Exported for Pari Rana on Sun, 24 Sep 2023 17:31:54 GMT

Chapter 1: Glossary
A
applied practice The actual application of discovered techniques to solve specific practical problems.

applied psychology The use of psychological principles to solve practical problems, typically by
influencing behavior or changing the environment to match existing behavior.

applied research Research done in an effort to discover a new or more effective way to solve a specific
practical problem.

B
basic research Work done by psychologists to understand the fundamental principles of behavior and
mind.

behavior Any observable action, including words, gestures, responses, and more that can be repeated,
measured, and are affected by a situation to produce or remove some outcome. Behavior can also refer
to biological activity, including actions on the cellular level.

behaviorism An approach to psychology that suggests observable behavior should be the only topic
of study, ignoring conscious experience.

biological determinism The view that all human behavior is controlled by genetic and biological
influences.

C
clinical psychology A form of applied psychology that focuses on identifying, preventing, and
relieving distress or dysfunction that is psychological in origin.

counseling psychologists Psychologists who focus on helping people deal with ongoing situations, or
on the adjustment from one situation to another.
culture A shared set of beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and customs belonging to a specific group or
community.

D
dualism The philosophical position that the mind and the body are entirely separate from one
another.

E
eclectic approach An approach to clinical psychology that uses different therapeutic techniques
based on their effectiveness for the current situation.

empiricism The view that knowledge arises directly from experience.

evolutionary psychology The study of psychology from an evolutionary perspective, it proposes that
many mental processes have developed in response to natural selection to solve adaptive problems.

F
feminist psychology An approach to psychology that is critical of cultural influences on gender and
gender differences in behavior.

functional explanations A kind of proximate explanation that seeks to identify a specific problem as
the cause of a trait, behavior, or mental process.

functionalism An early movement in psychology whose proponents believed that an understanding of

a behavior or process’ function was critical to understanding its operation.

H
humanistic psychology An approach to psychology that emphasizes the ability of humans to make
their own choices and realize their own potential.

I
intersectional approach An approach to studying cultural influences that emphasizes examining how
multiple social identities intersect at the level of the individual person to alter their experiences.
L
levels of explanation The acknowledgment that different explanations for a phenomenon can
complement one another.

M
mind The contents of conscious experience, including sensations, perceptions, thoughts, and
emotions.

N
nativism The view that some forms of knowledge are inborn, or innate.

natural selection The principle that traits which contribute to improvements in survival and
reproduction are more likely to be passed down to later generations.

P
phrenology The pseudoscientific study of the shape of the human skull in an attempt to associate
brain areas with specific characteristics, thoughts, or abilities.

positive psychology An outgrowth of humanistic psychology, positive psychology studies specific

virtues of the human experience, including topics such as happiness, trust, charity, and gratitude.

process-oriented explanations A kind of proximate explanation that focuses on how a specific

mental or physical process directly explains a trait or behavior.

proximate explanations Explanations that seek to describe an immediate cause of a trait, behavior,
or mental process.

psychiatrist A medical doctor who is trained to assess and treat psychological disorders. Psychiatrists
often prescribe and manage psychiatric medications.

psychoanalysis A form of psychotherapy coined by Sigmund Freud that seeks to help clients gain
more insight into their unconscious thoughts, behaviors, and motivations.

psychology The scientific study of both behavior and mind.

S
structuralism The first movement in the history of psychology, which focused on breaking down
immediate conscious experience (such as sensations and feelings) into their constituent parts.

systematic introspection One of the first strategies to make inferences about the contents of the
mind, it was an effort to standardize the way that people reported their own experiences.

T
translational research Research that attempts to take basic findings and turn them into solutions for
practical problems.

U
ultimate explanations Explanations that seek to describe the reasons why a trait, behavior, or mental
process exists by appealing to its role in the process of evolution.

Exported for Pari Rana on Sun, 24 Sep 2023 17:31:54 GMT