exam #1 Flashcards
psychology is the study of
scientific study of behavior and mental processes (mind)
behavior
can be observed by others
mental processes
can’t be directly seen
William Wundt
-what year?
founded the first psychology laboratory, in Germany at University of Leipzig
-1879
William James
first American psychologist
structuralism (1880s)
-who
-goal
-Wilhelm Wundt
-goal: identify the most basic elements of psychological experience
-trained observers, aimed to be objective
functionalism (1880s)
-who, influenced by
-what it is
-William James, influenced by Darwin
-how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment
-how are characteristics adaptive?
-focus on the whole of behavior, not the smaller concepts
psychoanalytic theory (1910s)
-who
-what it is
-Sigmund Freud
-unconscious experiences and childhood experiences have lasting influence
-found of psychoanalysis and major influence on early clinical psychology
behaviorism (1920s-40s)
-major figures
-what it is
-Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner
-general laws of learning; only observable behavior is of interest
Mary Calkins
-like many women, was blocked from PhD and academia
-wrote a foundational textbook on animal behavior
Dr. Kenneth and Dr. Mamie Clark
-famous doll study
-children offered black and white dolls to play with would choose the white dolls most of the time
demonstrated internalized racism even in children of color
-influential for Brown v.s Board decision
current trends in psychology
-advances in brain imaging
-open science and data sharing
-administering tests via computer and to larger groups
-emphasis on genes as well as experience in shaping behavior
operational definition
defining our constructs
inter-rate reliability
having multiple observers
deductive reasoning
start with general premise and see if empirical observations match
inductive reasoning
start with observations about the world and develop theory from there
longitudinal research
follow the same people over some length of time
cross-sectional
compare different groups at the same time
correlational studies
-looks at how variables are related in everyday life
-variables are measured but not manipulated
-statistic: correlation coefficient (range from -1 to 0 to 1)
-“correlation does not equal causation”
experiment subjects require two things
random sample and random assignment
Tuskegee Study (1932-1872)
-ethical issue in research design
-African American men in rural Alabama with syphilis
-researchers never informed, or treated, the men (despite penicillin being available)
-merely studied course of disease
-men died, had related complications, infected others
ethics includes what?
-strict rules govern psychological research
-institutional review boards (IRB)
-informed consent
-right to withdraw
-rules about use of deception
human genetics: environment
all the non-biological factors that can impact development
two types of cells in nervous system
-multiple sclerosis
-neurons: receive and transmit information
-glial cells: support functions
-multiple sclerosis: myelin sheath damaged
action potential travels to ___
terminal buttons
agonists v.s antagonists
agonist = mimic a NT
antagonist = block NT activity
serotonin
-mood, appetite, sleep
-lowered levels linked to depression
Phineas Gage
-injury completely changed his personality
-personality has a neural (physical) basis
-brain is a system and can recover from serious injury
brain plasticity
the idea that our brain can rewire after injury, stroke, surgery
PNS: somatic v.s autonomic
somatic = sensory and motor (voluntary)
autonomic = internal organs (involuntary)
parts of brain
-cerebral cortex
-bumpy
-hemispheres
-lobes
-cerebral cortex: largest part of brain
-bumpy: gyri (folds) and sulci (grooves)
-hemispheres: control opposite side of body and connected by corpus callosum
-lobes: different specializations
frontal lobe
-motor cortex
-broca’s area
frontal lobe: reasoning, motor control, language
-motor cortex: planning movement
-broca’s area: language production
pariteal lobe
-somatosensory cortex
pariteal lobe: processing sensory information
-somatosensory cortex: processing touch, temperature, pain
temporal lobe
-auditory cortex
-Wernicke’s area
temporal lobe: hearing, memory, some language
-auditory cortex
-Wernicke’s area: speech comprehension
forebrain: thalamus and limbic system
-thalamus
-limbic system
-hypothalamus
-amygdala
-hippocampus
-thalamus: sensory relay station
-limbic system: controls emotion and memory
-hypothalamus: regulator
-amygdala: emotion, plus emotional memory
-hippocampus: learning and memory (case study of H.M)
hind brain structures and functions
-aka brainstem
-medulla, pons, cerebellum
-heart rate, breathing
-sleep, arousal
-coordination
EEG
-brain waves
-measure of brain’s electrical activity
-has excellent time precision
fMRI
-functional magnetic resonance imaging
-shows changes in brain activity by tracking bloodflow
-can compare activation patterns in those with disorders
absolute threshold
-what it takes to detect a stimulus
-minimum amount of energy an organism can detect 50% of the time
perception
-bottom up
-top down
-bottom up: putting together different parts of what we experience to make a conclusion
-top down: perceptions are affected by our expectations
rods v.s cones
rods: detect movement and black and white
cones: detect color, need bright light
binocular v.s monocular cues
-binocular: require two working eyes for binocular disparity
-monocular: size constancy, linear perspective
Psyche
your mind and your deepest feelings and attitudes
Id, Ego, and Super- Ego
Gestalt psychology
-rejected the analytical approach to the study of mental events and instead focused on the constructive nature of internal expertness
APA
American Psychological Association
forensic psychology
area of psychology that applies that science and practice of psychology to issues within and related to the justice system
developmental psychology
scientific study of development across a lifespan
cognitive psychology
study of conditions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions
social/personality psychology
study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique
theory
broad explanation or group of explanations for some aspect of the natural world that is consistency supported by evidence over time
hypothesis
tentative explanation of a phenomenon
-should fit into context of theory
PKU
Irreversible brain damage and marked intellectual disability beginning within the first few months of life.
reticular formation
TEXTBOOK
MRI
magnetic fields used to produce a picture of the tissue being imaged
substantia nigra
hb
ventral tegmental area (VTA)
dopamine
