Chapter 1.3-1.4 psychology

• The American Psychological Association (APA) is a professional organization representing psychologists in the United States
• The APA is the largest organization of psychologists in the world, and its mission is to advance and disseminate psychological knowledge for the betterment of people
• There are 54 divisions within the APA, representing a wide variety of specialties
• G. Stanley Hall was the first president of the APA
• The Association for Psychological Science (APS) was founded in 1988 and seeks to advance the scientific orientation of psychology
• The APS publishes five research journals and engages in education and advocacy with funding agencies
• Other organizations provide networking and collaboration opportunities for professionals of several ethnic or racial groups working in psychology, such as the National Latina/o Psychological Association (NLPA), the Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA), the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi), and the Society of Indian Psychologists (SIP)
• Biopsychology


  Explores how our biology influences our behavior
• Biopsychology


  • Many biological psychologists want to understand how the structure and function of the nervous system is related to behavior
  • Combines the research strategies of both psychologists and physiologists
• Evolutionary psychology


  Seeks to study the ultimate biological causes of behavior
• Sensation and perception


  Scientists interested in both physiological aspects of sensory systems as well as in the psychological experience of sensory information
• Cognitive psychology


  The area of psychology that focuses on studying cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to our experiences and our actions
• Developmental psychology


  The scientific study of development across a lifespan
• Developmental psychologists


  • They are interested in processes related to physical maturation
  • They also focus on changes in cognitive skills, moral reasoning, social behavior, and other psychological attributes
• Object permanence


  - The understanding that physical things continue to exist, even if they are hidden from us. - was created by Jean piaget
• Personality psychology


  Focuses on patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique
• Freud proposed that personality arose as conflicts between the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind were carried out over the lifespan
• Freud's theory of psychosexual stages of development was controversial and did not lend itself to experimental tests
• Personality traits


  Relatively consistent patterns of thought and behavior
• The "Big Five" or the Five Factor model


  Five trait dimensions that are sufficient to capture the variations in personality seen across individuals: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion
• Social psychology


  Focuses on how we interact with and relate to others
• Stanley Milgram's research demonstrated that nearly two-thirds of his participants were willing to deliver what they believed to be lethal shocks to another person, simply because they were instructed to do so by an authority figure
• Industrial-Organizational psychology


  A subfield of psychology that applies psychological theories, principles, and research findings in industrial and organizational settings
• Health psychology


  Focuses on how health is affected by the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors
• Sport and exercise psychology

  Researchers study the psychological aspects of sport performance, including motivation and performance anxiety, and the effects of sport on mental and emotional wellbeing
• Clinical psychology


  The area of psychology that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior
• Counseling psychology


  A similar discipline that focuses on emotional, social, vocational, and health-related outcomes in individuals who are considered psychologically healthy
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy


  A therapy that takes cognitive processes and behaviors into account when providing psychotherapy
• Forensic psychology


  A branch of psychology that deals with questions of psychology as they arise in the context of the justice system
• Forensic psychologists must have a good understanding of the law and provide information in the context of the legal system rather than just within the realm of psychology
• Dissertation


  A long research paper or bundled published articles describing research that was conducted as a part of the candidate's doctoral training
• Adjunct faculty members and instructors

  Usually have an advanced degree in psychology, but they often have primary careers outside of academia and serve in this role as a secondary job
• Postdoctoral training programs


  Allow young scientists to further develop their research programs and broaden their research skills under the supervision of other professionals in the field
• PsyD


  A doctor of psychology degree that is increasingly popular among individuals interested in pursuing careers in clinical psychology
• Earning a doctoral degree in psychology is a lengthy process, usually taking between 5–6 years of graduate study
• biopsychosocial model- perspective that asserts that biology, psychology, and social factors interact to determine an individual’s health
• cognitive psychology is the study of cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions
• psychoanalytic theory focus on the role of the unconscious in affecting conscious behavior
• structuralism understanding the conscious experience through introspection
• five traits

  • extraversion (sociability, assertiveness)
  • agreeableness(cooperative, trustworthy)
  • openness (imagination, openness)
  • conscientiousness (self-discipline, goal-driven)
  • neuroticism (tendency towards unstable emotions)