Exam 1 (Ch 1-4 (skipping 3)) Flashcards
psychology is from 2 different fields:
philosophy: questions about the mind
physiologists: detailed the anatomy of the brain
phil+ physi= psych
psych is the scientific study of both…
behavior and mind
scientific study
-knowledge is discovered through empirical observation
behavior
any kind of observable action, including words, gestures, and biological activity
mind
-the contents of conscious experience, including sensation, perceptions, thoughts, and emotions
nature vs nurture
the question of how much a persons characteristics are formed by either nature or nurture
nature
-genes and biology
-some psychologists believe we are born with some knowledge
nurture
-environment
-knowledge we have from direct experience
environment
-peers, education, social media
Wilhelm Wundt
-1st psychologist
-father of modern psych
-advocate for using scientific techniques
Wilhelm Wundt studied…
-immediate conscious experience
structuralism is defined as…
-structure of the mind by breaking it down into parts to simplify
structuralism was founded by…
Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener
functionalism
-interested in the purpose of a process rather that its components
-influenced by Darwin
Behavioralism
-reaction to introspection and the “unknowable” mind
-focuses only on observable behavior
introspection
-the examination or observation of ones own mental and emotional processes
the cognitive revolution
-focuses on mental states and internal processes
-influenced by computers
Sigmund Freud
-neurologist
-focused on psychoanalysis
-1st major movement in clinical psychology
-used cocaine to study himself
-“Freud= unconscious”
-talking thought problems
psychoanalysis
-focuses on the influence of the unconscious mind
-used to help patients solve psychological problems through insight
humanism and positive psychology
-opposite of Freuds pessimistic view of human nature
-focused on human condition and capacity for change
-focus on what’s good about people
-self help
there are __ steps in the scientific method
5
the steps of the scientific method
-observation
-forming a question
-forming a hypothesis
-testing a a hypothesis
-replicating
observe behavior without manipulation
-most representing of real world behavior
-no control of behavior
-difficult to determine exact cause of behavior
joining the group to learn
-interacting with the population of interest
-allows for insight from a participants perspective
-may not be repeatable
case study
-in depth about one person, group, or situation
-collect a lot of detail
-not an experiment
Case study ex. Phineas Gage
-railroad worker accident
-personality change due to part of brain being destroyed
Case study ex. Henry Molison
-seizures so surgeon removed his hippocampus
-no seizures but could not retain long term memories
surveys
-participants answer standard questions
-easy to administer
-lots of information
-bias
ethics in psychology principles
-set of principles of how people should be treated, educated, and respected while in a study
general ethical principles
-beneficence and nonmaleficence (doing good without harm)
-fidelity and responsibility (honest and responsible for maintaining ethics)
-integrity
-justice
-respect
special ethical conditions (consent)
-participants that are not able to legally give informed consent such as children
2 forms of consent for participation
-consent from parent or guardian
-consent from potential participant
special ethical conditions (study)
-informed consent may affect participants natural behavior/ reactions
-some studies may not reveal the true nature of study until after participation is complete (called deception)
2 variables connected are referred to as ___
correlated
correlation is…
the direction and strength of a relationship between 2 variables
correlation does not mean ___
causation
-does not mean one affects the other
we test theories through…
controlled experiments
hypothesis
an educated guess about the outcome of an experiment
a hypothesis must be…
-consistent with prior observation
-simple and specific
-measurable
-falsifiable
independent variable
-what the experimenter changes
dependent variable
-what the participant does
extraneous variable
-uncontrolled events
experimental group
-conducting experiments on
-exposed to independent variable
-measure the effect of the independent variable
dependent group
-not conducting experiment on
-not influenced by independent variable
control group
used to compare experiment results with behavior affected only by naturally occurring conditions
placebo
-“fake” independent variable
ex of observing behavior: naturalistic observation
-observing behavior in the real world usually in a group
-limits: bias, cant control experiment, can be unethical
a case study cannot be __
replicated
a survey can be biased because people can be…
nervous and uncomfortable and withhold information
neurons
cells specialized for communication
dendrites (neuron)
-receive messages and initiate electrical activity
-arms that extend off of the nucleus end of the neuron
axons (neuron)
-conduct electrical activity and release chemical neurotransmitters
-looks like beads on the middle of the neuron
myelin sheath (neuron)
-speeds up electrical activity
signal travels in this direction (neuron)
- dendrite
- soma
3.nucleus
4.axon
5.axon terminal
soma (neuron)
the arm that connects to dendrites to the nucleus
nucleus
-decision making part of the cell
axon terminal (neuron)
-other end of the neuron opposite to the nucleus end
-the arms that have beads at the end
myelin sheath (neuron)
-protects axon so signals don’t affect each other
Schwann cell
-cell in the axon
some neurons have no myelin sheath because…
-a slow process is preferred
-such as fear
terminal buttons (neuron)
-end of the axon terminal
vesicles (neuron)
-blue bubbles containing neurotransmitters
synapse (neuron)
-fluid filled space between neurons
-also known as the synaptic cleft
neurons at rest have a ___ internal charge
-negative
when channels in the cell membrane open… (neuron)
ions rush in or out
3 main specific ions (neuron)
-sodium (Na+)
-chlorine (Cl-)
-potassium (K+)
the fluid outside the neuron has a __ charge and the cytoplasm of a neuron has a ___ charge
-positive
-negative
excitatory neurotransmitters
-increases probability of neuron becoming active
inhibitory neurotransmitters
-decreases probability of neuron becoming active
the nervous system has __ major divisions which are ___
-2
-central and peripheral
the nervous system
-nerves facilitate communication with the body and also control the body
-both in the efferent and afferent direction
-command center
efferent
away
afferent
towards
central nervous system
-brain and spine
-reflexes
brain
-each lobs has a specific set of functions
-receives input from the body
-old brain vs new brain (new is more complex with more functions)
frontal lobe
-making decisions and movement
motor cortex
-performing voluntary movement
-prefrontal cortex
-deciding when, why, and how to complete actions
parietal lobe
-processing numbers and performing calculations
corpus callosum
-connects 2 hemispheres of brain and shares information
occipital lobe
-visual processing
somatosensory and motor complex
-touch and movement
-plasticity
plasticity
-brain adapts to change
-a lot more when young
-why we can learn language easier when young
regions of the temporal lobe
-formation of new memories
-neurons in these lobes process hearing and smell
the limbic system
-stores emotional memories
-houses the amygdala which is responsible for fear response
-in the center of brain (looks like a bean)
amygdala
-apart of limbic system
-responsible for fear
hippocampus (LS)
-looks like a seahorse
-translates memories that come into long term memory
hypothalamic (LS)
-also involved in emotion
-the 4 F’s
Thalamus (LS)
-responsible for routing sensory info to parts of the brain
-houses the occipital cortex
the limbic system also has these 3 sections
-hippocampus
-hypothalamic
-thalamus
endocrine system
-works through bloodstream and hormones
-nervous system helps control it
-glands and hormones
-regulates sleep, flight, fight
research methods in biology and neuroscience
-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
=positron emission tomography (PET)
learning is…
1.relatively permanent
2.change in behavior or mental process
3.occurs from our interactions with the environment
examples of something that is not learned
-instinct and reflexes
reflexes
-not qualify as learning
-born with them
-response from a trigger
-may only be there for a short period of time
Pavlovian or classical conditioning (learning)
a previously neutral stimulus elicits a response because it signals another stimulus
-ex. ringing bell when dog is fed
operant or instrumental conditioning
-a response becomes more or less likely to occur depending on its consequence
-grounding or praising
social or observational conditioning
-an observer imitates another persons behavior
-younger siblings learning from older siblings
unconditional stimulus (cat)
-naturally elicits response
-ex.cat food
unconditional response (cat)
-natural response to biologically relevant stimulus
-ex. saliva
neutral stimulus (cat)
-does not naturally elicit response
-ex. can opener sound
conditional stimulus (cat)
-elicits response due to learning
ex. can opener sound
conditional response (cat)
-learned response to environment stimulus
-ex. saliva
extinction
conditioned response is weakened or eliminated when conditional stimulus is present without unconditional stimulus
spontaneous recovery
-conditional stimulus is presented again with unconditional stimulus
-conditional stimulus elicits conditional stimulus
J.B Watson and little albert
-generate fear to previously neutral stimuli
-fear from white and fluffy stimuli
the 4 operant contingencies
-positive reinforcement: social approval and money
-negative reinforcement: escape and avoidance
-positive punishment: social disapproval and painful stimulus
-negative punishment: response cost and timeout
positive
add
negative
take away
most punishments fail because…
-to far after the “offense” to have affect
-strong
-certain
-provide alternative response
shaping
-successive approximations
-completing actions in order to get reinforcement
-get to the goal in steps (each give reinforcement)
phobias
irrational fear of a neutral object
fetish
-pleasure from a neutral object
