Exam One Flashcards
Psychology
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Behavior and mental processes
Encompasses thoughts, emotions, perceptions, reasoning processes, memories, and even the biological activities that maintain bodily functioning
Behavioral genetics
Studies the inheritance of traits related to behavior
Behavioral neuroscience
Examines the biological basis of behavior
Clinical psychology
Deals with the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders
Cognitive psychology
Focuses on the study of higher mental processes
Counseling psychology
Focuses primarily on educational, social, and career adjustment problems
Cross-cultural psychology
Investigates the similarities and differences in psychological functioning in and across various cultures and ethnic groups
Developmental psychology
Examines how people grow and change from the moment of conception through death
Educational psychology
Concerned with teaching and learning processes, such as the relationship between motivation and school performance
Environmental psychology
Considers the relationship between people and their physical environment
Evolutionary psychology
Considers how behavior is influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors
Experimental psychology
Studies the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking about the world
Forensic psychology
Focuses on legal issues, such as determining the accuracy of witness memories
Health psychology
Explores the relationship between psychological factors and physical ailments or disease
Industrial psychology
Concerned with the psychology of the workplace
Personality psychology
Focuses on the consistency in people’s behavior over time and the traits that differentiate one person from another
Program evaluation
Focuses on assessing large-scale programs, such as the head start preschool program, to determine whether they are effective in meeting their goals
Psychology of women
Focuses on issues such as discrimination against women and the causes of violence against women
School psychology
Devoted to counseling children in elementary and secondary schools who have academic or emotional problems
Social psychology
The study of how people’s thoughts, feeling, and actions are affected by others
Sport psychology
Applies psychology to athletic activity and exercise
How many active psychologists are working in the United States today?
Nearly 200,000
What percentage of the world’s psychologists are in the United States?
20-24%
What is the ratio of female psychologists to male psychologists?
2.1:1
What percentage of psychologists are from a racial minority group?
16%
PhD
A research degree that requires a dissertation based on an original investigation
PsyD
Obtained by psychologists who wish to focus on the treatment of psychological disorders
Psychiatrists
have medical degrees and specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders, often using treatments that involve the prescription of drugs
7,000 years ago, what did people assume psychological problems to be caused by?
Evil spirits
trephining
chipping a hole in a patients skull with crude instruments
- in old days: was used to allow spirits trapped inside a persons body to escape
Who established the first experimental laboratory devoted to psychological phenomena?
Wilhelm Wundt
Structuralism
focused on uncovering the fundamental mental components of perception, consciousness, thinking, emotions, and other kinds of mental states and activities.
Who developed structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt
Introspection
A procedure used to study the structure of the mind in which subjects are asked to describe in detail what they are experiencing when they are exposed to a stimulus
Why did scientists do away with introspection and structuralism?
there were few ways that an observer could confirm the accuracy of others’ introspections
functionalism
early approach to psychology that concentrated on what the mind does - the functions of mental activity - and the role of behavior in allowing people to adapt to their environments
Who led the functionalists?
William James
Gestalt psychology
focuses on the organization of perception through a series of principles describing how we organize bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes
what group of psychologists proposed that “ the whole is different from the sum of its parts”?
gestalt
Margaret Washburn
first woman to receive a doctorate in psychology (doing work in animal behavior)
Mary Calkins
studied memory in the early part of the 20th century; became first female president of the American Psychological Association
What is the common goal of psychology?
to explain and understand behavior using scientific methods
What are the 5 major psychology perspectives?
neuroscience, cognition, behavioral, humanistic, psychodynamic
Neuroscience perspective
approach that views behavior from the perspective of the brain, the nervous system, and other biological functions
psychodynamic perspective
approach based on the view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces over which the individual has little control
Who is linked to the origin of the psychodynamic view?
Sigmund Freud
Behavioral Perspective
view that looks at the behavior itself as the problem
Cognitive perspective
view that suggests that people’s thoughts and beliefs are a central component of abnormal behavior
Humanistic approach
approach that suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop, and be in control of their lives and behavior
Free will
the ability to freely make decisions about one’s own behavior and life
determinism
sees behavior as caused, or determined, by things beyond a person’s control
What are the 5 key issues in psychology?
- Nature v. Nurture
- Conscious v. Unconscious determinants of behavior
- Observable behavior v. internal mental processes
- Free will v. determinism
- Individual differences v. universal principles
scientific method
approach through which psychologists systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest
theories
broad explanations and predictions concerning observations of interest
hypothesis
a prediction, stemming from a theory, stated in a way that allows it to be tested
operational definition
the translation of a hypothesis into specific, testable procedures that can be measured and observed
descriptive research
an approach to research designed to systematically investigate a person, group, or patterns of behavior
archival research
research in which existing data, such as census documents, college records, and newspaper clippings are examined to test a hypothesis
naturalistic observation
research in which an investigator simply observes some naturally occurring behavior and does not make a change in the situation
survey research
Research in which people chosen to represent a larger population are asked a series of questions about their behavior, thoughts, or attitudes
case study
an in depth, intensive investigation of an individual or small group of people
variables
behaviors, events, or other characteristics that can change, or vary, in some way
correlation research
Research in which the relationship between two sets of variables is examined to determine whether they are associated, or “correlated”
experiment
The investigation of the relationship between two (or more) variables by deliberately producing a change in one variable in a situation and observing the effects of that change on other aspects of the situation
experimental manipulation
the change that an experimenter deliberately produces in a situation
treatment
the manipulation implemented by the experimenter
experimental group
any group participating in an experiment that receives a treatment
control group
group participating that receives no treatment
independent variable
the variable being manipulated
dependent variable
The variable that is measured and is expected to change as a result of changes caused by the experimenter’s manipulation (handling) of the independent variable
random assignment to condition
A procedure in which participants are assigned to different experimental groups or “conditions” on the basis of chance and chance alone
replication
Research that is repeated, sometimes using other procedures, settings, and groups of participants, to increase confidence in prior findings
informed consent
A document signed by participants affirming that they have been told the basic outlines of the study and are aware of what their participation will involve
experimental bias
Factors that distort how the independent variable affects the dependent variable in an experiment
placebo
A false treatment, such as a pill, “drug,” or other substance, without any significant chemical properties or active ingredient
behavioral neuroscientists (biopsychologists)
Psychologists who specialize in considering the ways in which the biological structures and functions of the body affect behavior
neurons
Nerve cells, the basic elements of the nervous system
dendrite
A cluster of fibers at one end of a neuron that receive messages from other neurons
axon
The part of the neuron that carries messages destined for other neurons
terminal buttons
Small bulges at the end of axons that send messages to other neurons
myelin sheath
A protective coat of fat and protein that wraps around the neuron
all-or-none law
the rule that neurons are either on or off
resting state
The state in which there is a negative electrical charge of about −70 millivolts within a neuron
action potential
An electric nerve impulse that travels through a neuron when it is set off by a “trigger,” changing the neuron’s charge from negative to positive
mirror neurons
Specialized neurons that fire not only when a person enacts a particular behavior, but also when a person simply observes another individual carrying out the same behavior
synapse
The space between two neurons where the axon of a sending neuron communicates with the dendrites of a receiving neuron by using chemical messages
neurotransmitters
Chemicals that communicate messages from one neuron to another neuron across the synapse
excitatory messages
Chemical messages that make it more likely that a receiving neuron will fire and an action potential will travel down its axon
inhibitory messages
Chemical messages that prevent or decrease the likelihood that a receiving neuron will fire
reuptake
The reabsorption of neurotransmitters by a terminal button
central nervous system (CNS)
The part of the nervous system that includes the brain and spinal cord
spinal cord
A bundle of neurons that leaves the brain and runs down the length of the back and is the main means for transmitting messages between the brain and the body
reflex
An automatic, involuntary response to an incoming stimulus
sensory (afferent) neurons
Neurons that transmit information from the perimeter of the body to the central nervous system
motor (efferent) neurons
Neurons that communicate information from the nervous system to muscles and glands
interneurons
Neurons that connect sensory and motor neurons, carrying messages between the two
peripheral nervous system
The part of the nervous system that includes the autonomic and somatic subdivisions; made up of neurons with long axons and dendrites, it branches out from the spinal cord and brain and reaches the extremities of the body
somatic division
The part of the peripheral nervous system that specializes in the control of voluntary movements and the communication of information to and from the sense organs
autonomic division
the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary movement of the heart, glands, lungs, and other organs
sympathetic division
The part of the autonomic division of the nervous system that acts to prepare the body for action in stressful situations, engaging all the organism’s resources to respond to a threat
parasympathetic division
The part of the autonomic division of the nervous system that acts to calm the body after an emergency or a stressful situation has ended
behavioral genetics
the study of the effects of heredity on behavior
endocrine system
A chemical communication network that sends messages throughout the body via the bloodstream
hormones
Chemicals that circulate through the blood and regulate the functioning or growth of the body
pituitary gland
The major component of the endocrine system, or “master gland,” which secretes hormones that control growth and other parts of the endocrine system
central core
The “old brain,” which controls basic functions such as eating and sleeping and is common to all vertebrates
cerebellum
The part of the brain that controls bodily balance
reticular formation
The part of the brain extending from the medulla through the pons and made up of groups of nerve cells that can immediately activate other parts of the brain to produce general bodily arousal
thalamus
The part of the brain located in the middle of the central core that acts primarily to relay information about the senses
hypothalamus
A tiny part of the brain, located below the thalamus, that maintains homeostasis and produces and regulates vital behavior, such as eating, drinking, and sexual behavior
limbic system
The part of the brain that includes the amygdala and hippocampus, and controls eating, aggression, and reproduction
cerebral cortex
The “new brain,” responsible for the most sophisticated information processing in the brain; contains four lobes
What are the four main sections of the cerebral cortex?
frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe
motor area
The part of the cortex that is largely responsible for the body’s voluntary movement
sensory area
The site in the brain of the tissue that corresponds to each of the senses, with the degree of sensitivity related to the amount of the tissue allocated to that sense
association areas
One of the major regions of the cerebral cortex; the site of the higher mental processes, such as thought, language, memory, and speech
neuroplasticity
The brain’s ability to change throughout the life span through the addition of new neurons, new interconnections between neurons, and the reorganization of information-processing areas.
hemispheres
Symmetrical left and right halves of the brain that control the side of the body opposite to their location
lateralization
The dominance of one hemisphere of the brain in specific functions, such as language
biofeedback
A procedure in which a person learns to control through conscious thought internal physiological processes such as blood pressure, heart and respiration rate, skin temperature, sweating, and the constriction of particular muscles
sensation
The activation of the sense organs by a source of physical energy
perception
The sorting out, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli by the sense organs and brain
stimulus
Physical energy that produces a response in a sense organ
psychophysics
The study of the relationship between the physical aspects of stimuli and our psychological experience of them
absolute threshold
The smallest intensity of a stimulus that must be present for the stimulus to be detected
difference threshold
The smallest level of added or reduced stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred
weber’s law
A basic law of psychophysics stating that a just noticeable difference is in constant proportion to the intensity of an initial stimulus
adaptation
An adjustment in sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli
retina
The part of the eye that converts the electromagnetic energy of light to electrical impulses for transmission to the brain
rods
Thin, cylindrical receptor cells in the retina that are highly sensitive to light
cones
Cone-shaped, light-sensitive receptor cells in the retina that are responsible for sharp focus and color perception, particularly in bright light
optic nerve
A bundle of ganglion axons that carry visual information to the brain
feature detection
The activation of neurons in the cortex by visual stimuli of specific shapes or patterns
Trichromatic theory of color vision
The theory that there are three kinds of cones in the retina, each of which responds primarily to a specific range of wavelengths
Opponent-process theory of color vision
The theory that receptor cells for color are linked in pairs, working in opposition to each other
sound
The movement of air molecules brought about by a source of vibration
eardrum
The part of the ear that vibrates when sound hits it
semicircular canals
Three tubelike structures of the inner ear containing fluid that sloshes through them when the head moves, signaling rotational or angular movement to the brain
what are the four skin senses?
touch, pressure, temperature, and pain
gate-control theory of pain
The theory that particular nerve receptors lead to specific areas of the brain related to pain
gestalt laws of organization
Principles describing how we organize bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes
top-down processing
Perception that is guided by higher-level knowledge, experience, expectations, and motivations
bottom-up processing
Perception that consists of the progression of recognizing and processing information from individual components of a stimuli and moving to the perception of the whole
depth perception
The ability to view the world in three dimensions and to perceive distance
visual illusions
Physical stimuli that consistently produce errors in perception
Imaging that shows brain function
EEG, PET, fMRI, and TMS
Imaging that can show brain structure
fMRI and PET
sound localization
the process by which we identify the direction from which a sound is coming
Four basic stimulus qualities of taste
sweet, sour, salty, and bitter
What does A demonstrate?
closure
what does B demonstrate?
proximity
What does C demonstrate?
similarity
what does D demonstrate?
simplicity
