Psychology Cheat Sheet: Key Theorists
Intro to Psych is mostly matching names to ideas. Get these few right and you've covered the bulk of the "who said what" questions.
The theorists you'll be tested on
| Theorist | Known for |
|---|---|
| Freud | Psychoanalysis; the unconscious, id/ego/superego, defense mechanisms |
| Pavlov | Classical conditioning (bell + salivating dog) |
| Skinner | Operant conditioning; reinforcement and punishment |
| Piaget | Cognitive development in children; four stages |
| Maslow | Hierarchy of needs; self-actualization |
| Bandura | Social learning theory; the Bobo doll experiment |
| Watson | Behaviorism; the Little Albert experiment |
Piaget's four stages
- Sensorimotor (0–2): learning through senses and movement
- Preoperational (2–7): symbolic thinking, but egocentric
- Concrete operational (7–11): logical thinking about concrete things
- Formal operational (12+): abstract, hypothetical reasoning
One note on Freud: he's historically important and appears on every exam, but modern psychology has largely moved past him. Know the concepts, not because they're current, but because they're tested.
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