Exam 1 Flashcards
1920s definition of psychology
the science of mental life
1920s-1960s definition of psychology
the science of observable behavior
1960s-present definition of psychology
observable behavior and inner thoughts
literal definition of psychology
“soul” + study
definition of behavior
observable actions
definition of the mind
subjective experience
experimental psychologists
conduct experiments to further theories
applied psychologists
apply theories to solve real world problems
psychiatrist
medical doctor that treats mental disorders with medicine and talk therapy
clinical psychologist
PhD or PsyD who treats mental disorders with different types of therapy
counseling psychologist
phD, EdD or masters who historically gave vocational advice
school psychology
education, how to teach, school environment
sports psychology
teams, motivation, coach interaction, rehab
cognitive psyschology
how we process information and make judgments about out environment
developmental psychology
how thoughts and behavior develop from birth to death
industrial/organizational psychology
work settings, leadership, morale
learning and memory psychology
conditioning (rewards and punishment), animal work, memory processes
psychobiology
how the mind and physical body work together
quantitative psychology
mathematical theories of thought and behavior (statistics)
social psychology
relationships, stereotypes and prejudice, attitudes, groups, self
marketing/consumer behavior psychology
purchasing decisions, brand loyalty, decision choice set
hindsight bias
believing that you would’ve predicted the outcome before it happened; “I knew it”
fatal attractions
opposites attract initially but eventually become repulsing
socrates
thought the mind and body were separate. the mind continues after death
aristotle
thought the mind and body were not separable
phrenology
the idea that different brain areas account fro personality changes. growth in one area led to a personality change
free will vs. determinism
how much of our behavior is controlled by our choices vs natural laws and the environment
mind body problem
how much do the mind and body affect each other
stability vs change
how much can I change before I’m not myself anymore?
nature vs nurture
are peoples’ personality traits mostly influenced by genetics or environment? (Jim twins example)
file drawer effect
papers without significant findings don’t get published
goals of psychology research
description, causal analysis, theory building, application
where do research ideas come from?
observation, personal experience, existing data and theories
hypothesis
testable relation between 2 constructs. can’t prove it to be true, only false. becomes a theory as it becomes more complex and is supported by more data
theory
organized set of principles used to describe observations
focus of observational research
description; observe people in their natural environment and record measurements of behavior
focus of correlational research
prediction; observing the relationship between 2+ variables
focus of experimental research
causal relationships
pros of observational research
nice, easy place to start
pros of correlational research
can study issues that would otherwise be unethical or impossible. efficient and allows researchers to collect more into and test more relations
pros of experimental research
can establish causal relationships
cons of observational research
hard to implement and observe discreetly. hard to quantify and determine what counts. open to bias
cons of correlational research
can’t establish a causal relationship
cons of experimental research
hard to implement because of ethics
archival analysis
observing pre-existing data for observational research. it may or may not be helpful
correlation coefficient
statistic that shows the strength and direction of a correlation (pearson’s R)
random assignment
each participant in the study has an equal likelihood of being assigned to any group. required in experimental research in order to declare causality
statistical significance
results are statistically significant is the p value is less than 0.05 (5%). there is 5% of less chance that the results were due to chance
replication
getting multiple p values less than 0.05 means there it’s extremely unlikely the data is due to chance. increases the evidence to reject the null hypothesis
type 1 error
false positive
type 2 error
false negative
Experimental design steps
specify problem/hypothesis, form operational definition, collect data, analyze data, form theory
tuskegee syphilis study
extremely unethical study that harmed patients and manipulated them into joining without informed consent. result was creation of ethics board and guidelines
APA ethical guidelines for research
informed consent, debriefing, weighing costs and benefits of the research
guidelines for research on humans
protection of rights and well-being, informed consent, justification for deception if used, right to withdraw, protection from psychical and psychological harm, confidentiality, debriefing participants at the end
biological psychology
the study of the brain, nervous system, and genetics, and how they relate to behavior and mental processes
nervous system
electrochemical communication network between the brain/spinal cord and all organs, muscles, and glands
peripheral nervous system
nerves that go from spinal cord to rest of body
central nervous system
brain and spinal cord
somatic nervous system
part of peripheral NS that transmits signals from sensory organs to the CNS and from the CNS to skeletal muscles
autonomic nervous system
part of peripheral NS that connects the CNS to smooth muscles, organs, and glands
parasympathetic nervous system
part of the autonomic NS that maintains homeostasis; calming
sympathetic nervous system
part of the autonomic NS that is active during fight or flight; energizing
stress
prolonged fight or flight without a clear shutoff point; body redirects resources to prioritize survival
action potential
message traveling down a neuron by changes in polarity
resting potential
negative on the inside. K+ inside; NA+ outside
How is the signal sent between neurons
action potential reaches the axon terminals, causing vesicles with neurotransmitters to get released into the synapse. neurotransmitters bind to receptors on the other neuron’s dendrites
reuptake
the sending neuron reabsorbs excess neurotransmitters that the receiving neuron does not absorb
where is acetylcholine found
every junction between a motor neuron and skeletal muscle
too little acetylcholine
associated with alzheimer’s
how is botox related
it’s an acetylcholine antagonist. it inhibits acetylcholine release and prevents muscle contractions
what happens when acetylcholine is released
muscle contracts
what happens when acetylcholine is blocked
muscle doesn’t contract
what does dopamine do
can excite and inhibit neurons. controls mood, voluntary experiences, and processing rewards
too much dopamine
associated with schizophrenia
too little dopamine
associated with parkinson’s
serotonin function
controls mood, eating, sleeping, arousal, pain
SSRIs
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors prevent serotonin from being reabsorbed. makes it more likely that serotonin will bind to another neuron’s receptors
too little serotonin
depression may cause low production or absorption
prozac
SSRI
function of GABA
inhibits NS/ action potential by making inside of neuron even more negative (Cl- goes inside). facilitates sleep and reduces arousal
how is xanax related to GABA
agonist. xanax works like GABA and reduces anxiety by making it harder to generate an action potential
cortisol and epinephrine function
prepare body for survival/fight or flight
place of epinephrine/cortisol production
pituitary gland stimulates adrenal glands to produce
when are cortisol and epinephrine produced
during stress
function of endorphins
reduce pain and induce pleasure
where are endorphins produced
pituitary and hypothalamus
when are endorhins released
exercise and sex
how is morphine related to endorphins
agonist; morphine mimics endorphins to reduce pain and induce pleasure
function of testosterone
physical and sexual development
when is testosterone released
it increases during sex and when there are threats present
how are steroids related to testosterone
some people use steroids (artificial testosterone) to increase muscle mass, etc. throws off natural balance of testosterone and estrogen and body tries to compensate
lateralization
left and right hemispheres have different jobs
left hemisphere function
analyze info; little elements that make up the big picture; serial events (language, reading, writing, speaking, math); speech generation
right hemisphere function
synthesis; seeing the big picture; reading maps, drawing 3D objects, understanding language but not speech generation
brain regions
hind brain, midbrain, forebrain, cerebral cortex
hindbrain function
basic functions to sustain body
hindbrain structures
brainstem and cerebellum
brainstem function
breathing, heart, sneezing, salivating, vomiting
cerebellum function
details of movement, balance, new motor skills
midbrain function
relay info between sensory and motor areas; contains neurons with high concentration of dopamine receptors; sends messages to higher brain areas that control voluntary movement
forebrain function
complex processes like emotion, memory, thinking and reasoning
forebrain structures
basal ganglia, limbic system
basal ganglia function
facilitates planned voluntary movement and reward processing (nucleus accumbens)
limbic system function
emotion and memory
limbic system substructures
amygdala (fear and memory formation of emotional events, facial recognition), hippocamus (learning and new memories), thalamus (relay sensory info to areas of the brain), hypothalamus (thermostat; regulates sex drive and food cravings w/ endocrine system)
cerebral cortex lobes
frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital
gray matter
axons and dendrites of neurons in cerebral cortex
white matter
myelin sheath of neurons in cerebral cortex
ventricles
spaces in the cerebral cortex that store and produce cerebrospinal fluid
frontal lobe function
planning and regulating impulses, emotion, language production, and voluntary movement
frontal lobe structures
motor cortex (generate signals to control voluntary movement), broca’s area (physical speech generation)
evidence of damaged broca’s area
grammatical errors; can only say limited words and short sentences; aware that something is wrong
parietal lobe function
touch, awareness, math, visio-spatial tasks; contains somatosensory cortex (detect and process sensory info from different body parts)
right temporal parietal junction
manipulation can change peoples’ judgment (focus more on outcome than intent)
temporal lobe function
hearing, language, higher order vision (object recognition; sensory processes
temporal lobe substructure
wernickes area
wenickes area function
understanding the meaning of words; signs of damage include fluent but meaningless speech (word salad), making up words or using logical but wrong words like “sickser” for doctor; unaware that there is a problem
occipital lobe function
process visual info
visual cortex and corpus calosum (split brain effects)
nerve fibers connecting left and right hemispheres; cutting it can prevent epileptic seizures; split brain patients can say the name of an object on their right side but only point to or draw an object on their left side
stimulant effects
increase CNS activity, blood pressure, heart rate, alertness, breathing, thinking; activate fight or flight; cocaine, amphetamines, caffeine
uses of cocaine
numbing toothaches
cocaine activates…
CNA, fight or flight, dopamine at key receptors, release of norepinephrine and serotonin
cocaine deactivates…
appetite and saliva production, dopamine reabsorption, blood flow to brain
risks of cocaine
overdose, hole in roof of mouth, sinus/septum collapse, stop breathing, possible heart failure
where are amphetamines made
in a lab
amphetamines turn on…
CNS by increasing dopamine/ norepinephrine/ serotonin, energy and alertness (releases a ton of dopamine which causes a huge emotional letdown when they leave the body)
effect of amphetamines in small doses
decreased appetite
effect of amphetamines in large doses
rush of euphoria, intoxication, psychosis
effects of meth
extreme fight of flight, releases 3.5x dopamine as cocaine and 6x as much as natural amount, decreased blood flow to face, jitters, tooth grinding, lack of saliva, tooth loss, meth causes so much dopamine to be released that the body destroys some dopamine receptors
caffeine turns on…
release of dopamine/ norepinephrine/ serotonin, arousal and motor activity, increases heart rate
caffeine turns off…
fatigue, blood flow to brain
caffeine intoxication effects
restlessness, anxiety, stomach disturbance, twitching, fast heart rate, withdrawal symptoms (headache, depression, anxiety, fatigue, irritability)
hallucinogen effects
change sensory perception and can cause illusions/ hallucinations
hallucinogens
LSD and ecstasy
How does LSD work
binds to and changes neurons that receive serotonin
effects of LSD
hallucinations, strengthened visual perception, synesthesia, “bad trips”, psychosis and mood disorders
effects of ecstasy
stimulant and hallucinogen, huge release of serotonin and some dopamine all at once (sudden rise and fall), immediate psychological problems like confusion, depression, anxiety; muscle tension, nausea, blurry vision, teeth grinding, increased heart rate and blood pressure; decreased natural serotonin production; decreased sweat production (lead to water poisoning and overheating); long term can decrease neuron connections
what type of drug is cannabis
hallucinogen, depressant, and stimulant
cannabis effects in low doses
joy, relaxation, quiet or talkative, potential anxiety, suspicion, irritation; sharper perception of sight and smell; time seems slow; distances seem large; red eyes and fast heart; increased appetite, dry mouth, dizziness
effects in high doses
odd visual experiences, worry, confusion, impulsive behavior; psychotic disorders associated with more frequent cannabis use
risks of cannabis
physical dependence, drug has gotten stronger over time, panic attacks (with high THC and low CBD), cognitive effects (forming new memories/hippocampus), high in tar and can cause lung disease
2 chemicals in cannabis
THC and CBD
THC effects
stimulant; affects frontal cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, mimics anandamide (natural NT that affects appetite, pain, and memory)
CBD effects
anti anxiety, decreases anxiety/ psychotic events/ memory impairment fro THC, interacts with CB1 and CB2 receptors in immune system
CB1 receptor location
brain areas controlling memory, body movement, vomiting; CBD affects balance, coordination, short term memory
CB2 receptor location
elsewhere in the immune system
effects of CBD activity at CB1 receptors
affects balance, coordination, short term memory; can treat pain, nausea, loss of appetite
effect of CBD activity at CB2 receptors
not well understood but reduces immune system function, meaning marijuana can reduce inflammation from stress
effects of depressants
depress the CNS and helps GABA inhibit action potentials; impairs balance and coordination; acts at dopamine and opiate receptors in the nucleus accumbens causing euphoria
why do people act less impaired (do crazy things) if alcohol depresses the CNS
alcohol increases inhibitory neurotransmitters in the frontal lobe so you don’t inhibit or plan actions and impulses
What characteristics does love have in common with addiction
intense focus, mood swings, cravings, obsessions, compulsions, emotional dependence, loss of self control, tolerance
evidence of love acting as a drug
looking at pictures of ex romantic partners caused brain activity in the areas that control cravings and addictions (nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area)
two stages of withdrawal
protest (denial) and resignation (despair)
protest stage of withdrawal
understanding that you broke up but haven’t come to terms with it; elevated dopamine and norepinephrine like in abandoned animals; frustration attraction
resignation/despair stage of withdrawal
reduced activity in dopamine pathways; feelings crash
