psychology the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

2. science psychology uses systematic methods to observe human

behavior and draw conclusions

3. behavior everything we do that can be directly observed

4. mental process The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly

5. critical thinking thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.

6. empirical

method

gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the

collection of data, and logical reasoning

7. structuralism focus on identifying the elemental parts or structures of

the human mind; William Wundt

8. functionalism A school of psychology that focused on how our mental

and behavioral processes function - how they enable us

to adapt, survive, and flourish; William James

9. natural selection A process in which individuals that have certain inherited

traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than

other individuals because of those traits; Charles Darwin

10. neurons a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

11. glial cells cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and

protect neurons

12. cell body Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and

much of the cytoplasm

13. dendrites Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information