Psych Exam 1 Flashcards
Explain hindsight bias
We are good at explaining things AFTER they happen
What is HARKing
Hypothesizing after results are known
Explain confirmation bias
the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of your already existing beliefs
availability heuristic
Things that are more “accessible” to one are more likely to be overestimated. It is our tendency to use information that comes to mind quickly when making decisions. How easily something comes to mind influences how common/likely we think it is.
Theory
A way to organize scientific observation. It is not just a guess or a hunch. Theories can be dropped or altered with more evidence
What is a hypothesis
hypothesizes are more specific than theories and they need to be able to be tested.
what does it mean to operationalize a constuct
It is the processing of defining measurable ways on how you measure a construct in a specific study.
why is it important to be able to falsify a theory or hypothesis
It is not a fact and being able to falsify it allows forward movement in the research and to learn more
Basic theory
meant to develop theory and expand knowledge of a topic. These are done in a controlled environment
Applied theory
examines topics in the real world. Allows researchers to examine theories in environments with lots of uncertainty
Measurement in psych is different. Why?
In other scientific fields measurement can be easy but in psych it is not that straightforward. In psych, a constuct is an abstract variable you want to study.
What are the 2 components of measurement
true score and measurememt error
true score
the exact amount of a given construct. we never know this for sure because we can’t measure a lot of things
measurement error
the error that comes from wording of questions, unclear instuctions, mistakes in data, etc.
Measuring constructs/how to operationalize
usually measured in numeric values. This can be done through behaviors, questionares, observations, etc. It has to realistically be measurable.
Type of measurement data/operalization
nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio
nominal data
no ranking order (ex is fav color)
ordinal data
ranking order with a consistent distance. It doesn’t tell the difference between rankings (ex olympic athlete finish order)
interval data
ranking order, consistent data, no zero value. (ex degrees or year someone was born)
ratio data
ranking order, consistent distance, THERE IS a zero (ex height)
reliability
consistency of findings
validity
correct assumptions/ measuring what you want to
internal validity
how well you can determine causality. if correlational, the outcome must change because of the predictor
temporal precedence
the idea in internal validity that things have to work in real time order.
external validity
generalizing something to a greater context
random vs. convenience sample
Random is ideal but impossible to achieve. Convenience is closer to random and easier to achieve
measures of central tendency
a summary measure to describe sets of date (mean, median, mode)
3 elements that determine causality
Co-variation, temporal precedence, elimination of plausible alternatives
co-variation
correlation. Outcome varies because of the predictor
elimination or plausible alternatives
do so by using random assignment, experiemental control, or measurement of 3rd variables
what is descriptive research
describing how the world is. Describing what things are like.
advantages of descriptive research
high external validity, and easier to collect data
disadvantages of descriptive research
sometimes baheviors are hard to observe, harder to not affect the data, doesn’t tell you why something happens, no comparison between variables, confounding variables
confounding variables
another variable that affects the outcome variable that was not accounted for
correlational research
tells us two things between variables: 1) what is the strengths of the relationships between them and 2) what is the direction of the relationship (is it positive or negative). Correlational research helps describe and predict relationships WITHOUT MANIPULATING THE VARIABLES
what are cross sectional variables
a correlational study where both variables are measured at the same time
what are longitudinal variables
a correlational study where variables are measured over time.
disadvantages of correlational research
correlation is not causation and counfounding variables are not controleld
what are the advantages of correlational research
shows the realtionship between variables, helps with prediction, good for natural variables, higher external validity because there is no manipulation, etc.
what are the advantages of experimental research
controls all possible alternatives and there is a strong likelihood that results are a causality
what are the disadvantages of experiemental research
less external validity, can be time consuming and cost a lot, you have to manipulate everything and it can be difficult
what are 3 basic principles of ethical research
beneficence, autonomy, justice
beneficence
the ethical practice of maximizing benefits (to participants and society) in minimizing risks in a study
autonomy
the ethical practice of informed consent + rights as well as non-penalized option to leave the study at any time
Justice
the ethical practice of being fair in participant selection
debreifing
important after a study to explain the purpose of a study and to undo any discomfort experinced.
action potential
electrical signals that run down the axon. It begins when dendrites give a signal and it ends at terminal buttons
magnitude of action potential (what does it mean by all or nothing)
all or nothing: fires at the same level when excitatory signals are suffieicntly high relative to inhibitatory signals. magnitude is NOT intensity. It is an independet thing
intensity of stimulus of action potential
rate of fire and number of neurons firing
myelin
fatty cells that insulate axon and allow for action potential to move faster. unmyelinated is 0.3 meters/second and myelinated is 50meters/second
terminal buttons
release of neurotransmitters. located at end of axon
synpatic cleft/gap
gap between terminal buttons of one neuron and dendrites of the next
neurotransmitter
chemical messengers that are released and attach to receptor sites
receptor site
located on dendrites and accept neurotransmitters
reuptake
neurotransmitters that dont bind to receptor sites and they are brought back into the terminal buttons
glial cells (3 main roles)
cells that provide nutrients, insulation (they are in myelin) and destroy pathogens
agonist
molecules that increase a neurotransmitters action (ex: SSRI)
antagonist
molecules that block a neurotransmitters action (ex: botox does this)
sensory neurons
carry messages from body to the CNS
motor neurons
carry instructions from CNS to body muscles
interneurons
communicate with each other and they connect sensory and motor neurons. They allow for reflexes when reaction needs to be faster
sympathetic nervous system
arousal, fight or flight
parasympathetic nervous system
calming, conserve energy, return to normal after fight or flight
hormones
slow chemical messenger in bloodstream. It has longer lasting affects and causes interest in things like food, sex, aggression.
how are hormones similar to neurotransmitters
both chemical messengers
EEG
use of small metal disks to detect brain waves and activity
flaws of EEG
They can only give info about broad brain regions
PET
examines glucose consumption in the brain. It involves injecting someone with radioactive glucose
flaws of PET
requires foreign substance, specific region only.
pros of PET
can detect precise changes over time and participants can move around
pros of EEG
provide great temporal data
fMRI
successive scans show which area are seeing increased blood flow. The more oxygen consumed, the more active the area was
flaws of fMRI
only broad temporal changes, all activites must be done in the machine
pros of fMRI
doesn’t require foreign agent, high resolution
brainstem
oldest and innermost brain region. sole funciton is to keep us alive
5 areas in brain stem
cerebellum, medulla, pons, thalamus, recticular formation
cerebellum
voluntary movements of muscles. Responsible for balance. Processes and stores unconscious info. Passing of time.
medulla
heartbeat, respiration, natural reflexes
pons
coordinates info from brain stem, passes info into hindbrair and cerebellum, helps with sleep and wake and breathing
thalamus
top of the brainstem, first stop for sensory messages (except smell)
recticular formation
a nerve network running through the brainstem and thalamus. It regulates exitement arousal. related to waking up and multitasking
limbic system/midbrain
surrounds tip of brainstem, second region to develop
limbic system/midbrain contains…
amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus
amygdala
emotions, primarily threat response emotions (fear, disgust, anger). may help encode memories of emotional events
hypothalamus
controls autonomic nervous system. Drives things like hunger and thirst, four F’s
four Fs
flight, feed, fleeding, reproduce
hippocampus
consious memories. most memories are encoded here but not stored here. Decreases in size with age
Cerebral Cortex
Its the outer part of the brain and has 4 lobes with two hemispheres
parts of cerebral cortex (5)
occipital lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, frontal lobe, corpus callosum
occipital lobe
visual processing. first place for visual info but not the last. Here the scene is broken down into its simplest elements (dark and light, color, etc)
parietal lobe
sense of direction and spatial recognition. Where body is in space. Also contains the sensory strip and sensory info related touch
temporal lobe
auditory. processes auditory info that comes from the thalamus. object recognition as well
frontal lobe
sense of self and personality. primary is executive function (planning and reasoning, languages, emotional complex, future consequences, etc.)
corpus callosum
the connector between the two brain hemispheres.
left hemisphere
logical. quick and exact interpretations
right hemisphere
creative and intuitive. self awareness and modulating speech
plasticity
the brain changes throughout life and builds pathways. for example, if part of the brain is damaged, other parts are sometimes able to take over them.
neurogegnisis
700 new neurons created each day
what are genes
biochemical unites of heredity that make up chromosomes of the DNA. provide code to create the proteins of DNA
epigenetics
how behaviors and environements can affect the way your genes work. can change how your body responds to DNA. these influence whether genes are active or not.
culture
enduring behaviors, ideas, traditions, etc. that are shared through a group of people through generations. people notice culture more when they aren’t a part of that culture. It can influence your behavior and mindset a lot.
individualist vs collectivist
individualist- focused on you first and independence. collectivist- focused on groups and you are second.
the study of continuity and change
how do people stay the same over time and how do they change over time?
specific stages
like a butterfly. some doubt this.
continous development
more likely for humans. continuous. yeah. duh
schema
a concept or framework built to help ppl make sense of the world
assimilation
interpreting new ideas through the schemas you already have
accommodation
changing your schemas based on new info
stages of piagets theory of cognitive decelopment (in order)
sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operation, formal operations
sensorimotor stage
focus on interactions babies have with objects around them. They cant understand that what they cant see still exists (object permanence)
preoperational stage
begin to develop language and abstract thinking. they are unable to take another persons POV (theory of mind)
concrete operational state
children are able to think logically (such as cause and effect)
formal operations
learn to think abstractly. can understand if then statements
modern views on piaget
he identified significant research and milestones that are mostly correct. development is more continuous than he thought, though, and children are much smarter than he thought. The ages he thought were in each stage are not accurate.
moral intuition
innate sense of good and bad. it is your first instinct
moral reasoning
rules for thinking about morals. It develops in adolescence
scaffolding
caregivers can support a child higher level tasks by helping and guiding them
proximal development
the tasks that kids can do only with help of a caregiver or someone else
3 attachemnt styles
secure, anxious, avoidant. These attachment styles continue into adulthood. (Can shift in different relationships but overall will continue to be similar to original (especially when you first meet people) )
secure attachment
distressed when caregiver leaves and when they come back they are fine
anxious attachment
distressed when caregiver leaves and they don’t get better when caregiver gets back
avoidant attachment
don’t seem to care when caregiver leaves
heritability
the amount of a difference between people that is due to genetic factors.
heritability of identical twins
0%. becasue the differences are not due to genes
heritability of the same environments
100%
