Cogpsych

• Psychology

  The study of behavior, which is a manifestation of one's mind
• Etymology of Psychology

  From the Greek words "psyche" (mind or soul) and "logy" (science)
• Psychology is a relatively young science with its experimental roots in the 19th century
• Wilhelm Wundt and William James

  • Generally credited as being the founders of psychology as a science and academic discipline distinct from philosophy
• Wilhelm Wundt


  • Established the first experimental psychology lab, which is usually noted as the official start of psychology as a separate and distinct science
• The term psychology wasn't coined until around the turn of the sixteenth century
• The practice of psychology as a science today wasn't established until the mid-1800s
• Humans have been curious about themselves for a long time, with Aristotle pondering the seed of human consciousness 2000 years ago
• Chinese rulers conducted the world's first psychological exams, requiring public officials to take personality and intelligence tests
• Main schools of psychology

  • Structuralism
  • Functionalism
  • Gestalt
  • Behaviorism
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Humanism
  • Cognitivism
• Structuralism


  • Focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components
  • Used introspection to analyze the inner processes of the human mind
• Functionalism


  • Focused on the role and purpose of mental processes
  • Used objective techniques to explore memories and emotions
• Gestalt psychology


  • Based on the idea that people experience things as unified wholes
  • Believed the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
• Behaviorism


  • Suggests all behavior can be explained by environmental causes rather than internal forces
  • Focused on observable behavior
• Classical conditioning


  A type of learning that involves associating a previously neutral stimulus with a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response
• Operant conditioning

  A type of learning that involves using rewards and punishments to create an association between the behavior and the consequences
• Psychoanalysis


  • Emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior
  • Believed the human mind was composed of the id, ego, and superego
• Humanistic psychology


  • Focused on helping people achieve and fulfill their potential
  • Emphasized individual free will and self-actualization
• Cognitive psychology


  The school of psychology that studies mental processes, including how people think, perceive, remember, and learn
• Stages of cognitive development


  • A theory proposed by Jean Piaget, which suggested that children go through a series of progressive stages of intellectual development
• Sociocultural theory


  A theory that looked at how the interaction of cultural and social factors contributed to cognitive development
• Information processing theory


  A theory that suggests the mind functions like a computer to process and interpret information about the world
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) was heavily influenced by the cognitive psychological perspective
• The period of the "cognitive revolution" saw a wealth of research on information processing, language, memory, and perception emerge