| Term | Definition |
| Modern Psychology | the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Scientific is a key feature of the definition because psychologists follow strict scientific procedures to collect and analyze their data. |
| critical thinking | the process of objectively evaluating, comparing, analyzing, and synthesizing information |
| psuedopsychology | based on false or unfounded common beliefs, folk wisdom, or superstitions. |
| Wilhelm Wundt | known as the father of all psychology |
| William James | He founded the perspective known as functionalism and known as the father of American Psychology |
| Psychodynamic Perspective | Unconscious dynamics, motives, conflicts, and past experiences |
| Behavioral Perspective | Objective, observable, environmental influences on overt behavior; stimulus–response (S-R) relationships and consequences for behavior |
| Humanistic Perspective | Free will, self-actualization, and human nature as naturally positive and growth seeking |
| Cognitive Perspective | emphasizes the mental processes we use in thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating |
| Biological Perspective | Genetic and biological processes in the brain and other parts of the nervous system |
| Evolutionary Perspective | Natural selection, adaptation, and reproduction |
| Sociocultural Perspective | Social interaction and the cultural determinants of behavior and mental processes |
| Positive Psychology | the study of optimal human functioning |
| Natural Selection | occurs when a particular genetic trait gives an organism a reproductive advantage over others |
| Individualistic Culture | the needs and goals of the individual are emphasized over the needs and goals of the group. |
| Collective Culture | however, the person is defined and understood primarily by looking at his or her place in the social unit |
| Clinical Psychologist | Specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders |
| Cognitive Psychologist | Examines “higher” mental processes, including thought, memory, intelligence, creativity, and language |
| Comparative Psychologist | Studies the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals; emphasizes evolution and cross-species comparisons |
| Counseling Psychologist | Overlaps with clinical psychology, but generally works with less seriously disordered individuals and focuses more on social, educational, and career adjustment |
| Developmental Psychologist | Studies the course of human growth and development from conception to death |
| Educational Psychologist | Studies the processes of education and works to promote the academic, intellectual, social, and emotional development of children in the school environment |
| Environmental Psychologist | Investigates how people affect and are affected by the physical environment |
| Health Psychologist | Studies how biological, psychological, and social factors affect health, illness, and health-related behaviors |
| Industrial, Organizational Psychologist | Studies how biological, psychological, and social factors affect health, illness, and health-related behaviors |
| Basic Research | conducted to advance core scientific knowledge |
| Applied Research | designed to solve practical (“real-world”) problems |
| Hypothesis | Educated guess based on your literature review |
| Meta-Analysis | When different studies report contradictory findings, researchers may average or combine the results of all such studies and reach conclusions about the overall weight of the evidence |
| Theory | based on empirical evidence, rigorously tested, and self-correcting |
| Descriptive Research | To observe and record behavior and mental processes |
| Correlation Research | To detect if two or more variables are related |
| Experimental Research | To determine potential cause and effect |
| Case Study | in-depth study of a single research participant, or a small group of individuals |
| Experimental group | participants who receive the treatment under study |
| Control Group | participants who do NOT receive the treatment under study |
| Glial Cells | make up about 90% of the brain's total cells. |
| endorphins | They elevate mood and reduce pain |
