Intro to Psych Midterm Flashcards
What is Psychology?
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Who is the father of Psychology?
Wilhelm Wundt, 1st Psychology lab in 1879, Leipzig, Germany
What is empirical evidence?
Any type of evidence gathered through direct observation
What is the difference between behavior and mental processes?
Behavioral is public (overt)
Mental is private (covert)
What are the goals of psychology and their definitions?
Description- naming & classifying
Understanding- ability to state the cause of a behavior
Prediction- ability to accurately forecast behavior
Control- the ability to alter the conditions that affect behavior
What is Freud’s theory of Dreaming? (2 reasons)
We dream for 2 reason, internal conflicts and wishful fulfillments
What is a hypothesis?
An educated guess about the relationship between variables
Why do we use sampling in research?
We use sampling to represent a population (college students)
What are neurons composed of?
Axom, Soma, and dendrites
How many neurons do we have?
100 billion
How do neurons work?
They receive nerve impulses via dendrites, pass them to the soma, who creates a new nerve impulse, and sends them via the axom
What are the 6 neurotransmitters?
Acetylcholine, Dopamine, GABA, Glutamate, Norepinephirene, Serotonin
Function of Acetylcholine?
Participates in movement, autonomic functions, learning and memory
Function of Dopamine
Participates in motivation, reward, & planning of behavior
Function of GABA
Major inhibitory effect in the CNS, participates in mood
Function of Glutamate
Major excitatory effect in the CNS, participates in learning and memory
Functions of Norepinephirine
Participates in arousal & vigilance & mood
Functions of Serotonin
Participates in mood, appetite, & sleep
Function and breakdown of the Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System
CNS- Brain & spinal cord, controls PNS, does not need body
PNS- bones, skin, organs (nerves connecting body to CNS)
Somatic Nervous System- nerves system linking spinal cord to body & sense organs
Autonomic Nervous System- nerves carrying info to & from internal organs & glands
Sympathetic Branch- arouses the body “fight or flight”
Parasympathetic branch- quiets the body, lowers arousal level
Sensation & Perception
Sensation- sensories impression, process of detecting physical energies with sensory organs
Perception- mental process of organizing sensations into meaningful patterns
Perception cannot exist without Sensations
What is the sensory receptor cell?
Cells that receive sensations
Why do we daydream?
a daydream is a vivid waking fantasy, it is also used for divergent thinking, it allows greater mental flexibility or creativity
