14/6 2nd Psychology Exam Flashcards
1
Q
Define Psychology
A
The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those functions affecting behavior in a given context.
2
Q
Define science
A
A means of acquiring knowledge through systematic and objective investigation. The aim to discover general laws.
3
Q
What is introspection?
A
The first systematic experimental attempt to study the mind by breaking up conscious awareness into basic structure of thoughts, images and sensations.
4
Q
What year did psychology emerge as a science?
A
1913
5
Q
Which two psychologists pioneered in early psychology?
A
Watson and Skinner
6
Q
What is the behaviorist approach?
A
A way of explaining behavior in terms of what is observable and in terms of learning.
7
Q
What is classical conditioning?
A
Learning by association that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired together (an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus). The neutral stimulus eventually produces the same response that was produced by the unconditioned stimulus alone.
8
Q
What is operant conditioning?
A
A form of learning in which behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences. Possible consequences of behavior include positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment.
9
Q
What is reinforcement?
A
A consequence of behavior that increases the likelihood of that behavior being repeated. Can be positive or negative.
10
Q
Name the evaluations of the learning approach; behaviorism?
A
- it allowed for scientific methods of measurement and repeating.
- real life application onto phobias
- mechanistic view
- it’s environmental determinism
- ethically wrong to test animals, can’t generalist animals
11
Q
What is the social learning theory?
A
A way of explaining behavior that includes both direct and indirect reinforcement, combining learning theory with the role of cognitive factors.
12
Q
What is imitation?
A
Copying the behavior of others.
13
Q
What is identification?
A
When an observer associated themselves with a role model and wants to be like the role model.
14
Q
What is modelling?
A
From the observer’s perspective, modelling is imitating the behavior of a role model and from the model’s perspective, modelling is the precise demonstration of a specific behavior.
15
Q
What is vicarious reinforcement?
A
Reinforcement which is not directly experienced but occurs though observing someone else being reinforced into a behavior.
16
Q
What are meditational processes?
A
Cognitive factors that influence and come between stimulus and response.
17
Q
Evaluate the social learning theory?
A
- accepts the importance of cognitive factors.
- over reliance on Bandura’s lab study
- underestimates biological factors.
- explains cultural differences
- less determinist than the behavioral approach
18
Q
Outline the cognitive approach?
A
The term ‘cognitive’ has come to mean ‘mental processes’, so this approach is focused on how our mental processes affect behavior.
19
Q
What are internal mental processes?
A
Private operations of the mind such as perception and attention that mediate between stimulus and response.
20
Q
What is a schema?
A
A mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing that are developed from experience.
21
Q
What is inference?
A
The process whereby cognitive psychologists draw conclusions about the way mental processes operate on the basis of observed behavior.
22
Q
What is cognitive neuroscience?
A
The scientific study of biological structures that underline cognitive processes. E.g. fMRI, PET scans.
23
Q
Evaluate the cognitive approach?
A
- scientific and objective methods
- machine reductionism
- application in real life is limited because of inference.
- applied in real life like in artificial intelligence
- less determinist than others (soft determinism)
24
Q
Outline the biological approach?
A
A perspective that emphasizes the importance of physical processes in the body such as genetic inheritance and neural function.
25
What are genes?
They make up chromosomes and consist of DNA which codes the physical feature of an organism and psychological features.
26
What is a biological structure?
An arrangement or organization of parts to form an organ, system of living thing.
27
What is neurochemistry?
Relating to chemicals in the brain that regulate psychological functions.
28
What is a phenotype?
The characteristics of an individual determined by both genes and the environment.
29
What is a genotype?
A persons actual genetic make-up.
30
What is evolution?
The changed in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations.
31
Evaluate the biological approach?
- extremely scientific
- applied in real life to drug therapy and depression
- we don't know that neurotransmitters are the actual causes
- determinist
- nature versus nurture.
32
Outline the psychodynamic approach?
A perspective that described the different forces, most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behavior and experience.
33
What is the unconscious?
The part of the mind that we are unaware of but which continues to direct much of our behavior.
34
What is the ID?
Entirely unconscious, the ID is made up of selfish aggressive instincts that demand immediate gratification.
35
What is the ego?
The 'reality check' that balances the conflicting demands of the ID and the superego.
36
What is the superego?
The moralistic part of our personality which represents the ideal self.
37
What are defense mechanisms?
Unconscious strategies that the ego uses to balance the conflict between the ID and superego. For example regression and displacement.
38
What are psychosexual stages?
```
Five developmental stages that all children pass through. As each stage there is a different conflict, the outcome of which determines future development.
Oral-smoking, biting nails.
Anal-obsessive or messy.
Phalic-reckless, gay.
Latency-conflicts repressed
Genital-can't from hetero relationships.
```
39
Evaluate the psychodynamic approach?
- huge influence on psychology
- controversial
- sexist
- his case study of little Hans
- untestable concepts: unconscious
- psychoanalysis still used
- determinism
40
Outline the humanistic approach?
An approach to understanding behavior that emphasizes the importance of subjective experience and each persons capacity for self determinism.
41
What is free will?
The notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces.
42
What is self-actualization?
The desire to grow psychologically and fulfill one's full potential.
43
What are the hierarchy of needs?
A five leveled hierarchical sequence in which basic needs must be satisfied before higher psychological needs can be achieved
44
What is the self?
The ideas and values that characterize 'I' and 'Me' and included perception and valuing of 'what am I' and 'what can I do?'
45
What is congruence?
The aim of rogerian therapy: when the self-concept and ideal self are seen to broadly accord or match.
46
What are conditions of worth?
When a parent places limits of boundaries on their love of their children.
47
Evaluate the humanistic approach?
- not reductionist
- limited application on the whole
- it's a positive approach
- untestable concepts
- extreme culture bias
48
Psychodynamic's view on things?
Development-psychodynamic stages that are dire
Nature vs nurture- biology and parent interactions important
Reductionism- holistic of ID, ego and superego.
Determinism-cannot see unconscious forces
Explanation/treatment of atypical behavior- requires input and effort from patient.
49
Cognitive approaches' view on things?
Development-schemas
Nature vs nurture- processes are innate
Reductionism-machine reductionism
Determinism-we operate freely within the boundaries of our determined mind.
Explanation/treatment of atypical behavior- CBT of depression targets faulty thinking
50
Biological approaches view on things?
Development-a child physiology affects it
Nature vs nurture- nature 100% biological destiny
Reductionism-genes or neurons, reduced to biology
Determinism- genetic determinism
Explanation/treatment of atypical behavior-drug therapy, regulating chemicals
51
Humanistic view on things?
Development-ongoing through out life
Nature vs nurture- environment has a large impact on life
Reductionism-holistic, looks at the whole picture
Determinism- we have complete free will
Explanation/treatment of atypical behavior- counseling increases personal growth
52
Behaviorist approach's view on things?
Development-continuous throughout life
Nature vs nurture- babies are blank slates at birth
Reductionism- reduces it to a stimulus and response
Determinism- environmental factors out of our control
Explanation/treatment of atypical behavior- systematic desentisation take a symptom based approach to treat.
53
Social learning theory's approach on things?
Development- on going throughout life
Nature vs nurture- nurture through observation, little biology
Reductionism- reduce complex processes to key steps
Determinism- bandura's reciprocal determinism, both ways
Explanation/treatment of atypical behavior- little application apart from explaining learnt aggression.
54
What is the nervous system?
Consists of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.
55
What is the central nervous system?
Consists of the brain and spinal chord and is the origin of complex demands and decisions.
56
What is the peripheral nervous system?
Sends information to the CNS from outside the world, and transmits messages from the CNS to muscles and glands in the body.
57
What is the somatic nervous system?
Transmitted information from receptor cells in the sense organs to the CNS. It also receives information from the CNS that directs muscles to act.
58
What is the autonomic nervous system?
Transmits information to and from internal bodily organs. It is 'autonomic' as the system operates involuntarily. It has two main divisions: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
59
What is the endocrine system?
One of the body's major information systems that instructs glands to release hormones directly into the bloodstream. These hormones are carried towards target organs in the body.
60
What is a gland?
An organ in the body that synthesizes substances such as hormones.
61
What are hormones?
Chemical substances that circulate in the bloodstream and only affect target organs. They are produced in large quantities but disappear quickly.
62
What is the fight or flight response?
They wan an animal responds when stressed. The body becomes physiologically aroused in readiness to fight an aggressor and flee.
63
What is adrenaline?
A hormone produced by the adrenal glands which is part of the human body's immediate stress repose system. Adrenaline has a strong effect now the cells of the cardiovascular system- stimulating the heart rate, contracting blood vessels and dilating air passages.
64
What is a neuron?
The basic building blocks of the nervous system, neurons are nerve cells that process and transmit messages through the electrical and chemical signals.
65
What is a sensory neuron?
These carry messages from the PNS to the CNS. They have long dendrites and short axons.
66
What is the relay neuron?
These connect the sensory neurons to the motor or other relay neurons. They have short dendrites and short axons.
67
What are motor neurons?
These connect the CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands, they have short dendrites and long axons.
68
What is action potential?
When a neuron is activated by a stimulus, the inside of the cell becomes positively charged for a split second causing action potential.
69
What is synaptic transmission?
The process by which neighboring neurons communicate with each other by sending chemical messages across the gap that separates them.
70
What are neurotransmitters?
Brain chemicals released from synaptic vesicles that relay signals across the synapse from one neuron to another. Neurotransmitters can be broadly divided into those that perform an excitatory function and those that perform an inhibitory function.
71
What is excitation?
When a neurotransmitter wish as adrenalin increases the positive charge of the postsynaptic neuron.
72
What is inhibition?
When a neurotransmitter such as serotonin increases the negative chafe of the postsynaptic neuron.
73
What is localisation of function?
The theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes and activities.
74
What is the motor area?
A region in the frontal lobe involved in regulating movement.
75
What is the somatosensory area?
An area of the partial love that processes sensory information such as touch.
76
What is the visual area?
A part of the occipital love that processes visual information.
77
What is the auditory area?
Located in the temporal lobe and conserved with the analysis of speech-based information.
78
What is Broca's areA?
An area area f the frontal lobe of he brain in the left hemisphere and responsive for speech production.
79
What is Wernicke's area?
An area of the temporal lobe I. Th left hemisphere responsible for language comprehension.
80
Evaluate the localisation of function?
-brain scan evidence, showed
tasks illuminate different areas.
-lobotomys proved that damaging or surgically separating the corpus callousm affects it.
-case study of phineas gage with pole through head
-Lashley suggested that learning is holistic throughout the brain
-plasticity, the brain when trained and used can be taught to repair and replace damaged areas
81
What is plasticity?
The brains tendency to change and adapt as a result of experience and new learning
82
What is functional recovery?
A form of plasticity, the brains ability to redistribute or transfer functions: following damage through trauma.
83
What is synaptic pruning?
As we age, rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strengthened.
84
What is Axonal sprouting?
I damaged axons grow nerve endings to reconnect neurone whose links were injured or severed.
85
What is the recruitment of homologous areas?
Regions on opposite sides of the brain take on functions of damaged areas.
86
Evaluate brain plasticity and recovery?
- helps in the treatment of patients with previous illnesses or degenerative diseases
- bad effects, drugs can have irreparable effects on the brain
- this has helped the brain processes of aging old people with degenerative diseases
- a kitten with an eye sewed shut had the previously active area of brain taking on other functions
- the use of the brain determines how active and well the brain will be later
87
What is hemispheric lateralisation?
Certain mental processes and behaviours are controlled or dominated by one hemisphere rather than the other
88
Outline split brain research?
Corpus callosum cut in patients with severe epilepsy, allowing for researched to investigate the extent can function whilst lateralisation.
89
How we're split brain research carried out?
Image/word is projected to right visual field or left
90
What did split research find?
Pictures shown to the RVF could be described but not to the LVF because there is no language centres in the left hemisphere connected to the RVF.
And they could not describe objects projected to the LVF, but also to select a matching ob next with left hand.
91
Which hemisphere of the brain could recognise faces?
Right.
92
Who did the split brain research?
Sperry.
93
Evaluate sperry's split brain research?
- found out that the left side is an analyser and the right side if a synthesiser.
- standardised procedures and controlled
- promoted theoretical debates about the relationship between the two sides
- hard to generalise people with epilepsy and already damaged brains to others
- overstated the differences
94
What are fMRI scans?
Measures brain activity in specific areas by detecting changes in blood flow.
95
Evaluate fMRI scans?
```
+doesn't use radiation
+virtually risk free
+non invasive
+free to use
+high spatial resolution
```
- expensive
- required they're perfectly still
- poor temporal resolution
- measures blood flow not individual neurons
- difficult to tell what's happening
96
What are EEG scans?
A record of he brain wave patterns produced by millions of neutrons, producing characteristic patterns.
97
Evaluate EEG scans?
+invaluable in epilepsy
+sleep stages research
+high temporal resolution
+can detect quick activity
- generalised information
- not useful for pinpointing source
- doesn't work for different but adjacent locations
98
What are ERPS?
Isolating specific responses of neutrons to specific stimuli or tasks.
99
Evaluate ERPS?
+more specific
+good temporal resolution
- lack of standardisation
- background noise and extraneous variables must be eliminated
100
What are post mortem evaluations?
Correlating behaviours from before death with brain structure after death.
101
Evaluate post mortem examinations?
+vital in providing foundation for early psychology
+Broca and Wernicke
+improve medical knowledge
- causation or correlation
- could be caused by drama or decay
- ethical issues of consent
- hm didn't consent but it happened to him
102
What are biological rhythms?
Distinct patterns of change in biological activity that conform to cyclical time periods.
103
What are Circadian rhythmsv
About a day, 24 hour cycle such as sleep-wake cycle and changed in core body temp.
104
Outline the Siffre study?
Spent periods of time underground. His biological rhythm styled down to one that was just behind the usual 24 hours.
105
Outline Aschoff and Wever's study?
Participants spent 4 weeks in a WWII bunker deprived of natural light. All but one participants displayed a circadian rhythm between 24 and 24 hours.
106
Outline Folkards study?
12 people lived in a cave. Researches sped up the clock so a 24 hour day lasted 22 hours. No participants adjusted to the new hours.
107
Evaluate circadian rhythms?
- harmful shift work
- drug treatment when it's best to take them
- case studies are unique and small samples
- poor control of confounding variables
- all participants have individual differences
108
What are infradian rhythms?
Frequency of less than one cycle in 24 hours such as menstruation and SAD.
109
What are ultradian rhythm?
Frequency of more than one in 24 hours such as sleep.
110
Give an example and what is endogenous?
Occurs in females about every 28 days, endogenous control by the hormones oestrogen and progesterone.
111
Give an example and what is exogenous?
Mclintock showed that female cycles entrained through exposure to odour donor's pheromones.
112
What is SAD?
Depression associated with seasonal changes, winter and darkness.
113
What are staged of sleep?
90- minute cycles during the sleep, sleep goes from 1-2, 3-4 and then REM SLEEP.
114
Evaluate infradian and ultradian rhythms?
- mensturation is biological and evolutionary to make more babies
- the study of mentruation synching had method problems-
- there is definite sleep stage
- animal studies can't be generalised
- sad helps test it through light therapy
115
What are endogenous pacemakers?
Internal body clocks that regulate many of our biological rhythms.
116
What are exogenous zeitgebers?
External cues in the environment that entrain our endogenous rhythm.
117
What is the suprachiasmatic nucleus?
The bundle of tiny nerve cells located in the hypothalamus in each hemisphere of the brain. It's the primary endogenous pacemakers in mammals.
118
Evaluate endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers?
- the internal clocks of different organs can change without each other, the stomachs of rats
- unethical animal studies
- overstated the extent of exogenous zeitgebers
- methodological issues in studies; not replicated any findings
- they've never been separated and have always in all studies affected each other apart from siffres that wasn't valid.
