PSYA01H3 Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Terms.doc
Document Summary
Chapter 1 psychology: the evolution of a science. Psychology: the scientific study of mind and behavior. Mind: our private inner experience of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings. Behavior: observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals. Nativism: the philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn. Philosophical empiricism: the philosophical view that all knowledge is acquired through experience. Phrenology: a now defunct theory that specific mental abilities and characteristics, ranging from memory to the capacity for happiness, are localized in specific regions of the brain. Physiology: the study of biological processes, especially in the human body. Reaction time: the amount of time taken to respond to a specific stimulus. Consciousness: a person"s subjective experience of the world and the mind. Structuralism: the analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind. Introspection: the subjective observation of one"s own experience. Functionalism: the study of the purpose mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environment.
