Ch 1-3 Flashcards
evolution in psych, methods of psych, neuroscience & behavior
empiricism
the belief that knowledge is acquired through experience & observation, opposite of nativism
John Locke
nativism
the belief that some knowledge is innate, opposite of empiricism
Emmanuel Kant
sensory neurons
receive info from external world & convey to the brain via spinal cord
motor neurons
carry signals from brain to spinal cord to muscles to produce movement
interneurons
connect sensory, motor, & other neurons
Steps of electrochemical action
- Electrical signal conducted within neuron
- Chemical signal transmitted from one neuron’s axon terminal across synapse to another neuron’s dendrites
When action potential reaches threshold, _____ channels open up
sodium
Which occurs first, depolarization or repolarization?
depolarization
depolarization
charge gets close to zero
autoreceptors
receptors on sending neuron that neurotransmitters bind to to stop release of more NTs
neurotransmitters
chemicals that transmits info across synapse
terminal buttons
knoblike structures branching out from axon
receptors
parts of cell membrane that receive NTs and initiate or prevent new electrical signal, lock-and-key system
nodes of Ranvier
gaps in myelin sheath, parts of axon that charge jumps between
glial cells
‘support’ cells in nervous system; provide physical & structural support for neurons; produce myelin
myelin sheath
insulates axon to make action potentials more efficient; produced by glial cells
synapse
fluid-filled gap between neurons across which NTs carry information
vesicle
sacs that contain NTs
3 ways that NTs are removed from synapse
- Reuptake by terminal buttons of presynaptic neurons, or by glial cells
- Enzyme deactivation (specific enzymes in synapse break down specific NTs)
- Diffusion out of synapse (NTs don’t reach receptors)
Steps of synaptic transmission
- Signal reaches terminal buttons
- Action potential of presynaptic neuron triggers release of neurotransmitters
- NTs carry info across
hormones vs. neurotransmitters
hormones released by endocrine glands into bloodstream, travel far throughout body
NTs released by neurons across short distance of synaptic cleft
agonist
increases action of NT
(ex: Adderall increases norepinephrine, increasing focus)
antagonist
blocks function of NT
Tabula Rasa
“blank slate” AKA babies are born knowing nothing, an idea of empiricism; Aristotle
psychology
study of observable behavior and mind/mental processes
dualism
Rene Descartes, the idea that mind and body are separate things but connected, opposite of materialism
ghost in the machine
Dualism idea of immaterial mind inside material body
materialism
Thomas Hobbes, mind & body are NOT fundamentally different things, mind is what body does, opposite of dualism
Who was the Father of Psychology?
Wilhelm Wundt
Who was the Father of American Psychology?
William James
realism
perception is like a camera, sends exact picture of world to brain
John Locke
idealism
perception is like a painting, people have different interpretations
Immanuel Kant
When was the 1st psych lab established?
1879
structuralism
idea of breaking down the mind into simple parts to understand what it is LIKE, observation; introspection & self-reports
Wilhelm Wundt
functionalism
focusing on PURPOSE of mental process rather than components, what is the mind FOR
William James
introspection
technique used by structuralists to analyze subjective experience by having study volunteers describe their experience with various presented stimuli
Sigmund Freud
physician who believed nervous disorders were result of childhood trauma residing in unconscious, developed psychoanalytic theory
psychoanalytic theory
theory developed by Freud, emphasizes influence of unconscious on feelings, thoughts, behaviors
John Broadus (JB) Watson
believed psych should focus on science of stimuli and response
“Little Albert” experiment
JB Watson trained a child who loved rats to have a phobia of rats by making a loud noise whenever the child interacted with the rat
behaviorism
restricts scientific inquiry to objectively observable behavior
John Watson
What did Watson believe about behaviorism?
Studying behavior would allow psychs to predict & control it
BF Skinner
psych student who wanted to know how animals learn to do things; proposed principle of reinforcement
“Skinner Box”
BF Skinner’s experiment: put a rat in a cage with a lever that delivered food when pressed; recorded frequency of rat’s lever-presses; behavior-consequence relationship
Ivan Pavlov
studied digestion in dogs, figured out that they associated footsteps with food
principle of reinforcement
developed by Skinner, states that any behavior that is rewarded will be repeated and vice versa
Why was Skinner’s experimentation controversial?
people believed he wanted control and would use reinforcement to gain it
illusory motion
2 lights flashing on screen, when time between flashes is longer, people thought it was 2 lights; when shorter time, thought it was 1 light moving back and forth
Occurs bc brain has theories of how world works
Gestalt psychology
emphasizes way in which mind creates perceptual experience; the whole is more than the sum of its parts
social psychology
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of people in context of society and its norms
Kurt Lewin
cognitive psychology
study of human info-processing (perception, thought, memory, reasoning); new tech allowed this
developmental psychology
study of way in which psych phenomena change over the lifespan
Kurt Lewin
believed people react to world as they see it, not as it is; introduced social psych
evolutionary psychology
how mind & behavior are shaped by natural selection
John Garcia
John Garcia
studied taste aversion in rats, noticed they associated nausea with food eaten & would not associate it with any other stimuli; concluded that they evolved to avoid spoiled food and therefore could not be blank slates
cultural psychology
studies how cultures influence mental processes of their members
fMRI
shows blood flow in brain to see which areas are being supplied with more oxygen at given time/which are working during various tasks
How is cognitive vs. evolutionary psych similar to structuralism vs functionalism?
cognitive & structuralism ask what the mind is LIKE; evolutionary & functionalism ask what the mind is FOR
Broca’s area
region of brain’s left frontal lobe responsible for verbal/written word understanding & speech/language production; named after Paul Broca, who treated a man whose area was damaged and the man could understand words but stopped being able to produce them
rationalism
knowledge acquired via reason & argument
cognitive neuroscience
relationship btwn brain & mental processes
behavioral neuroscience
relationship btwn brain & behavior
Mary Whiton Calkins
1st female president of APA
APA
American Psychological Association
Margaret Fly Washburn
1st woman to receive psych PHD, later became APA president
Francis Cecil Sumner
1st Black person to receive psych PHD
Kenneth Clark
1st Black president of APA
What did the Clarks study?
psychological harm of racial segregation on Black children; their research was cited in Brown v. Board and helped conclude that segregation is unconstitutional
Mamie Phipps Clark
studied effect of racial segregation on Black kids
scientific method
procedure for using empirical evidence to establish facts; based on empiricism
dogmatism
tendency to cling to one’s beliefs
theory
explanation of natural phenomenon; can NEVER be proven right
What are the 6 (simplified) steps of the scientific method/experimentation?
- identify problem
- gather info
- develop falsifiable hypothesis
- design & conduct experiment
- analyze data & make conclusions
- restart the process!
__% of people receiving PHDs in psych are women
70
hypothesis
FALSIFIABLE prediction made by a theory
demand characteristics
people change behavior in different settings, behave as they believe they are expected to
can avoid by using naturalistic observation, keeping participants blind to research question, allow anonymity
Why isn’t naturalistic observation always possible?
not enough time, money; some events not naturally occurring; some events can only be observed through direct interactions; observer bias
observer bias
expectations can influence researchers’ observations & perceptions of reality
avoid by using double-blind study
double-blind study
neither observed nor observer know true purpose of study
participant observation
researcher secretly joins group being observed
often only way to access group, but observer bias and reactivity are increased
case study
in-depth analysis of unique
circumstance, person, or group
of people
Phineas Gage case study
railroad worker whose entire personality changed when an iron bar went through his head & damaged most of his left frontal lobe
Genie case study
abused child who was neglected, causing her brain to not develop properly; cortex for language and speech was not stimulated in Genie’s brain due to neglect & lack of stimulation
nature versus nurture debate