Exam 1 Flashcards
Three types of research methods
Descriptive Methods
Correlation Methods
Experimental Methods
Descriptive Methods
Methods that describe behavior
Types:
Case studies
Surveys
Naturalistic observation
Surveys
Some people choose their answers…
____ affeects choices.
3 sub catego
- Some people choose their answers in a socially desirable direction.
- Wording affects choices.
- Population, sample, and technique
Population Samples (surveys)
2 types
Random sample
- Representative sample
Convenience sample
Sampling Bias (almost always the case)
Random Sample
A subset of the population that accurately reflects the characteristics of the whole population.
Naturalistic observation
Recording the natural behavior of many individuals. Just describes behavior, doesn’t explain it.
Experimental Methods
Manipulate factors to discover their effects.
Group assignment
- Group assignment
- Variables
- Quasi-experimental design
Group assignment
- Experimental group
- Control group
- Random assignment
- Single blind
- Double blind
- Placebo effect
Random Assignment
Randomly assigning participants to experimental vs control groups by chance. Minimizes preexisting differences between the different groups. Helps control confounding variables.
Variables
Independent
Dependent
Confounding
Confounding variable
A factor other than the dependent that might influence a study’s results. Experiments attempt to control confounding variables.
Quasi-Experimental Design
Looking at differences between pre-existent groups.
Ex: Males and females, old people and young people
Taking pre-existent groups and manipulating a variable
Still can’t make statements bc could be a third factor “C”
Internal Validity
How well designed the study is. If an experiment was designed well it has internal validity.
External Validity
How your experiment applies to the real world. Can it be generalized to the real world? Limited external validity when we’re doing experiments in an artificial environment.
Statistics
Making sense of our data
Descriptive Statistics
Inferential Statistics
Meta-analysis
Descriptive Statistics
Summarize or describe our data
Types:
Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of Variability
Measures of Central Tendency
Descriptive statistic
Single number to describe data
Mean: Average score
Mode: Most common score
Median: Middle score
Measures of Variability
Descriptive statistic
How much statistics vary
- Range
- Standard Deviation: How are scores distributed? Higher number=more variability. Lower number=less variability.
Inferential Statistics
Allow us to draw conclusions/make claims about causation.
Basic question: What is the likelihood that the observed differences are simply the result of chance?
If the result is rare, p<.05 (if a result happens <5% of the time), we reject the hypothesis of no difference.
Demand Characteristics
Research participants respond in a way because they think that’s what the experimenter is looking for. Act in response to the demands of the situation.
Hawthorne Effect
A phenomenon that occurs when people change their behavior because they are aware they are being observed. Every change led to a temporary increase in productivity.
Selective Attrition
When some people are more likely to drop out of a study than others.
Belmont Report
States basic ethical guidelines about the conduction of research with human participants
Deception
Researchers intentionally mislead or withhold information from participants.
Ethics codes
Informed consent
Protection from harm
Confidentiality
Debriefiality
Neurogenesis
Formation of new neurons
Humanistic Psychology
Emphasizes human growth potential. Our needs for love and acceptance and our environments either nurture or limit personal growth.
Neurons
Basic building block for the nervous system.
~86 billion
Brain produces new neurons
Glial cells
Used to support structure in the brain, hold neurons in place, bring nutrients to neurons, remove waste products, and guide and speed up the signals.
Types of neurons
Sensory
Motor
Inter
Sensory neurons
Afferent neurons
Sends information to the brain
Afferent neurons
Sends information to the brain
Auditory, touch receptors, etc.
Motor neurons
Efferent neurons
Send information away from the CNS
Efferent neurons
Send information away from the CNS
Interneurons
Neurons that connect sensory and motor neurons
- Communicate within the CNS and process information
- Largest category of neurons
Myelin sheath
Fatty tissue layer that “insulates”, covering axon.
Not all neurons have myelin–long distance neurons have it
- Myelin sheath degeneration=multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis and neuron
Result of the myelin sheath degenerating. Communication to muscles and brain regions slow.
Nodes of Ranvier
Gaps in between myelin insulation.
Synapse
The gap b/t neurons
Neurons DO NOT touch each other
Neuron at rest
Resting Potential~ -70MV
The cell is polarized (slightly negative charge)
More anions in cell (Inside is slightly negative)
More cations outside of cell (Outside is slightly positive)
Anions attracted to cations, cations attracted to anions. “Stopped” by a semipermeable membrane.
Ions flow across the cell membrane at different rates
Difference in flow leads to a higher concentration of negatively charged ions inside the cell
Threshold
Semipermeable cell membrane become temporarily permeable (Na+ ions rush in, they are attracted to the negative interior)
Brief change in the electrical charge
Electrical changes in the cell trigger the release of…
neurotransmitters
All-or-none principle
There is an action potential, or there isn’t
Postsynaptic Potentials (PSP)
Graded potentials
Increase or Decrease the probability of an action potential (triggered by depolarization) in the receiving cell
Types
Excitatory PSP
Inhibitory PSP
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential
Increase the likelihood of a neuron sending a signal.
Depolarizes the neuron (Makes it less negative)
Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential
Decrease the likelihood of a neuron sending a signal.
Hyperpolarizes (Increases polarization)
Saltatory conduction
Process of neural communication with myelin
Membrane covered in myelin
No ion exchange
Electrical signal travels under the surface of the myelin
Size of electrical charge gets smaller
Signal reaches Node of Ranvier
Depolarizes
Action potential regenerated
Goes to next myelin
Repolarization
Sodium-potassium pump
Re-uptake
Presynaptic reabsorbs neurotransmitters
Enzymatic deactivation
Breaks neurotransmitters apart so they can’t deliver message
Acetylcholine
(ACh) First neurotransmitter discovered
In body-Involved in muscle and motor activity.
In brain-Learning and attention in the brain
Deterioration of ACh-producing neurons
Alzheimer’s
Substance that altered the frog’s heartbeat (Lowei)
Norepinephrine
NE
Arousal, wakefulness, alertness
Lack of norepinephrine
Depressed mood
Dopamine
DA
- Movement of neural messages in the brain
- Reward, pleasure, learning
- Drugs increase dopamine
Too much dopamine
Schizophrenia–Anti-psychosis meds block dopamine to attempt to help with hallucinations
Lack of dopamine
Parkinson’s: Have trouble initiating movement in their brain
Serotonin
4 factors
5-HT
Sleep, dreams, mood, hunger
Lack of serotonin
Depression–Antidepressants mainly target serotonin
GABA
Primary inhibitory neurotransmitter
Decreasing overall activity in brain, reducing anxiety
Lack of GABA
Seizures, tremors, and insomnia
Glutamate
Primary excitatory neurotransmitter
Excitatory, memory
Too much Glutamate
Overstimulation of the brain→ Migraines and seizures
Endorphins
Natural “opiates” the brain produced
Pain control and pleasure
“Runners high”
Agonists neural communication
Anything that increases communication between nerve cells
- Stop enzymes from working
- Use drugs to mimic neurotransmitters
Antagonists neural communication
Substances that interfere with the communication process
- Block receptor sites
- Causing synaptic vesicles to leak neurotransmitters in the presynaptic neuron so they are less concentrated when they get to the receptors
- Speed up reuptake process
- Increase activity in enzymes
Central Nervous System (CNS)
Runs through center of our body, body’s decision maker
Includes Brain and Spinal Cord
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Gathers information and transmits CNS’s decisions to other body parts
Somatic and Autonomic
Somatic nervous system
Nerves that go to senses and muscles (Afferent and efferent neurons)
Sensory and motor neurons
Autonomic nervous system
Controls internal glands and organ muscles.
Sympathetic or parasympathetic
If Sympathetic is on, parasympathetic is off.
Sympathetic nervous system
Part of Autonomic nervous system in PNS
Activates
- Fight or Flight response
- Expends energy
- Speeds up HR, raises BP, raises blood sugar, slows digestion
- Takes blood away from core
Parasympathetic nervous system
Part of Autonomic nervous system in PNS
Calms
- Storing/conserving energy
- Digestion
- Blood in core
Endocrine System
The body’s “slow” chemical communication system.
- Pituitary gland
Hormones
Pituitary gland
- In endocrine system
- Master gland
- Controlled by the hypothalamus and secretes many different hormones, some of which affect other glands.
Imaging Techniques - Structural
Just size and anatomy
CAT/CT: Like Xray of the brain. For concussion diagnosis.
MRI: More defined than CT. Shows anatomy. Doesn’t involve radiation.
Imaging Techniques - Functional
EEG: Oldest brain imaging technique. Electrodes or sensors on the scalp pick up electrical activity. Like EKG but for the brain.
PET: Administering a temporarily radioactive isotope (typically radioactive sugar) —>Scan identifies sugar
(Uses sugar because the brain uses sugar to fuel itself, Where the sugar is is where the brain is most active)
Imaging Techniques - Functional and structural
fMRI: Looks at changes in blood flow and blood oxygen.
More blood in areas where the brain is especially active
Hindbrain/Reptilian Brain
Directs essential survival functions. Occurs without any conscious effort.
Brainstem structures: Medulla, pons, cerebellum
Breathing, sleeping, arousal, coordination, balance
Midbrain/Mammalian Brain
Connects hindbrain to forebrain
Controls some motor movement, transmits auditory and visual info, emotions, memory
Forbrain/Human Brain/Neocortex
Manages complex activities. What makes us human.
Complex cognitive activities, sensory and associative functions, and voluntary motor activities.
Medulla
Involved in controlling heart rate and respiration.
Pons
Coordinates movement and controls sleep.
Reticular Activating System (RAS)
Runs through brainstem and extends into midbrain.
Network of neurons that alerts the brain to stimuli in the environment. It chooses which information is important to arouse the brain to.
Cerebellum
“Little brain” Processing sensory input, coordination of muscle activities and balance, and nonverbal learning and skill memory.
Works with pons to coordinate voluntary movement.
The Structure of the Brain – Midbrain
Reticular Activating System (RAS)
Striatum
Superior colliculus - visual relay
Lateral colliculus - auditory relay
Limbic System
Mostly in the forebrain.
Hypothalamus
Hippocampus
Amygdala
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
“Brain within the brain”
Helps with maintenance activities (appetite, drinking, growth hormones, internal temperature (shivering, sweating)) and behaviors, including sexual behavior.
Helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland.
Hippocampus
“Rams horn” Involved in memory and putting info into long term memory.
Hippocampus size and function decreases with age
Amygdala
Emotional processing. Aggression and fear.
Thalamus
Sensory control center.
- Relays signals and connects different parts of the brain together
- Directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex
- Transmits the replies to cerebellum and medulla
Basal Ganglia
In forebrain
Deep brain structures involved in sub-motor movement
The Structure of the Brain - Forebrain
Limbic system
Basal ganglia
Cerebral cortex
Cerebral Cortex
Thin surface layer of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebrum.
Frontal Lobe
Motor behavior, speaking, and executive function.
Motor Cortex: Sends out messages to the body.
- Controls voluntary movements.
- Backwards phenomenon–Areas with precise control (fingers, mouth) occupy the most cortical space.
Parietal Lobe
Skin senses. How we know where our body is in space.
Somatosensory cortex: (Primary sensory area) Receives incoming messages. Registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
(Backwards phenomenon–Upside down. Head is at bottom, feet at top. Areas with precise control (lips) occupy the most cortical space.)
Somatosensory cortex
In parietal lobe
(Primary sensory area)
Receives incoming messages.
Registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
Backwards phenomenon–Upside down. Head is at bottom, feet at top. Areas with precise control (lips) occupy the most cortical space.
Occipital Lobe
Vision information.
Temporal Lobe
Auditory information. Receives information primarily from the opposite ear.
Fissures
What separates each lobe.
Association Areas
Where information is combined to make sense of it.
Can’t electrically probe (won’t trigger an observable response)→ cannot neatly map association areas
Found in all 4 lobes
Corpus Callosum
Fibers that connect the left and right hemisphere. All myelinated axons.
Contralateral control
Right hemisphere damage…
Left hemisphere damage…
Right hemisphere damage—> impacts using left side of the body, sometimes don’t realize we have a left side of the body
Left hemisphere damage—> speech and language problems common, problems using the right side.
Sleep Cycles Waves
Awake
Body slows
N1
N2
N3
REM
Awake- Beta waves
Body slows to prepare for sleep- Alpha waves
N1 Theta
N2 Sleep spindles and K complex
N3 Delta
REM Beta
One sleep cycle is about ___ minutes
90
N1 Sleep
First stage of NREM sleep- Theta waves
Hypnotic jerk: Sensation of falling
Sleep cycle
N1
N2
N3
N2
REM
N2 Sleep
~20 min, Sleep spindles and K complex
Sleep spindles: Bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity that aids memory processing
N3 Sleep
~30 minutes, Large, slow delta waves.
REM - sleep cycle
Type of waves
Type of Sleep
EEG
Symptoms
Beta waves, Paradoxical sleep
Paradoxical sleep: Essentially paralyzed, can’t move
EEG resembles waking pattern
High heart rate, breathing is rapid and irregular, rapid eye movements, genitals aroused’
REM Dreams
Can’t act out our dreams because signals from the motor cortex to the body are blocked.
Most dreaming occurs in this stage
People rarely snore during dreams
NREM Dreams
Vague dreams
Like hallucinations
N1-Fleeting images
N3-Minimal awareness
Sleep cycles over the course of one night
Spend less time in deep sleep N3 seldom occurs
Spend more time in the REM state
Amount REM steadily increases throughout night
Gross National Sleep Debt (William Dement)
Weight gain
- Crave carbohydrates when sleep deprived
- Increased ghrelin: Hunger hormone
- Decreased leptin: Hunger-suppressing hormone
- Increased cortisol: Stress hormone that stimulates the body to make fat
Depression
Increased Mortality
Reasons why we sleep theories
5 reasons
Repair/Restorative theory
Ecological/Circadian Rhythm theory
Consolidation theory
Creativity theory
Physical growth theory
Sleep theory - Repair/Restorative theory
We sleep because it allows our bodies to “rest and repair”
Sleep theory - Ecological/Circadian Rhythm theory
Sleep keeps us from hurting ourselves and keeps us out of danger. It’s an evolutionary explanation (For most of history we didn’t have lights/fire).
Sleep theory - Consolidation theory
Sleep helps us consolidate what we’ve learned during the day. Helps us strengthen neural connections in the brain.
Sleep theory - Creativity theory
People who are more creative/insightful/problem solvers get more sleep.
Sleep theory - Physical growth
When in slow wave sleep, the pituitary gland secretes growth hormone.
Interpretation of Dreams
5 theories
Psychoanalysis view/Freudian Theory/Unconscious wish fulfillment theory
Information processing
Physiological function
Activation-synthesis model
Cognitive development
Interpretation of Dreams
- Psychoanalysis view/Freudian Theory/Unconscious wish fulfillment theory
Believed it was a time for us to satisfy our unconscious wishes
Believed our unconscious wishes come in dreams as symbols
Manifest content: What’s actually happening in the dream
Latent content: The hidden meaning in the manifest content
Cons: Lacks scientific support and there are many ways to interpret dreams
Interpretation of Dreams
- Information processing
Dreams facilitate memory storage. They help sift, sort, and fix the day’s experiences in our memory.
Cons: Sometimes we dream about things we haven’t experienced yet
Interpretation of Dreams
- Physiological function
Regular brain stimulus helps preserve and stimulate neural networks in the brain.
Helping keep different networks connected.
Ex: Changes in REM sleep across the lifespan
Cons: Doesn’t explain why we experience meaningful dreams
Interpretation of Dreams
- Activation-synthesis model
Dreams are random stimuli that the brain makes stories out of
Hobson & McCarley—Dement sprayed water on the hands of sleepers. Many people reported having water in their dreams
Interpretation of Dreams
- Cognitive development
Problem solving or dreams-for-survival theory
Theory that our dreams simulate problems or threats so we can practice solving them.
Ex: Loewi’s dream that came up with the solution to his work.
