NS1: PS Flashcards
cross sectional design vs experimental
Depending on what researchers are studying, they can either employ a cross-sectional design or an experimental design.
Cross-sectional studies investigate a population at a single point in time, looking for predictive relationships among variables. A limitation of cross-sectional designs is that they can show correlations, but not causation, because looking at changes over time is necessary to assess whether a cause-and-effect relationship is present.
An experimental design involves manipulating a certain variable—known as an independent variable—to see what effects it has. The measured effects are known as dependent variables.
negative controls vs positive
Negative controls are treatments that are known to have no effect
Positive controls are treatments that are known to have a certain effect and can therefore be used to assess whether the experimental methodology was sound.
confounding variables vs moderating vs mediating
Confounding variables, which are external variables affecting both the independent and dependent variable
Vs. Moderating variables attenuate or strengthen a given relationship
Vs. Mediating variables provide an important logical link between an independent variable and a dependent variable, or outcome.
what is Cross’s Nigrescence Model
Cross posited that culture impacts identity and worldview.
In Cross’s Nigrescence Model, individuals of minority races are described as progressing through several stages of cultural awareness.
- pre-encounter, individuals are unaware of their race and the social implications that come with it
- encounter, individuals undergo an experience that suddenly and sharply calls race into perspective, and is generally an awakening to racial consciousness → one now realizes their race affects how others treat them
- immersion-emersion, individuals become consciously involved with groups of their own ethnicity to the exclusion of other groups → choice for
immersion into one’s culture coincides with a subsequent emersion from the oversimplified (and often racist immersion) experience that would otherwise be their realize - Internalization, individuals seek to rejoin society with a stronger sense of their own culture in order to forge relationships with those from other ethnic groups → moving towards resolving the perceived conflicts btwn their pre-encounter and post-encounter perspectives
- Internalization-commitment, individuals seek a balance of comfort btwn their racial or ethnic identity and that of others they engage with → generally individuals of this stage still engage in meaningful activities to promote social equality and political justice for their group members
what are the classes of consciousness-altering drugs
“get MOSH’D” mnemonic
marijuana opiates stimulants hallucinogens depressants
what is marijuana
marijuana has qualities of a stimulant, depressant, and hallucinogen
Marijuana, which is the name used for the leaves and flowers of the plants Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica, has an active chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which affects certain receptors in the brain
Additionally, THC increases the production of GABA and dopamine
Physiologically, THC can cause an increase in appetite, dry mouth, fatigue, eye redness, lowered blood pressure, and increased heart rate.
what are opiates
Opiates are derived from the poppy plant and include such drugs as morphine and codeine.
Opiates cause a sense of euphoria and a decreased reaction to pain by binding to opioid receptors in the nervous system.
Opiate overdose can cause death when the brain stops sending signals for respiration. After prolonged use, these drugs can cause the brain to entirely stop producing endorphins, meaning that withdrawal is very painful.
what are stimulants
Stimulants increase arousal in the nervous system, often through the release and inhibition of the reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin → This effectively increases arousal, increasing heart rate and blood pressure, and creating effects of anxiety, delusions of grandeur, euphoria, hypervigilance, and decreased appetite.
what are hallucinogens
Hallucinogens, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and ketamine, distort perception, enhance sensory experiences, and cause introspection, all while increasing heart rate and blood pressure, increasing body temperature, and dilating the pupils.
what are depressants
Depressants cause relaxation by reducing nervous system activity.
Alcohol is the most commonly used depressant. It works by stimulating the production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter associated with reduced anxiety, and dopamine, which promotes euphoria.
what is the drive reduction theory vs arousal theory
Drive reduction theory examines the actions we take to fulfill (reduce) basic biological drives, like hunger, thirst, or reproduction.
Arousal theory posits that people behave or act in certain ways to maintain a level of optimal arousal, which varies from person to person.
Yerkes-Dodson law, which states that performance of a behavior tends to be negatively impacted at high and low levels of arousal
- Low levels of arousal may indicate that the individual is not interested enough to continue performing the task
- High levels may indicate that the task induces anxiety, thus impairing the efforts made towards the task
- The optimal level of arousal is somewhere between the two
what are some psychological disorders
“SenD w a STAMP” mnemonic
somatic disorders dissociative disorders schizophrenia trauma and stress-related disorders anxiety disorders mood disorders personality disorders
describe the following disorders:
- somatic
- dissociative
- schizophrenia
Somatic disorders are unified by somatic (bodily) symptoms that can cause stress and impairment to the sufferer. These symptoms generally lack an identifiable physical cause. Alternatively, the individual may be impaired by irrational fears of developing or having a disease, as in illness anxiety disorder.
Dissociative disorders involve the disruption or breakdown of perception, identity, memory, or awareness. Individuals with these conditions feel disconnected from reality. Often, this dissociation serves to provide an unintentional escape from reality or barrier against stress from a life event.
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder, meaning that sufferers experience at least one of the following symptoms: delusions, disorganized thoughts, disorganized behavior, hallucinations, catatonia, and negative symptoms.
describe the following disorders:
- trauma
- anxiety
- mood
- personality
Trauma and stress-related disorders typically arise in response to a highly stressful or traumatic life event
Anxiety disorders involve a state of excessive apprehension, worry, or panic
Mood disorders are characterized by the persistent, abnormal elevation and/or lowering of one’s mood, which refers to a sustained, internal state of feeling or emotion
Personality disorders are characterized by long-lasting, maladaptive patterns of behavior that can impair cognition, emotion, interpersonal behavior and communication, and/or impulse control.
define the following
- incidence
- prevalence
- risk ratio
- mortality
- epidemiology (2)
- risk factors
Incidence describes the number of new cases of a disease (in this case, multiple sclerosis) during a specific time interval (a year).
Prevalence rates describe how common multiple sclerosis is. More specifically, they tell us how many people (new cases and current cases) have multiple sclerosis within a certain amount of time.
Risk ratios compare the risk of multiple sclerosis among one group with the risk among another group.
Mortality rates describe the number of deaths caused by multiple sclerosis within a specific population and a certain amount of time.
Epidemiology is the study of how health and illnesses are distributed across populations, and social epidemiology focuses on how societal factors influence this distribution.
Risk factors are any variables that increase the likelihood of having or developing a certain illness
what is a locus of control
Locus of control refers to the extent to which people believe they have control of their lives and the events that affect them.
People with an internal locus of control believe that they have control over situations and events, that their actions can contribute to influencing the outcomes.
People with an external locus of control believe that they have no control over situations and events, that only outside forces contribute to influencing the outcomes.
define the following designs:
- longitudinal
- randomized
- cross sectional
- case control
Longitudinal cohort design: following a group of individuals and assessed them at multiple intervals over a period of time
Vs. Randomized controlled trials randomly assign participants to one of two groups: an experimental group and a control group.
Vs. Cross-sectional designs examine a group of individuals at one point in time.
Vs. Case control designs compare information about individuals with a disease or condition against people without the disease or condition.
what is correlation
Two variables are correlated if an increase (or decrease) in one variable predicts an increase or decrease in the other.
A positive correlation occurs when an increase in one variable predicts an increase in the other, and a negative correlation occurs when an increase in one variable predicts a decrease in the other.
Typically, correlations are linear, which means that a line of best fit can be drawn to express the statistical trend – but not always!
what is socialization
Socialization is the lifelong process through which people inherit, develop, and disseminate social norms, customs, and belief systems.
Primary socialization: learning of acceptable actions and attitudes during childhood
Secondary socialization: learning what is acceptable and appropriate in a smaller, more focused section of society
Anticipatory socialization: learning of how to prepare for future changes that we anticipate
what are the three key sociological theories
Symbolic interactionism focuses on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interactions.
Conflict theory instead emphasizes the role of coercion and power in producing social order. It sees society as fragmented into groups that compete for social and economic resources.
Functionalism views society as a system of interconnected parts that carry out a specific role that enables them to cooperate to maintain social equilibrium for society as a whole.
what are other theoretical perspectives for societal behavior
“GRASS” mnemonic
Game theory views social interaction as a game in which there will be winners, losers, and proper ways to “play” in order to achieve “victory
Rational choice theory: people make individualistic, rational, and calculated decisions about all things in their lives
Anomie: social instability caused by the breakdown of social bonds, such as social norms, between individuals and communities
Sociobiology: applies evolutionary biology to help explain social behaviors
Social exchange theory: views society as a series of interactions that are based on estimates of rewards and punishments → interactions are determined by the rewards or punishments that we receive from others
what are the gestalt principles
Principle of Proximity: objects that are arranged close to each other will be perceived as forming a group
Principle of Similarity: objects that are similar to each other in terms of color or other properties will be grouped together
Principle of Closure: people tend to infer complete shapes even if a shape is incompletely sketched out or blocked by another object
Principle of Good Continuation: we perceive intersecting objects as forming coherent wholes
what is sensation vs perception
Sensation refers to the process by which auditory, electromagnetic, physical, and other kinds of information from the environment are converted into electrical signals within the human nervous system → provides the raw signal, communicating information, entering the nervous system through receptors in the peripheral nervous systems
Perception is the processing of this raw information.
Therefore, it is sensation that gives us information from the world around us and perception that allows us to make sense of it.
