Psychology Basics

Skinner theorized that behavior has several kinds of consequences, or effects. Events that follow behavior and produce an increase in the rate or frequency of the behavior are termed reinforcers. In ordinary language, they might be called rewards, but Skinner ... [full story]

B. F. Skinner Type of psychology: Personality Fields of study: Behavioral and cognitive models; instrumental conditioning Radical behaviorism describes the views of Skinner, an influential figure in American psychology since the 1930’s. Skinner argued that most behavior is controlled by ... [full story]

The notion of inherited differences is an ancient one; however, the concept of racial classifications is more recent. According to psychologist Wade Nobles, the Western idea of race emerged during the sixteenth century as Europeans began to colonize other parts ... [full story]

Several examples may help clarify the relationships between heredity, environment, and characteristics such as IQ. The first example involves a highly heritable characteristic, height. In this example, a farmer has two fields, one rich in nutrients (field A) and the ... [full story]

Type of psychology: Biological bases of behavior; intelligence and intelligence testing Fields of study: Biological influences on learning; general issues in intelligence; intelligence assessment The relationship between race and intelligence has long been the subject of heated debate among social ... [full story]

The goals and techniques of psychotherapy were first discussed by the psychodynamic theorists who originated the modern practice of psychotherapy. Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer are generally credited with describing the first modern case treated with psychotherapy, and Freud went ... [full story]

When patients first come to a psychotherapist, they have in mind some things about their lives that need to be changed. The psychotherapist recognizes that before this can be accomplished, a trusting relationship must be established with patients. This has ... [full story]

Type of psychology: Psychotherapy Field of study: Evaluating psychotherapy The goals to be reached in psychotherapy and the techniques employed to accomplish them vary according to the needs of the patient and the theoretical orientation of the therapist. Key concepts ... [full story]

Diagnosis of a need for psychosurgery is based on observation of symptoms supporting abnormal psychological behavior. Examples are extremes of aggression, anxiety, obsession, or compulsiveness as well as psychoses other than schizophrenia. The exclusion of schizophrenics, except for those having ... [full story]

Collectively, the brain’s limbic system is composed of the hippocampus, amygdala, hippocampal and cingulate gyri, limen insulae, and posterior orbital regions of cerebral frontal lobes. This system, its components linked by nerve pathways, controls emotional expression, seizure activity, and memory ... [full story]

The second great proponent of leucotomy—the physician who renamed it lobotomy and greatly modified the methodology used—was Freeman, professor of neuropathology at George Washington University Medical School in Washington, D.C. In 1936, he tested the procedure on preserved brains from ... [full story]

The two main figures in psychosurgery were António Egas Moniz, the Portuguese neurologist who invented lobotomy, and the well-known American neuropathologist and neuropsychiatrist Walter Freeman, who roamed the world convincing others to carry out the operations. The imperfect state of ... [full story]

Psychosurgery is believed to have originated with the observation by early medical practitioners that severe head injuries could produce extreme changes in behavior patterns. In addition, physicians of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries reported that sword and knife wounds that ... [full story]

Date: The 1930’s forward Type of psychology: Psychological methodologies Fields of study: Anxiety disorders; biological treatments; depression; endocrine system; schizophrenias Psychosurgery is brain surgery in which brain parts are disconnected or removed to do away with psychiatric problems such as ... [full story]

Because the hyperreactivity of the Type A behavior pattern is thought to be at least partially genetically based, there are probably some limits on what can be done to reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease resulting from physiological hyperreactivity. ... [full story]

Locus of control refers to the location where one believes control over life events originates. An external locus of control is outside oneself; an internal locus of control is within oneself. The individual who perceives that life events are the ... [full story]

Continuing the tradition of the early Greek and Roman physicians, modern personality theorists have often noted that certain personality characteristics seem to be associated with a propensity to develop illness, or even specific illnesses. Other personality characteristics appear to reduce ... [full story]

Even though Freud demonstrated the role of psychological factors in illness, the medical field has still focused upon the biological roots of illness and has still largely rejected or ignored the role of emotions and personality. Nevertheless, the ascending line ... [full story]

Type of psychology: Psychopathology Fields of study: Cognitive processes; organic disorders; stress and illness Psychosomatic disorders are physical disorders produced by psychological factors such as stress, mental states, or personality characteristics. A variety of psychological or psychotherapeutic interventions have been ... [full story]

The basic tenet of cognitive therapy is that psychological problems stem from the way people view and think about the events that happen to them. Consequently, therapy focuses on helping patients change their viewpoints. For example, with a patient who ... [full story]

Based on learning theory, behavior therapy attempts to provide new learning experiences for the client. Those with problems that are fear-based, such as phobias, may benefit from gradual exposure to the feared situation. If social anxiety is determined to be ... [full story]

The major forms of treatment for psychological disorders can be grouped according to the most popular models of psychopathology. Thus, there exists behavior therapy (learning approach), cognitive therapy and psychoanalysis (psychological approach), and somatic treatment, such as the use of ... [full story]

The importance of understanding the cultural context of psychopathology cannot be overstated. To be sure, some disorders that span populations— depression, mental retardation, and schizophrenia are examples—but a population both defines what should be considered abnormal behavior and determines how ... [full story]

Psychologists who work within this model of psychopathology believe that abnormal behavior is learned through past experiences. The same principles that are used to explain the development of normal behavior are used to explain the development of abnormal behavior. For ... [full story]

The most important goal of researchers in the field of psychopathology is to discover the causes (etiology) of each disorder. If the causes for disorders were known, then psychologists could design effective treatments and, it would be hoped, be able ... [full story]

There is a very broad range of psychological disorders. The DSM-IV-TR lists more than two hundred psychological disorders that differ in symptoms and the degree to which they affect a person’s ability to function. It is normal for someone to ... [full story]

Type of psychology: Psychopathology Fields of study: Behavioral therapies; general constructs and issues; models of abnormality; organic disorders; personality disorders As a field of study, psychopathology has as its focus the description and causes of abnormal behavior and of psychological ... [full story]

Psychology as a formal discipline is still relatively new; of its many specializations, some have found their way to maturity, while others are still in their early stages. The development of diverse fields has been justified by the changing nature ... [full story]

The scope of psychology’s fields of specialization is great. The professionals who work in these areas strive to help humans know, understand, and help themselves. To accomplish this, psychologists use numerous tests to help them ascertain specific information about an ... [full story]

Psychology is both a theoretical and an applied science with over a dozen major fields. In 2004, the American Psychological Association listed fifty-five divisions, representing psychologists working in settings as diverse as community mental health clinics and large corporations and ... [full story]

Psychology did not become accepted as a formal discipline until the late nineteenth century. Prior to that time, even back to antiquity, questions were directed to philosophers. Though they were versed in reasoning, logic, and scholarship, only a few of ... [full story]

Type of psychology: Origin and definition of psychology Fields of study: Behavioral therapies; cognitive development; experimental methodologies; general constructs and issues; psychodynamic and neoanalytic models Psychology is both a theoretical and an applied science. Psychologists use observational and experimental methods ... [full story]