Applied History of Psychology/Vocabulary

Engram
The neural representation of memory that has been stored.

Equipotentiality
The principle that if certain areas of specialization, the specialization may be lost is the whole area is removed; but it may not be lost if a small part of the area is spared or other parts of the brain may take on the role of the damaged portion.

Ethology
The scientific study of animals in their natural environment to learn about the animals' natural and instinctive behaviors. Karl Lorenz and Nikolaas Tinbergen were considered ethologists.

Functionalism
Emphasis on the how or why of mental operations rather than the content.

General Factor of Intelligence
Also known as 'g'. General intelligence that is thought to underlie specialized types of intelligence. Often measured by correlating results of a variety of intellectual tasks (subtests) which results in an IQ score.

Gestalt
Focus on the whole as an area of interest rather than reducing mental operations to their parts.

Hormic
Focus on instincts.

Idiographic
Focuses on the individual case. A perspective in psychology that is opposite to the nomological approach.

Evolutionary Theories
Larmarck: An organism can pass on characteristics that it acquired during its lifetime to its offspring

Darwin: Specific variations give the advantage or disadvantage in the competition for a mate. The inherited traits that are passed down to the offspring make it more likely for an organism to survive and reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations

Longitudinal Research
A research method where the same individual is studied over several time points.

Maturation
Development after birth in an orderly sequence. For example, a baby learns to crawl, then, proceeds to learn to walk (p. 412).

Mass Action
Memory cannot be confined to a cortical area, but is dispersed throughout the cortex.

Nativism
We are born to perceive as we do.

Neuroscience
Physiological psychology that is mainly concerned with the brain and nervous system. The aim is to understand the relationship between mind and body, or mind and brain.

Nomothetic
A science of quantitative laws. A perspective in psychology that is opposite to the idiographic approach.

Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny
Dead end theory in developmental psychology by Ernst Haeckel. Theory suggested that the growth and development changes in size and shape of a particular organism reflect evolution from the beginning of its fertilization (embryo) and developing through its adulthood.

Operationism
A point of view where scientific concepts are defined by their measurement.

Phenomenology
The study of how individual experiences determine the way that we perceive; related to the subjective sensory experience.

Phrenology
Phrenology is the belief of mapping the brain with specific areas to precise functions. In the 18th and 19th century Phrenology was widely accepted but not academically proven. It was even believed that certain mental behaviors could be measured by the size of a specific portion of the brain. Phrenology was eventually proven to be pseudoscience, but contributed towards further developing the neuroscience field.

Reductionism
Explaining complex phenomena by reducing it to its units or elements.

Sociobiology
Field related to psychology. Focuses on the influence of evolution on the social behavior of humans and animals.

Structuralism
Emphasis on the content of consciousness rather than the process.

Vicarious Functioning
A concept developed by Franz that an eliminated habit may be restored through learning in another part of the brain.

Animal Psychology
Study of psychology of animals either because an animal model is a convenient substitute for humans or to learn more about animal behavior and cognition.

Clinical psychology
Focuses on providing professional services to people who are mentally unwell. Clinical psychologists assess, diagnose, treat, and prevent mental disorders. The field was named and defined by Witmer in 1907.

Comparative Psychology
Study of the cross-species relationships between humans and animals in search for the understanding of human behavior.

Cognitive Psychology
This perspective focuses on the whole range of mental activities, including attention and perception, and higher mental processes such as remembering.

Organizational Psychology
The application of psychological principles to the workplace. The study of helping an organization perform at its best when considering the needs of the workers and the organization as a whole.

Cannon's Emergency Theory
Suggests that emotions result when the thalamus sends a message to the brain in response to a stimulus, resulting in a physiological reaction; we react to a stimulus and experience the associated emotion at the same time. Cannon’s theory contradicts James-Lange theory, which argues that physiological responses occur first and result and are the cause of emotions.