Exam 1 Flashcards
1
Q
what are the roots of the word “psychology?”
A
psyche (breath, spirit, soul) and logos (study of)
2
Q
what two fields did early psychology develop out of?
A
philosophy (questions about the mind) and physiology (questions about the brain)
3
Q
what is the definition of psychology?
A
the scientific study of both behavior and mind
4
Q
what is scientific study?
A
knowledge discovered through empirical observation
5
Q
what is behavior?
A
any kind of observable action
6
Q
what is the mind?
A
conscious experience - sensations, perceptions, thoughts, emotions
7
Q
what is dualism?
A
the mind and body are separate entities (Descartes)
8
Q
who was the thinker behind dualism?
A
Descartes
9
Q
where do clinical psychologists work?
A
clinical and academic settings
9
Q
what do clinical psychologists do?
A
assess, diagnose, and treat psychological problems
10
Q
what do applied psychologists do?
A
extending psychological principles to practical problems in the world
11
Q
where do applied psychologists work?
A
private industry, schools, academic settings
12
Q
what do research psychologists do?
A
conduct research to discover the basic principlies of behavior and mind
13
Q
where do research psychologists work?
A
academic settings and private industry
14
Q
what is the nativism vs. empiricism debate?
A
- nurture vs. nature (learning from environment)
- it’s a mix of both, not either or
15
Q
what is natural selection?
A
traits which improve likelihood of survival are more likely to be passed down through generations (Darwin)
16
Q
who was the thinker behind natural selection?
A
Charles Darwin
17
Q
who was Wilhelm Wundt?
A
- father of modern psychology
- advocated for using scientific method
- studied immediate conscious experience
18
Q
what is structuralism?
A
study of structure of mind by breaking it into elementary parts (sensations + feelings)
19
Q
who were the thinkers behind structuralism?
A
Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener
20
Q
how was structuralism studied?
A
self reports - experience sensations and then describe them (perception)
21
Q
what is functionalism?
A
- interested in purpose of a process rather than its components
- what is adaptive value of a certain mental process
- individual differences and applied uses of psychology
22
Q
who were the functionalist thinkers?
A
William James and James Rowland Angell
23
Q
who is Mary Whiton Calkins?
A
- 1st woman to have a research lab and be APA President
- study of self (as an adaptation to environment)
- student of William James’ (functionalist)
24
what is behaviorism?
* focused only on observable behavior
* nurture > nature - anyone can be trained into anything
25
who were the behaviorist thinkers?
John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner
26
what was John B. Watson's claim?
* that he could take a dozen healthy infants and turn them into anything (doctor, lawyer, artists, thief, etc.)
27
what is psychoanalysis?
* focused on influence of the unconscious mind
* free association, dream analysis, exploration of unconscious mind
* unmet unconscious desires = distress
* negative, sex-focused, dark
28
who was the thinker behind psychoanalysis?
Sigmund Freud
29
what is humanism?
* focused on positive aspects of human condition and capacity for change
* unconditional positive regard for clients / client-centered therapy
* direct response to Freud's pessimism
30
who were the thinkers behind humanism?
Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, and Martin Seligman
31
what is the eclectic approach of modern clinical practice?
selecting and adopting info from many different theories
32
what is the cognitive revolution?
shift away from behaviorism toward mental states and internal processes
33
what influenced the cognitive revolution?
computers and technology
34
what is the 3 parts of the cognitive triangle?
1. thoughts
2. feelings
3. behaviors
35
what is evolutionary psychology?
thoughts and behaviors are molded by pressures of evolution
36
who was Lev Vygotsky?
* highlighted interaction between people, cultures, and learning
* experiential learning
* noted influence of society, culture, context (nurture)
37
who was the thinker behind experiential learning?
Lev Vygotsky
38
what can cultures be based upon?
* gender
* race/ethnicity
* nationality
* affinities
39
what are collectivist communities?
focused on what's best for community
40
what are individualist communities?
focused on self
41
what is the scientific method?
multistep technique that generates empirical knowledge
42
what is empirical knowledge?
knowledge derived from systematic observations of the world
43
what are the steps of the scientific method?
1. observe
2. detect regularities
3. generate hypothesis
4. observe
44
what is the operational definition of observations?
the specific measurement of an observation (ex. score on an IQ test)
45
what are the detailed steps of the scientific method?
1. research question
2. literature review
3. form hypothesis
4. design study
5. conduct study
6. analyze data
7. report results
46
what is a theory?
* model of interconnected ideas/concepts that explain what is observed and makes predictions about future events
* based on empirical evidence
47
what is a hypothesis?
a specific, testable prediciton that is more narrow than the theory it is based upon
48
what are the 3 types of psych research designs?
1. descriptive
2. correlational
3. experimental
49
what is a variable?
something in the world that can vary and that a researcher can manupulate, measure, or both
50
what is descriptive research?
research methods that involve observing behavior to describe that behavior objectively and systematically
51
what are case studies?
a descriptive research method that involves the intensive examination of an unusual person or organization
52
describe the case study of Phineas Gage
* metal rod went through head
* still able to function and talk but had personality changes
* showed that different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions/parts of who we are
53
what are the 2 types of observational studies?
1. participant observation
2. naturalistic observation
54
what is participant observation?
* a type of desciptive study in which the researcher is involved in the situation
* ex. researcher enters cult as cult member
* can influence results/external validity
55
what is external validitiy
can results expand outside of the particular setting in which they were observed
56
what is naturalistic observation?
a type of descriptive study in which researcher is a passive observer, separated from situation and making no attempt to change/alter ongoing behavior
57
what is reactivity?
* Hawthorne effect
* knowledge that one is being observed alters behavior
58
what is observer bias?
systematic errors in observation that occur because of an observer's expectations
59
what are psychological tests?
designed to measure differences among people
60
what are correlational studies?
research method that describes and predicts how variables are naturally related in the real world without the researcher attempting to alter them or assign causation
61
what is zero correlation?
* value = 0
* one variable is not predictably related to the other
62
what is positive correlation?
* value = 0-1
* two variables move in the same direction
63
what is negative correlation?
* value = -1-0
* two variables move in opposite directions
64
what is a strong correlation?
* strong = 0.5
* very strong = 0.8
65
what is the directionality problem?
researchers find a relationship between two variables but cannot determine which variable may have caused changes in the other
66
what is the third variable problem?
when a researcher cannot directly manipulate variables, they cannot be confident that another, unmeasured variable isn't the actual cause of the differences in variables of interest
67
what is an experiment?
a research method that tests causal hypotheses by manipulating and measuring variables
68
what is an independent variable?
variable that is manipulated
69
what is a dependent variable?
variable that is measured
70
how are variables defined?
* operationally
* qualified and quantified
71
what is the experimental group?
participants in an experiment who receive the treatment
72
what is a control group?
participants in an experiment who receive no intervention or who receive an intervention unrelated to the independent variable being investigated
73
what is a confounding variable?
anything that affects a dependent variable and may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study
74
what does random sampling do?
diversifies sample and increases likelihood of generalizability
75
what does random assignment do?
balances out known and unknown factors, increasing likelihood of equivalent groups
76
what is the difference between random sampling and random assignment?
random sampling applies to how you select participants from a population, random assignment applies to how you place participants into groups
77
what is selection bias?
unintended differences between participants in different groups
78
what are institutional review boards?
groups of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure it meets standards for physical and emotional well-being
79
what is informed consent?
people who volunteer for psych research have the right to know what will happen to them during the course of the study
80
who cannot provide informed consent?
* people under the age of 18
* dependent adults
81
what must be done if deception is used during a study?
participants must be given a careful debriefing
82
what is confidentiality?
personal, identifying info about participants cannot be shared with others
83
what is anonymity?
researchers don't collect personal, identifying info
84
what is construct validity?
do variables measure what they are supposed to measure
85
what is external validity?
the degree to which findings of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, or situations
86
what is internal validity?
* the degree to which effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not confounds
* i.e. results due to manipulation not uncontrolled factors
87
what is variability?
how widely dispersed values are from each other and from the mean
88
what is standard deviation?
how far each value is, on average, from the mean
89
what is neuroscience?
study of the connection between brain and behavior
90
what are sensory neurons?
bring info from world into body
91
what are interneurons?
pass communications between sensory and motor neurons
92
what are motor neurons?
carry messages away from CNS to muscles and glands
93
what are neurons composed of?
* soma
* dendrites
* axon
* terminal buttons
94
what is the soma?
* cell body of neuron
* contains DNA
95
what are dendrites?
extensions from soma that receive info
96
what is the axon?
extends from cell body of neuron and carries electrical potential
97
what are terminal buttons?
emits a chemical message that reaches adjacent neurons
98
what are the qualities of an axon at rest?
* inside of axon is more negative than outside
* resting membrane potential = -70 mV
99
what happens during an action potential?
* ion channels open in membrane allowing sodium ions to enter axon
* sodium entry shifts internal membrane potential toward positive value
* resting potential is restored when other channels open and sodium is pumped back out
100
what are the characteristics of an action potential?
* fixed in strength
* all or none in nature
* speed varies by size and shape of axon
101
what are glial cells?
provide support and protection for neurons
102
what are myelin cells?
type of glial cell that wraps around neuron axon to increase speed of action potential
103
what is the synapse?
junction between an axon terminal and an adjacent nerve cell
104
what is a neurotransmitter?
molecules released from axon terminal into synapse when action potential arrives
105
what are the steps of synaptic transmission?
1. action potential reaches end of axon
2. vesicles transport neurotransmitters to membrane and releases them into synapse
3. NTs interact with postsynaptic receptors
4. may cause action postential in postsynaptic neuron
5. NT deactivation/reuptake starts
106
what is glutamate?
* excitatory neurotransmitter
* most common NT in brain
107
what is dopamine?
* mixed neurotransmitter
* involved in reward/pleasure systems ("feel good" NT)
108
what is acetylcholine?
* excitatory neurotransmitter
* helps with communication between motor neurons and muscles
109
what is serotonin?
* inhibitory neurotransmitter
* involved in sleep, mood, appetite, and general arousal
110
what is GABA?
* inhibitory neurotransmitter
* regulates anxiety
111
what are agonist psychoactive drugs?
* drugs that mimic/enhance neurotransmitters
* ex. amphetamine = stimulates dopamine release and nicotine = acts like acetylcholine
* can increase neurotransmitters made, block their reuptake, and activate/increase effects
112
what are antagonist psychoactive drugs?
* drugs that block the action of neurotransmitters
* can decrease amount of neurotransmitters, destroy neurotransmitters in synapse, and block neurotransmitter binding
113
what is the central nervous system?
brain and spinal cord
114
what is the peripheral nervous system?
somatic and autonomic systems
115
what is the somatic nervous system?
voluntary movements
116
what is the autonomic nervous system?
* involuntary system of regulation
* ex. heart rate, digestion, breathing
117
what makes up the autonomic nervous system?
sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
118
what is the sympathetic nervous system?
fight, flight, or freeze response
119
what is the parasympathetic nervous system?
typical regulation
120
what are the 3 ways we study the human brain?
1. brain damage
2. activating brain
3. brain recordings
121
how can we activate the brain for study?
chemical injection or electrode placement
122
what is transcranial magnetic stimulation?
type of brain activation in which magnetic coils in brain cause neurons to fire
123
what are structural brain imaging methods?
* CT and MRI
* show structure and anatomy
124
what are functional brain imaging methods?
* EEG, PET scan, fMRI
* show activity in brain
125
what is a brain altering activity?
transcranial magnetic stimulation
126
what is fMRI?
records flow of oxygenated blood in brain
127
what is the reticular formation?
arousal and sleep
128
what is the pons?
unconscious movement and reflexes
129
what is the medulla?
heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure
130
what is the cerebellum?
balance and coordination
131
what is the hindbrain?
foundational functions of body
132
what is the midbrain?
movement and sensory relay centers
133
what is the substantia nigra?
helps control movements
134
what is the superior colliculus?
sensory relay center and coordination of responses
135
what is the inferior colliculus?
auditory sound relay and coordinates responses to sound
136
what is the cerebral cortex?
* largest region in brain
* higher mental processes
137
what is the thalamus?
relay center for sensory info from body to cortices
138
what is the hypothalamus?
* regulates motivation and pituitary gland
* helps direct endocrine system
139
what is the pituitary gland?
regulates and monitors hormones
140
what is the amygdala?
emotional processing and reactivity
141
what is the hippocampus?
memory
142
what is the frontal lobe?
executive function, decision-making, reasoning, problem solving, short-term memory, speech output, voluntary movement, personality
143
what is the parietal lobe?
processing senses, somatosensory input, spatial awareness, calculation
144
what is the occipital lobe?
vision and visual recognition
145
what is the temporal lobe?
hearing, language comprehension, encoding memories
146
what is lateralization?
movement on left side of body controlled by right side of brain and vice versa
147
what is Broca's aphasia?
deficit in ability to produce speech
148
what is Wernicke's aphasia?
* deficit in ability to produce/process language (speech not impacted)
149
what is the corpus callosum?
bundle of nerves that connect left and right hemispheres of brain
150
what functions are in the left hemisphere?
* language functions (speaking, reading, writing)
* analytical functions
151
what functions are in the right hemisphere?
* nonverbal abilities (music, art, perceptual/spacio-manipulative skills)
* some language comprehension
152
what is the endocrine system?
hypothalamus regulates secretion of hormones into blood to affect sexual behavior, growth, and stress responses
153
what is an adaptation?
a trait that has been selected for to improve survival
154
how many chromosomes does each human cell have?
46 chromosomes, 23 pairs
155
what are genes?
segments of chromosomes that contain instructions for influencing/creating hereditary characteristics
156
what is the difference between a genotype and a phenotype?
* genotype = actual genetic message
* phenotype = trait's observable characteristic
157
what are epigenetics?
environment's influence on gene expression
158
what is personality?
distinguishing pattern of psychological characteristics that differentiate us from others and leads us to act consistently across situations
159
what are self-report inventories?
questions about how one typically thinks, feels, and behaves
160
what is reliability?
how consistent a measure is
161
what is validity?
how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure
162
what is predictive validity?
how well do test scores predict what we are intending to measure
163
what is concurrent validity?
how well does new test score match up with scores of another test
164
what are projective personality tests?
ask person to interpret ambiguous stimuli to project their feelings or thoughts
165
what is trait theory?
* system of assessing people for differences in how people act consistently in various situations
* aims to reduce trait terms down to most basic personality domains
166
what are the 3 components of Eysenck's trait theory?
1. extraversion vs. introversion
2. neuroticism
3. psychoticism
167
what is the Big Five-Factor Model?
1. openess
2. conscientiousness
3. extraversion
4. agreeableness
5. neuroticism
168
what are the 3 personality development theories?
1. psychodynamic
2. humanistic
3. social cognitive
169
what is the psychodynamic perspective of personality development?
we are not aware of what factors produce our personality and we cannot change or control our personality
170
who were the psychodynamic theorists?
* Sigmund Freud
* Alfred Adler
* Carl Jung
* Karen Horney
171
what are the 3 regions of the mind according to Freud?
1. conscious mind - conscious awareness
2. preconscious mind - contains info accessible to consious mind as needed
3. unconscious mind - contain pain/threatening memories and impulses too threatening for conscious awareness
172
what are the 3 components of the human personality accoring to Freud?
1. id
2. ego
3. superego
173
what is the id?
* core of personality
* pleasure principle/animalistic drives
174
what is the ego?
* reality principle
* facilitates compromise between id and superego
175
what is the superego?
* idealistic principle
* sense of right or wrong based on morality
176
what is projection?
projecting feelings onto others
177
what is sublimation?
channeling unacceptable behaviors into socially accepatable behaviors
178
what are the 5 psychosexual stages?
1. oral (birth-1 year)
2. anal (1-3 years)
3. phallic (3-5 years)
4. latent (6-12 years)
5. genital (13+ years)
179
what are the characteristics of the oral stage?
* mouth
* fixation = latent aggressive or passive tendencies
180
what are the characteristics of the anal stage?
* anus and bladder
* anal retentive: orderly, rigid, obsessive
* anal expulsive: messy, wasteful, destructive
181
what are the characteristics of the phallic stage?
* genitals
* fixation with opposite sex parent (Oedipus/Electra complex)
182
what are the characteristics of the latent stage?
* dormant sexual feelings
* fixation = inability to form healthy friendships as an adult
183
what are the characteristics of the genital stage?
* mature sexual feelings
* fixation = unable to develop meaningful healthy relationships
184
what is Adler's Neo-Freudian perspective?
* personality arises from desire to overcome feelings of inadequacy
* operates at conscious level
185
what is the principle of social interest (Adler)?
considering the needs of others and the betterment of society as the principal goal when developing to our full potential
186
what is Jung's analytical perspective?
* more to human motivation than sexual desires
* general life force
* collective unconcious and archetypes
187
what is the collective unconscious (Jung)?
certain kinds of universal symbols and ideas are present in the unconscious of all people
188
what are archetypes (Jung)?
cconcepts passed from generation to generation (ex. God, Mother, Earth, etc.)
189
what is Karen Horney's feminine view on psychodynamic personality development?
* disagreed with Freud on "penis envy" and female dissatisfaction with their sex
* connection between irrational thoughts about self and psychological problems
190
what is the humanistic theory of personality development?
* humans are capable of self-awareness, choice, responsibility, and growth
* everyone is unique and whole
* our behaviors are influenced by environment and interpretations of reality
191
who are the humanistic personality development theorists?
* Carl Rogers
* Abraham Maslow
192
what is Rogers' humanistic theory of the self?
* self-concept
* our need for positive regard from others can shift our condition of worth
* incongruence
193
what is self-concept (Rogers)?
an organized set of perceptions about one's abilities and characteristics
194
what are conditions of worth (Rogers)?
focusing worth/identity on what others value (ex. playing soccer even when you want to play piano because your dad likes soccer)
195
what is incongruence (Rogers)?
discrepancy between the image we hold of ourselves (self-concept) and the sum of all our experiences which can lead to anxiety and psychological problems
196
what is self-esteem?
overall favorability evaluation of one's sense of self
197
what is self-actualization?
tendency to seek self-improvement and personal enhancement
198
what is conditional positive regard?
acceptance by others only when meeting their expectations
199
what is unconditional positive regard?
acceptance by others for who they are without passing judgement/placing expectations on them
200
what is Maslow's theory of self actualization?
* everyone has need for self-actualization and personality is dependent upon level of hierarchy one has reached
* one can only move up in the needs hierarchy and reach self-actualization if the needs of each level are met
201
what is the social-cognitive theory of personality development?
* human experience is the primary cause of development
* social = experience
* cognitive = interpretation of experience
202
who are the social-cognitive personality development theorists?
* Albert Bandura
* Julian Rotter
202
what are the 3 models of learning?
1. classical
2. operant
3. modeling
203
what is Rotter's social learning perspective?
internal and external loci of control
204
what is an internal locus of control?
* generalized belief that we do have considerable influence over the events in our lives
* better adjusted
205
what is an external locus of control?
* generalized belief that we do not have considerable influence over the events in our lives
* learned helplessness
206
what is a self-system (Bandura)?
* set of cognitions used to observe and evaluate external stimuli
* helps regulate behavior in different situations
207
what is self-efficacy (Bandura)?
* personal beliefs regarding possibility of successfully performing a specific behavior
* confidence
208
what is Bandura's theory of self-determinism?
beliefs, behaviors, and the environment interact to shape what's learned from experience
209
what is the person-situation debate?
if we have unique, consistent personalities, why can't we predict behavior?
210
what is situational consistency?
* people don't act consistently across all situations but they do act consistently within similar situations
211
what is self-monitoring?
* high = closely attend to environment and can shift behavior to fit situation
* low = behave consistently across situations and less likely to shift according to situation
212
what kinds of people are less functionally fertile?
* women with low cooperativeness
* men with low social assertiveness
