6 Key Terms for Introduction to Psychology and Neuroscience
- behavioural neuroscience
- field of study that focuses on the biological basis of thought, emotion, and behaviour
- biopsychosocial model
- perspective that asserts that biology, psychology, and social factors interact to determine an individual’s health
- cellular neuroscience
- the study of how individual cells in the nervous system contribute to brain function and behaviour
- clinical psychology
- area of psychology that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behaviour
- cognitive neuroscience
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- the study of the relationship between brain activity and cognitive processes, such as perception, attention, memory, language, decision-making, and problem solving
- cognitive psychology
- study of cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions
- counselling psychology
- area of psychology that focuses on improving emotional, social, vocational, and other aspects of the lives of psychologically healthy individuals
- developmental psychology
- scientific study of development across a lifespan
- dissertation
- long research paper about research that was conducted as a part of the candidate’s doctoral training
- empiricism
- the idea that knowledge is derived from systematic observation and experimentation
- etheogen
- a substance, typically a plant or fungus, used in a religious or ceremonial rituals to bring about a spiritual experience
- evolutionary psychology
- the study of ultimate causes of behaviour over generations
- forensic psychology
- area of psychology that applies the science and practice of psychology to issues within and related to the justice system
- health psychology
- area of psychology that focuses on how health is affected by the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors
- hypothesis
- a testable explanation for an observed phenomenon or pattern.
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- industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology
- subfield that applies psychological theories to human behaviour in the workplace with the aim of improving both employee well-being and organizational performance
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- natural selection
- the process by which differences in an organism’s characteristics arise leading to better adaptation to their environment
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- neuroscience
- the scientific study of the nervous system, its functions, and disorders
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- neuropsychology
- the role of the brain in cognition, particularly how brain injury or neurological illness affects thinking and behaviour
- object permanence
- the understanding that objects continue to exist when hidden from view, develops over the first year of life
- personality psychology
- field of psychology that focuses on patterns of behaviour that make us different than other people.
- personality trait
- consistent pattern of thought and behaviour that determines how an individual interacts in a particular situations
- PhD
- (doctor of philosophy) doctoral degree conferred in many disciplinary perspectives housed in a traditional college of liberal arts and sciences
- postdoctoral training program
- allows programs and broaden their research skills under the supervision of other professionals in the field
- psychedelic
- class of drug that acts on the nervous system to produce profound changes in internal mental experience, often referred to as “trips”
- psychoactive
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- drugs that target the nervous system to affect thought, physiology, emotion, and behaviour
- psychology
- scientific study of the mind and behaviour
- PsyD
- (doctor of psychology) doctoral degree that places less emphasis on research-oriented skills and focuses more on application of psychological principles in the clinical context
- sensation and perception
- area of psychology interested in how sensory systems detect and process information, as well as how we psychologically experience that information
- social psychology
- area of psychology interested in how we interact with and relate to others
- sport psychology
- area of psychology that focuses on the interactions between mental and emotional factors and physical performance in sports, exercise, and other activities
