PSY 150: Midterm Flashcards
Principal Contributors of behavioral perspective
John B. Watson
Ivan Pavlov
B.F. Skinner
Effects of environment on the overt behavior of humans and animals
behavioral perspective
Principal Contributors of psychoanalytic theory
Sigmund Freud
Carl Jung
Alfred Adler
Subject Matter of cognitive theory
thoughts, mental processes
Only observable events (stimulus-response relations) can be studied scientifically
basic premise of behavioral
Humans are free, rational beings with the potential for personal growth, and they are fundamentally different from animals
basic premise of humanistic theory
unconscious determinants of behavior
subject matter of psychoanalytic theory
physiological bases of behavior in humans in animals
subject matter of biological theory
evolutionary bases of behavior in humans and animals
subject matter of evolutionary theory
Principal contributors of biological theory
James Olds
Roger Sperry
David Hubel
Torsten Wiesel
Principal contributors of humanistic theory
Carl Rogers
Abraham Maslow
unconscious motives and experiences in earl childhood govern personality and mental disorders
basic premise of psychoanalytic theory
humans are free, rational beings with potential for personal growth, and they are fundamentally different from animals
basic premise of humanistic theory
principal contributors of cognitive theory
Jean Piaget
Noam Chomsky
Herbert Simon
principal contributors of evolutionary theory
David Buss Martin Daly Margo Wilson Leda Cosmides John Tooby
psychological bases of behavior in humans and animals
subject matter of biological theory
evolutionary bases of behavior in humans and animals
subject matter of evolutionary theory
an organism’s functioning can be explained in terms of the bodily structures and biochemical processes that underlie behavior
basic premise of biological theory
behavior patterns have evolved to solve adaptive problems; natural selection favors behaviors that enhance reproductive success.
basic premise evolutionary theory
unique aspects of human experience
subject matter of humanistic theory
looks at human development across the life span. developmental psychology once focused primarily on child development, but today devotes a great deal of research to adolescence, adulthood, and old age.
developmental psychology
focuses on interpersonal behavior and the role of social forces in governing behavior. Typical topics include attitude formation, attitude change, prejudice, conformity, attraction, aggression, intimate relationships, and behavior in groups.
social psychology
studies how people learn and the best ways to teach them. Examines curriculum design, teacher training, achievement testing, student motivation, classroom diversity, and other aspects of the educational process.
educational psychology
focuses on how psychological factors relate to the promotion and maintenance of physical health and the causation, prevention, and treatment of illness
health psychology
examines the influence of genetic factors on behavior and the role of the brain, nervous system, endocrine system, and bodily chemicals in the regulation of behavior.
physiological psychology
encompasses the traditional core of topics that psychology focused on heavily in the first half-century as a science; sensation, perception, learning, conditioning, motivation, and emotion.
experimental psychology
focuses on “higher” mental processes, such as memory, reasoning, information processing language, problem solving, decision making, and creativity
cognitive psychology
is concerned with the measurement of behavior and capacities, usually through the development of psychological tests. Psychometrics is involved with the design of tests to assess personality, intelligence, and a wide range of abilities. It is also concerned with development of new techniques for statistical analysis.
psychometrics
is interested in describing and understanding individuals’ consistency in behavior, which represents their personality. This area of interest is also concerned with the factors that shape personality and with personality assessment.
personality
Most popular focus of research
developmental
Least popular focus of research
personality
Second most popular focus of research
social
Focuses of professional practice
clinical psychology
counseling psychology
industrial and organization psychology
school psychology
psychologists that are concerned with the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals with psychological disorders, as well as treatment of less severe behavioral and emotional problems. Principal activities include interviewing clients, psychological testing, and providing group or individual psychotherapy
clinical psychology
this psychology overlaps with clinical psychology in that specialists in both areas engage in similar activities - interviewing, testing, and providing therapy. However, these psychologists usually work with a somewhat different clientele, providing assistance to people struggling with everyday problems of moderate severity. Thus, they often specialize in family, marital, or career counseling.
counseling psychology
psychologists in this area perform a wide variety of tasks in the world of business and industry. these tasks include running human resources departments, working to improve staff morale and attitudes, striving to increase job satisfaction and productivity, examining organizational structures and procedures, and making recommendations for improvements.
industrial and organizational psychology
these psychologists strive to promote the cognitive, emotional, and social development of children in schools. They usually work in elementary or secondary schools, where they test and counsel children having difficulties in school and aid parents and teachers in solving school-related problems.
school psychology
Largest psychology professional practice focus
clinical
a research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable as a result.
experiment
a condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable
independent variable
the variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable
dependent variable
consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable.
experimental group
consists of similar subjects who do not receive the special treatment given to the experimental group
control group
any variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study
extraneous variables
when two variables are linked in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effects
confounding of variables
random assignment of subjects occurs when all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition in the study
random assignment
consist of differing approaches to the observation measurement, manipulation, and control of variables in empirical studies.
research methods
exists when two variables are related to each other
correlation
______ methods permit investigators to see only whether there is a link or association between the variables of interest.
descriptive or correlational
the results of descriptive research are often summarized with a statistic called _____.
the correlation coefficient
a _____ correlation indicates that two variables co-vary (change together) in the same direction.
positive
a _____ correlation indicates that two variables co-vary in the opposite direction.
negative
a numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables
correlation coefficient
The _____ of a correlation depends only on the size of the coefficient.
strength
A correlation of -.60 reflects a _____ relationship than a correlation of +.30.
stronger
A coefficient near zero indicates _____ relationship.
no
As a correlation increases in strength (gets closer to +1.00 or -1.00) the ability to predict one variable based on knowledge of the other variable _____.
increases
Correlation is ______ to causation.
not equivalent
the repetition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated
replication
______ combines the statistical results of many studies of the same question, yielding an estimate of the size and consistency of a variable’s effects
meta-analysis
the collection of subjects selected for observation in an empirical study
sample
the much larger collection of animals or people (from which the sample is drawn) that researchers want to generalize about.
population
______ exists when a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn
sampling bias
_____ occur when participants’ expectations lead them to experience some change even though they receive empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment.
placebo effects
Placebo effects tend to be weak effects.
True or False
False
One of the most problematic of these distortions is the _____, which is a tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself.
social desirability bias
The ____, which occurs when someone’s overall evaluation of a person, object, or institution spills over to influence more specific ratings.
halo effect
______ occurs when a researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained.
Experimenter bias
The ______ procedure is a research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups.
double-bling
precise control over variables can eliminate alternative explanations for findings. researchers are able to draw conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships between variables.
advantages of experiment research method
This research method is well suited for study of psychological disorders and therapeutic practices. Individual cases can provide compelling illustrations to support or undermine a theory.
advantages of case studies
This research method can be good place to start when little is known about the phenomena under study and unlike other descriptive/correlational methods, it can be used to study animal as well as human behavior.
advantages of naturalistic observation
artificiality that can be a problem in laboratory studies is minimized with this research method.
naturalistic observation
Data collection can be relatively easy, saving time and money. Researchers can gather data on difficult to observe aspects of behavior. Questionnaires are well suited for gathering data on attitudes, values, and beliefs from large samples.
advantages of surveys
contrived laboratory situations are often artificial, making it risky to generalize findings to the real world.
disadvantage of experiments
ethical concerns and practical realities preclude _____ on many important questions.
experiments
it can be difficult to remain unobtrusive; even animal behavior may be altered by the ____ process.
observation
researchers are unable to draw causal conclusions which this method
case studies
self report data are often _____, due to intentional deception, social desirability bias, response sets, memory lapses, and poor wording of questions.
unreliable
individual cells in the nervous system that receive, integrate, and transmit information
neurons
____ or the cell body that contains the cell nucleus and much of the chemical machinery common to most cells
soma
____ are the parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.
dendrites
The ____ is a long, thin fiber that transmits signals away from the soma to other neurons or to the muscles or glands.
axon
In humans, many axons are wrapped in cells with a high concentration of a white, fatty substance called ____.
myelin
The ____ is insulating material that encases some axons.
myelin sheath
the axon ends in a cluster of terminal buttons, which are small knobs that secrete chemicals called ______.
neurotransmitters
a ____ is a junction where information is transmitted from one neuron to another.
synapse
released by motor neurons controlling skeletal muscles that contributes to the regulation of attention, arousal, and memory. some of these receptors stimulated by nicotine.
Acetylcholine (ACH)
neurotransmitter contributes to control of voluntary movement
dopamine (DA)
resemble opiate drugs in structure and effects and play role in pain relief and response to stress
endorphins
contribute to regulation of eating behavior
endorphins
serves as widely distributed inhibitory transmitter, contributing to regulation of anxiety and sleep/arousal
GABA
valium and similar antianxiety drugs work at ____ synapses
GABA
involved in regulation of sleep and wakefulness, eating, aggression
serotonin
prozac and similar antidepressant drugs affect ____ circuits
serotonin
contributes to modulation of mood and arousal
norepinephrine (NE)
cocaine and amphetamines elevate activity at ____ synapses
norepinephrine (NE)
_____ circuits in medial forebrain bundle characterized as “reward pathway”
dopamine
part of limbic system involved in emotion and aggression
amygdala
responsible for regulating basic biological needs; hunger, thirst, temperature control
hypothalamus
“master” gland that regulates other endocrine glands
pituitary gland
part of limbic system involved in learning and memory
hippocampus
involved in sleep and arousal
pons
responsible for regulating largely unconscious functions such as breathing and circulation
medulla
responsible for transmitting information between brain and rest of body; handles simple reflexes
spinal cord
group of fibers that carry stimulation related to sleep and arousal through brainstem
reticular formation
structure that coordinates fine muscle movement, balanace
cerebellum
responsible for sensing, thinking, learning, emotion, consciousness, and voluntary movement
cerebrum
bridge of fibers passing information between the two cerebral hemispheres
corpus callosum
relay center for cortex handles incoming and outgoing signals
thalamus
includes the cerebellum and two structures found in the lower part of the brainstem: the medulla and the pons
hindbrain
“little brain”
cerebellum
the segment of the brainstem that lies between the hindbrain and the forebrain
midbrain
the largest and most complex region of the brain, encompassing a variety of structures, including the thalamus, limbic system, and cerebrum
forebrain
the convoluted outer layer of the cerebrum
cerbral cortex
the cortical area where most visual signals are sent and visual processing is begun
occipital lobe
“primary visual cortex”
occipital lobe
Near its top it contains an area devoted to auditory processing
temporal lobe
“primary auditory cortex”
temporal lobe
the largest lobe in the human brain
frontal lobe
“primary motor cortex”
frontal lobe
principal areas that control the movement of muscles
frontal lobe
specialized visual receptors that play a key role in daylight vision and color vision
cones
handles daytime vision
cones
Cones provide better _____ than rods.
sharpness and precise detail
cones are concentrated most heavily in the center of the ___ and quickly fall off in density toward its sides.
retina
specialized visual receptors that play a key role in night vision and peripheral vision.
rods
rods handle night vision because they are up to ___ times more sensitive than cones to dim light.
100
the two types of receptors contained in the retina
rods and cones
Axons leaving the back of each eye form the ___, which travel to the optic chiasm.
optic nerves
the point at which the axons from the inside half of each eye cross over and then project to the opposite half of the brain
optic chiasm
left visual field
the right side of each retina
right visual field
the left side of each retina
the optic nerve fibers split along two pathways
lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)
the superior colliculus
the major visual pathway projects through the ____ pathway into the ____ onto the primary visual cortex
LGN
thalamus
A second pathway detours through the ______ and then projects through the _____ and on to the primary visual cortex
superior collicuus
thalamus
left visual field to what hemisphere
right hemisphere
right visual field to what hemisphere
left hemisphere
visual signals are processed in the LGN and then distributed to areas in the _____ lobe that make up the primary visual cortex.
occipital
After the initial cortical processing of visual input takes place here, signals are typically sent to the ____ and ____ lobes for additional processing.
temporal and parietal
the second pathway appears to be the _____ or visual input with other sensory input.
coordination
Sound is conducted differently in each ____.
section
The external ear depends on the _______.
vibration of air molecules
The middle ear depends on the _____.
vibration of movable bones
The inner ear depends on _____, which are finally converted into a stream of neural signals sent to the brain.
waves in a fluid
The external ear consists mainly of the _____, a sound-collecting cone.
pinna
sound waves collected by the pinna are funneled along the auditory canal toward the, ______, a taut membrane that vibrates in response.
eardrum
In the middle ear, the vibrations of the eardrum are transmitted inward by a mechanical chain made up of the three tiniest bones in the body known as the ____.
ossicles
the three bones that make up the ossicles
the hammer
the anvil
the stirrup
The ossicles form a three-stage lever system that converts relatively large movements with little force into smaller motions with ____ force.
greater
the ossicles serve to _____ tiny changes in air pressure.
amplify
The inner ear consists largely of the ______.
cochlea
a fluid-filled, coiled tunnel that contains the receptors for hearing
cochela
Sound enters the cochlea through the _____, which is vibrated by the ossicles.
oval windows
The ear’s neural tissue, which is functionally similar to the retina in the eye, lies with the _____.
cochlea
the ear’s neural tissue sits on the _____ that divides the cochlea into upper and lower chambers.
basilar membrane
runs the length of the spiraled cochlea, holds the auditory receptors, called hair cells.
basilar membrane
Waves in the fluid of the inner ear stimulate the hair cells that convert the physical stimulation into neural impulses that are sent to the ____.
brain
The signals from the ear are routed through the _____ to the auditory cortex, which is located mostly in the temporal lobes of the brain.
thalamus
the receptors for pain are mostly free nerve endings in the ____.
skin
Pain messages are transmitted to the brain via two pathways that pas through different areas in the _____.
thalamus
One pain pathway is referred to as the ______ that registers localized pain and relays it to the cortex in a fraction of a second.
fast pathway
When you feel sharp pain it comes through what pathway
fast pathway
Pain messages are transmitted through the ____ pathway, routed through the limbic system, that lags a second or two behind the fast system.
slow pathway
this pathway conveys the less localized, longer-lasting aching or burning pain that comes after an initial injury
slow pathway
There is a series of ___ distinct stages of sleep
5
The onset of sleep is _____, with no obvious transition point between wakefulness and sleep.
gradual
The length of time it takes people to fall asleep varies considerably, but the average is ____ minutes.
25
The time it takes you to fall asleep depends on quite an array of factors including (8)
the person is in his or her circadian cycle the amount of noise or light in the sleep environment person's age desire to fall asleep boredom level recent caffeine drug intake stress level
Stage 1 of sleep is a brief transitional stage of ___ sleep that usually lasts only ____ to ____ minutes.
light
10 to 12 minutes
During the 1st stage of sleep the breathing and heart rate slow as your ______ and body temperature decline.
muscle tension
The alpha waves that probably dominated your EEG activity just before you fell asleep give way to _____ EEG activity.
lower-frequency
Theta waves are prominent in this stage.
stage 1 of sleep
As you descend through stages 2, 3, and 4 of the sleep cycle, your respiration rate, heart rate, muscle tension, and body temperature ____.
continue to decline.
Gradually, your brain waves become higher in amplitude and _____ in frequency, as you move into a deeper form of sleep called ______.
slower
slow wave sleep
consists of sleep stages 3 and 4, during which low-frequency delta waves become prominent in EEG recordings.
slow-wave sleep
You reach slow-wave sleep in _____ and stay there for roughly a half-hour then the sleep cycle reverses itself and you gradually move upward through lighter stages of sleep.
less than an hour
When you reach what should be stage 1 once again, you usually go into the ___ stage of sleep known as ___.
fifth
REM
REM is the abbreviation for _____, which are prominent during this stage.
rapid eye movements
In a sleep lab, researchers use an ____ to monitor these lateral movements (REM) that occur beneath the sleeping person’s closed eyelids.
electrooculograph
The REM stage tends to be a _____ stage of sleep in the conventional sense that is relatively ____ to awaken a person from it.
deep
hard
The REM stage is also marked by ____ breathing and ____.
irregular
pulse rate
Muscle tone is _____ that bodily movements are minimal and the sleeper is virtually ____.
extremely relaxes
paralyzed.
Although REM is a relatively deep sleep stage, EEG activity is dominated by ______ waves that resemble those observed when people are alert and awake.
high-frequency beta
The EEG activity is dominated by high-frequency beta waves that resemble those observed when people are ____ and ____.
alert and awake
During the various stages of sleep, most dream reports come from awakenings during the ___ stage.
REM
Most research has revealed that some dreaming occurs in the non-REM stages, dreaming is most ____, ___, and ___ during REM sleep.
frequent, vivid, and memorable
consists of sleep stages 1 through 4, which are marked by an absence of rapid eye movements, relatively little dreaming, and varied EEG activity.
non-REM sleep
During the course of a night, people usually repeat the sleep cycle about ___ times.
four
REM periods get progressively ______, peaking at around ____ minutes through the night.
longer
40- 60 minutes
the first REM period is relatively short only lasting ____
a few minutes
non-REM intervals tend to get _____ and descents into non-REM stages usually become more ____ as the night progresses.
shorter
shallow
Most slow-wave sleep occurs ____ in the sleep cycle.
early
REM sleep tends to pile up in the ____ of the sleep cycle.
second half
Young adults typically spend about 15%-20% of their sleep time in _____ and another 20 to 25% in ____ sleep.
slow wave sleep
REM
the last REM period of the night has the ____ eye movements and may be the period from which dreams are best remembered.
fastest
newborns will sleep __ to ___ times in a 24 hour period often exceeding a total of 16 hours of sleep.
6 to 8 times
Infants spend much more of their sleep time than adults do in the ____ stage.
REM
REM accounts for about ___% of babies sleep, as compared to ___% of adults.
50%
20%
During the remainder of the year, the REM portion of infants sleep declines gradually to roughly ___% until it levels on to ___% in adolesence.
30%
20%
During adulthood, gradual, age-related changes in sleep continue and the percentage of ____ declines and the percentage of time spent in stage one ___ causing increased frequency of nighttime awakening among the elderly.
slow wave sleep
increases
chronic problems in getting adequate sleep
insomnia
Insomnia occurs in three basic patterns
difficulty in falling asleep initially
difficulty in remaining asleep
persistent early-morning awakening
associated with day time fatigue, impaired functioning, and elevated risk for accidents, reduced productivity, absenteeism at work, depression, and increased health problems.
insomnia
Sedatives are a ___ long range solution for insomnia.
poor
a disease marked by sudden and irresistible onsets of sleep during normal waking periods
narcolepsy
____ is the most common difficulty associated with sleep.
insomnia
A person suffering from narcolepsy goes directly from wakefulness to ____ sleep, usually for a short period (10 - 20 minutes).
REM
frequent, reflexive gasping for air that awakens a person and disrupts sleep.
sleep apnea
Apnea occurs when a person literally stops breathing for a minimum of ___ seconds.
10 seconds
_____ it increases vulnerability to hypertension, coronary disease, and stroke.
insomnia
occurs when a person arises and wanders about while remaining asleep.
somnambulism or sleepwalking
____ tends to occur during the first 3 hours of sleep, when individuals are in slow wave sleep.
sleep walking or somnambulism
a type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus
classical conditioning
a stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning.
unconditioned stimulus (US)
an unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus that occurs without previous conditioning
unconditioned response (UR)
a previously neutral stimulus that has, through conditioning acquired the capacity to evoke a conditioned response.
conditioned stimulus (CS)
a learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous conditioning
conditioned response (CR)
in classical conditioning consists of any presentation of a stimulus or pair of stimuli
trial
Before Conditioning
NS (neutral stimulus) —–> no response
US (unconditioned stimulus) meat powder —->
UR (unconditioned response) salivation
During Conditioning
NS (neutral stimulus) tone AND
US (unconditioned stimulus) meat powder ——>
UR (unconditioned response) salivation
After conditioning
CS (conditioned stimulus) tone ——>
CR (conditioned response) salivation
Summary
an originally neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response that it did not previously elicit
a form of learning in which voluntary responses come to be controlled by their consequences.
operant conditioning
when an event following a response increases an organism’s tendency to make that response
reinforcement
The fundamental principle of operant conditioning is uncommonly simple: Skinner demonstrated that organisms tend to ____ those responses that are followed by _____.
repeat
favorable consequences
A response is ____ because it leads to rewarding consequences.
strengthened
an enclosure in which an animal can make a specific response that is sytematically recorded while consequences of the response are controlled.
a Skinner box
Operant responses such as lever pressing and disk pecking are said to be ____ rather than elicited.
emitted
to emit means to ___.
send forth
Operant conditioning mainly governs ____ responses instead of reflex responses.
voluntary
the circumstances or rules that determine whether responses lead to the presentation of reinforcers.
reinforcement contingencies
the key dependent variable in most research on operant condition is the subjects’ _____
response rate over time.
creates a graphic record of responding and reinforcement in a Skinner box as a function of time.
cumulative recorder
is the formation of a new response tendency
acquisition in operant conditioning
Operant responses are typically established through a gradual process called ___.
shaping
the reinforcement of closer and closer approximations of a desired response
shaping
the gradual weakening and disappearance of a response tendency because the response is no longer followed by reinforcement.
extinction
A key issue in operant conditioning is how much ____ to extinction an organism will display when reinforcement is halted.
resistance
when an organism continues to make a response after delivery of the reinforcer for it has been terminated.
resistance to extinction
If a researcher stops giving reinforcement for lever pressing and the response tapers off slowly, the response show _____ to extinction.
high resistance
If a researchers stops giving reinforcement for lever pressing and the response tapers off quickly, it shows _____ to extinction
little resistance
are cues that influence operant behavior by indication the probable consequences (reinforcement or nonreinforcement) of a response
discriminative stimuli
an organism’s responding to stimuli other than the original stimulus used in conditioning
stimulus generalization
an organism’s lack of response to stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus used in conditioning
stimulus discrimination
events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs
primary reinforcers
reinforcers are events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers.
secondary or conditioned reinforcers.
occurs when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus
positive reinforcement
occurs when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an aversive (unpleasant) stimulus
negative reinforcement
an organism acquires a response that decreases or ends some aversive stimulation
escape learning
a limited capacity store that can maintain unrehearsed information for up to about 20 seconds
short term memory (STM)
the process of repetitively verbalizing or thinking about information
rehearsal
a group of familiar stimuli stored as a single unit
a chunk
a modular system for temporary storage and manipulation of information
working memory
refers to one’s ability to hold and manipulate information in conscious attention
working memory capacity (WMC)
an unlimited capacity store that can hold information over lengthy periods of time
long term memory (LTM)
unusually vivid and detailed recollections of momentous events
flashbulb memories
The Atkinson and Shiffrin Model of Memory Storage
Sensory Memory
- a large amount of information just long enough for a small portion of it to be selected for longer storage
Short-term Memory
-limited capacity and unless aided by rehearsal, its storage duration is brief
Long-term Memory
- can store an apparently unlimited amount of information for indeterminate periods.
the temporary inability to remember something you know. accompanied by a feeling that it’s just out of reach.
tip of the tongue phenomenon
an organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object or event abstracted from previous experience with the object or event
schema
occurs when participants recall of an event that they witnessed is altered by introducing misleading postevent information
misinformation effect
the process of making inferences about the origins of memories
source monitoring
occurs when a memory derived from one source is misattributed to another source
source monitoring error
