The Study of Psychology

The careful, systematic self-observation of one’s own conscious experience

A school of psychology based on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyse consciousness into its basic elements and to investigate how these elements are related

Based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure

Principle stating that heritable characteristics that provide a survival reproductive advantage are more likely than alternative characteristics to be passed on to subsequent generations and thus come to be “selected” over time

A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behaviour

Any overt (observable) response or activity by an organism

The scientific investigation of mental processes (thinking, remembering and feeling) and behaviour. Understanding a person requires attention to the individuals biology, psychological experience and cultural context

A broad system of theoretical assumptions that a scientific community used to make sense of its domain of study

The perspective initiated by Sigmund Freud that focuses on the dynamic interplay of mental forces

The doctrine of dual spheres of mind and body

The belief that the path to scientific knowledge is systematic observation and, ideally, experimental observation

The idea that people are motivated to reach their full potential

The way people perceive, process and retrieve information

The environment provides inputs, which are transformed, stored and retrieved using various mental ‘programs’, leading to specific response outputs

The viewpoint built on Darwins principle of natural selection that argues that human behavioural proclivities must be understood in the context of their evolutionary and adaptive significance

Characteristics that help organisms to adjust and survive in their environment

The study of animal behaviour from a biological and evolutionary perspective

A field that explores possible evolutionary and biological bases of human social behaviour

A field that examines the genetic and environmental bases of differences among individuals on psychological traits

The notion that natural selection favours organisms that survive, reproduce and foster the survival and reproduction of their kin