining the objective and subjective elements of the experience.
• Functionalism is the study of the function rather than the structure of consciousness; interested in how our minds adapt to our changing environment.
• William James is associated with Functionalism.
• Functionalism posits that streams of consciousness are fluid and continuous, and that adaptive behavior patterns are learned and maintained.
• Evolutionary Explanation of Mental Processes is the idea that mental processes can be explained through the lens of evolution.
• Structuralism is the study of the most basic elements, primarily sensations and perceptions, that make up our conscious mental experiences.
• Structuralism, led by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener, focused on analyzing the basic elements of consciousness through introspection.
• Behaviorism emphasizes the objective, scientific analysis of observable behaviors.
• Structuralism breaks conscious experience into objective sensations (sight/taste) and subjective feelings (emotional responses, mental images).
• Behavior Modification is a therapeutic approach that utilizes principles of operant conditioning to bring about desired changes in behavior.
• Behaviorists favored controlled experiments and objective observation of behavior.
• Innate Behaviors are behaviors that are present at birth and are not learned.
• The principle of wholeness in Gestalt psychology emphasizes that individuals perceive objects as whole entities rather than isolated parts.
• Wilhelm Wundt is associated with Structuralism.
• John B. Watson is associated with Behaviorism.
• Structuralism, Functionalism, Behaviorism, and Gestalt all focus on different aspects of psychology.
• Functionalism, championed by William James, shifted the focus to understanding the adaptive functions of behavior and mental processes.
• Gestalt psychologists used experimental methods to study how the mind organizes and perceives wholes or patterns.
• The principle of proximity in Gestalt psychology suggests that elements that are close to each other are perceived as a group.
• Gestalt Psychology emphasizes the principle of Wholeness (Gestalt) and the principles of Closure, Proximity, and Continuity.
• Functionalists used observational methods, introspection, and even naturalistic observations to study behavior and mental processes.
• The principle of closure in Gestalt psychology suggests that the mind fills in missing information to create a complete and recognizable form.
• Gestalt psychology, developed by Max Wertheimer and others, focused on the holistic nature of perception and cognition.
• Introspection involved trained individuals reporting their conscious experiences in response to stimuli.
• The Endocrine System, a part of biological psychology, studies hormones and the endocrine system to understand their impact on behavior and psychological processes.
• Major Depressive Disorder, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alzheimer’s Disorder, and Post-traumatic Disorder are mental disorders where biological factors are known to contribute.
• Unconscious Mind, according to the psychodynamic approach, is a significant portion of mental activity that occurs in the unconscious mind, inaccessible to conscious awareness.
• The psychodynamic approach underscores the significance of early childhood experiences in shaping adult personality.