C9 Terms

Question 1

act psychology

Answer 1

Focuses on mental acts (e.g., perceiving, judging) rather than contents of consciousness.

Question 2

Clever Hans phenomenon

Answer 2

Tendency for subjects to respond to subtle, unintentional cues from observers rather than actual understanding.

Question 3

context theory of meaning

Answer 3

Meaning of a mental element depends on its surrounding conscious context.

Question 4

creative synthesis

Answer 4

Active process by which the mind organizes elements into new, unique wholes.

Question 5

elements of thought (Wundt)

Answer 5

Basic components of consciousness: sensations and feelings.

Question 6

imageless thoughts (Külpe)

Answer 6

Thoughts that occur without accompanying sensory images.

Question 7

intentionality

Answer 7

Property of mental acts being directed toward an object or idea.

Question 8

introspection

Answer 8

Systematic self-observation of conscious experience under controlled conditions.

Question 9

mediate experience

Answer 9

Indirect experience measured through instruments (focus of natural sciences).

Question 10

mental chronometry

Answer 10

Measurement of mental processes using reaction time.

Question 11

mental essences

Answer 11

Core structures of conscious experience identified through phenomenological analysis.

Question 12

mental set

Answer 12

Predisposition to respond or think in a particular way due to prior experience or task demands.

Question 13

perception

Answer 13

Passive awareness of sensory stimuli.

Question 14

phenomenological introspection

Answer 14

Descriptive method focusing on how experiences present themselves without interpretation.

Question 15

principle of contrasts (Wundt)

Answer 15

Experiences are intensified when contrasted with opposing experiences.

Question 16

principle of the heterogony of ends (Wundt)

Answer 16

Actions often produce unintended outcomes that influence future behavior.

Question 17

principle toward the development of opposites (Wundt)

Answer 17

Experiences tend to evolve into their opposites over time.

Question 18

pure phenomenology

Answer 18

Study of conscious experience as it appears, free from assumptions or external interpretations.

Question 19

savings (method of measuring learning)

Answer 19

Measure of learning based on reduced time or effort to relearn material.

Question 20

school

Answer 20

Group of thinkers sharing common assumptions, methods, and goals in psychology.

Question 21

sensation

Answer 21

Basic sensory element resulting from stimulation of sense organs.

Question 22

stimulus error

Answer 22

Mistake of reporting the object of perception rather than the raw sensory experience.

Question 23

structuralism

Answer 23

Approach aiming to analyze consciousness into basic elements using introspection.

Question 24

tri-dimensional theory of feeling

Answer 24

Wundt’s idea that feelings vary along three dimensions: pleasure–displeasure, arousal–calm, tension–relaxation.

Question 25

Völkerpsychologie

Answer 25

Study of higher mental processes (e.g., language, culture) through non-experimental methods.

Question 26

voluntarism

Answer 26

View that the mind actively organizes experiences through will.

Question 27

will (Wundt)

Answer 27

Central organizing force directing attention and apperception.

Question 28

Würzburg school

Answer 28

Group studying higher thought processes, emphasizing imageless thought and mental sets.