Exam 1 Flashcards
4 goals of psychology
Describe, Explain, Predict, and Change behavior
Psychology
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
William Wundt
Studies what the mind is (structuralism). Father of psychology. (Parts of the brain)
Structuralism
Inside the mind (physically)
Functionalism
Purpose of thought
Biological Approach
Focus on the body (especially the brain and nervous system)
Ex. Why your hands sweat when you lie, why heart races when nervous
Sensation
Receiving energies from the external environment and transforming them into neural energy
Perception
Process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense
Brain provides meaning to encounters
Behavioral Approach
Emphasizes the study of physical, behavioral responses and their environmental determinants.
Skinner emphasized that psychology is what people do, not what can’t be seen.
Rewards and punishment determine behavior
Psychodynamic Approach
emphasizes unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives.
The drive for sex, societies demands, and early childhood experiences.
Sigmund Frued- father of psychodynamic approach. Theorized that early relationships with parents shape an individual’s personality.
Cognitive Approach
emphasizes the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think and solve problems. Remember, make decisions, plan, set goals, be creative.
Ex. how we solve math problems, why we remember things for certain amount of
time, how we plan for the future
Absolute threshold
The lowest about of stimulus energy that a person can detect
Dim light, faint sound
Weber’s Law
2 stimuli must differ by a constant proportion to be perceived as different
Difference Threshold
The degree of difference that must exist for a difference to be detected
Subliminal perception
The detection of information below the level of conscious awareness
-eat popcorn and drink coke example
Theory
a board idea or set of closely related ideas that attempt to explain observations
Hypothesis
a testable prediction that is derived logically from a theory (educated guess)
Test hypothesis through empirical research (collecting and analyzing data)
Correlation and Causation
Correlation is NOT causation
Correlational Research
Discovering relationship between variables. Examines how two variables change each other.
Are married men happier than single men in the US?
Positive and Negative Correlations
The closer the number is to 1, the stronger the relationship.
Positive Correlation = changing in the same direction
Negative Correlation = changing in different directions
The example of ice cream and crime rates is a positive correlation because both variables increase when temperatures are warmer.
Correlation Coefficient
Represented by the letter “r”. Tells us the strength and direction of relationship between variables.
Correlation and Causation
Correlation is NOT causation
Sensory aptitude
A change in responsiveness of a sensory system based on an average level of surrounding stimuli
Pupil
Black opening in the center of the iris
Retina
Light sensitive surface that records electromagnetic energy and converts is to neural impulses
Made of Rods and Cones
Rods
Tall, thin, receptor cells that are sensitive to light (work well in the dark)
Cones
Short fat receptor cells that are sensitive to color (work well in the light)
Optic nerve
Carries visual information to the brain
Blind spot
Spot on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye
Experimental Method
Establishing causal relationships between variables.
If men smile, do women perceive them as more attractive in the US?
Random Assignment
Assign participants to group by chance
The larger the group, the better because better sample size
Independent Variables
A manipulated experimental factor
Dependent Variables
Outcome to the independent variable.
As researchers manipulate independent variable, they measure dependent variable.
Experimental Group
Participants who receive treatment that is of interest or researcher
Participants that are exposed to the independent variable
Control Group
Treated just like experimental group but without the independent variable
Plasticity
The brain’s special ability for change (the cab driver example)
Central Nervous System (CNS)
The brain and spinal cord.
More than 99% of nerves are in the central nervous system.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Connects brain and spinal cord to body, Carries out commands of CNS to execute muscular and glandular activities.
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
Involuntary bodily functions
Somatic Nervous System (SNS)
Consists of sensory nerves (afferent)
-voluntary movement (efferent nerves), sensory information, brain to muscle impulses
Sympathetic Nervous System
Arouses the body to mobilize it for action
Fight or Flight
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Calms the body down
Cell body
Contains the nucleus which directs the manufacture of substance neurons need for
growth.
Axon
Part of the nucleus that carries information away from cell body to other cells
Dendrite
Tree like fibers projecting from the neuron. They receive information and orient
towards the neuron’s cell body
Myelin sheath
A layer of cells, containing fat, that encase and insulate most axons.
Speeds up transmission of nerve pulses. Glial cells provide Myalin.
Action potential
A brief wave of positive electrical charge that sweeps down the Axon
Lasts 1/10,000 of a second
Resting potential
The polarization of cellular fluid within a neuron that provides the potential to produce an action
Synapses
Tiny spaces between neurons
Serotonin
Regulation of sleep, mood, attention, and learning
Dopamine
Controls voluntary movement and affects sleep, mood, attention, learning, and ability to recognise rewards
Related to the personality trait of extraversion
Norepinephrine
Inhibits the firing of neurons in the central nervous system, but excites the heart, intestinal, and urogenital muscles
GABA
(Gama aminobutyric acid)- found in central nervous system
Keeps many neurons from firing
-Precise control of signal
Brain lesioning
Abnormal disruption in the tissue of the brain ( perform on rats)
PET
Based on metabolic changes in the brain. Monitors amount of glucose
CT
Produce 3d images of the brain
MRI
Magnetism and radio waves. Less exposure to radiation
EEG
Tracks and records brain wave patterns.
Limbic system
A network of structures under the cerebral cortex.
Important for memory and emotion
Amygdala
Almond shaped structure inside the brain towards the base (one on each side)
Involved in the discrimination of objects needed for survival
Food, mates, social rivals
Hippocampus
Special role in the storage of memories
Extensive damage to the hippocampus results in the inability to remember new memories
Hypothalamus
Monitors eating, drinking, sex
Regulates the bodies internal state
Responsible for the secretion of hormones and neural outputs
Ex- blood near the hypothalamus increases by 1-2 degrees, the hypo increases circulation to the sweat glands to cool off
Broca’s area
Area of the brain that plays in important role in speech.
Wernicke’s area
Damage here causes problems with comprehension
Endocrine system
Series of glands that produce chemical substances known as hormones
Hormones
Chemical messengers released from endocrine glands that influence the nervous system to regulate the physiology and behavior of individuals.
