Psych Final Flashcards
Name the seven schools of psychology
- Structuralism
- Functionalism
- Psychodynamic Psychology
- Behaviorism
- Humanistic Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Gestalt
Structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt
Focused on understanding the conscious experience through introspection(the examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes)
breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method known as introspection..
Functionalism
William James
Functionalism focuses on understanding mental processes and behavior by examining their purpose or function in adapting to the environment. Instead of analyzing the structure of consciousness into its basic elements, as structuralism does, functionalism seeks to explore how mental processes help individuals adapt to their surroundings and fulfill their need
Psychodynamic Psychology
Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson
Focuses on the role of the unconscious thoughts, feelings, memories, and childhood experiences in shaping behavior
Behaviorism
Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner
Focuses on observing and controlling behavior through what is observable
Humanistic Psychology
Ulric Neisser, Noam Chomsky, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky
emphasizes the study of human potential, personal growth, and the inherent value of individuals, focusing on subjective experiences and the role of free will in shaping behavior
Gestalt Psychology
Looks at the human mind and behaviors as a whole
emphasizes the importance of perceiving and understanding the whole of an experience or phenomenon, rather than analyzing it into its individual components
exImagine you see a drawing of a circle, but a small section of the circle is missing or incomplete. Despite the gap in the circle, your brain tends to perceive it as a complete circle rather than a broken one. This ability to mentally fill in the missing parts and perceive an incomplete figure as a whole is an example of the Gestalt principle of closure
Current theories
developmental, social, personality, abnormal, clinical, health
What is a hypothesis?
Tentative and testable statement about the relationship between two or more
variables
Worded as an if-then statement
ex: If I study all night, then I will get a passing grade on a test
Bridges the gap between the realm of ideas and the real world
What is a theory?
A well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena
What is the relationship between a hypothesis and theory, and how do they fit into the scientific method?
Hypothesis are tested, theories are modified and refined to reflect and incorporate the results of the tests
What is the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews proposals for research involving human participants
Approval generally required to proceed with experiment
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
Committee of administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and community members that review proposals for research involving non-human animals
Charged with ensuring experimental proposals require the humane treatment of animal subjects
Conducts semi-annual inspections of all animal facilities to ensure that research protocols are being followed
No animal research project can proceed without committee’s approval
Deception
Purposely misleading experiment participants to maintain the integrity of the experiment, but not to the point to cause harm
Debriefing
Informing participants, the complete and truthful information about an experiment at its conclusion
Only occurs when an experiment involves deception
Informed consent
Process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment, any risks involved, and the implications of the research, and then obtaining the person’s consent to participate
Also lets participants know their involvement is completely voluntary and can be discontinued without penalty at any time
Guarantees any data collected in the experiment will remain completely confidential
What is descriptive or qualitative research?
Research studies that don’t test specific relationships between variables
Three main types:
1. Naturalistic observation
2. Case studies
3. Surveys
-Used to describe general or specific behaviors and attributes that are observed
-Sometimes difficult to form a hypothesis
Let’s say you’re interested in understanding how students experience stress during exam periods. If you were to use qualitative research:
You might conduct interviews with a small group of students to hear their personal stories and feelings.
You could observe students in their natural environment to see how they cope with stress.
You might analyze personal journals or reflective essays to gain insight into their thoughts.
In the end, instead of providing statistical data like “80% of students feel stressed during exams,” qualitative research might offer a more nuanced understanding of how and why students experience stress, exploring the emotions, coping mechanisms, and social contexts involved.
What is correlational research?
Research investigating the relationship between two or more variables
-Formally tests whether a relationship exists between variables
-Can find a relationship between to variables but the only way to claim there even is a relationship is by performing an experiment
What is experimental research?
A research method that uses hypothesis testing to make inferences about how one variable impacts and causes another
-Randomly assigns people to different conditions, using hypothesis testing to make inferences about how these conditions affect behavior
-Aims to determine if a variable directly impacts and causes one another
What is naturalistic observation?
(A type of description research method)
- Observation of behavior in its natural setting
-Critical for observers to be as unobtrusive and inconspicuous as possible
-People are less likely to behave naturally when being watched
Pros:
▪ Validity (accuracy) of information collected unobtrusively in a natural setting
Cons:
▪ Often difficult to set up and control
▪ Observer bias
What are case studies?
(Observational research studies focusing on one or a few people)
-Typically common with studying rare characteristics in people
Pro:
▪ Focuses attention on a special group of people
Con:
▪ Difficult to generalize any findings to the population as a whole
What is a survey?
(List of questions to be answered by research participants, given as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally, allowing for researchers to collect data from large number of people)
Pro:
▪ Collects information from larger samples of people
Con:
▪ Larger sample sizes do not provide the same depth of information in comparison to a case study
What is archival research?
(Relies on looking at past records or data sets to look for interesting patterns or relationships)
Pro:
▪ Less of a money and time investment
Con:
▪ Questions have to be tailored to be answered within the structure of the existing data sets
▪ No guarantee of consistency between records
What is longitudinal research?
data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time
What is cross-sectional research?
Researcher compares multiple segments of population at the same time
-Comparing different groups of people by age, gender, or culture
Correlational and experimental both use ___________ testing, whereas descriptive doesn’t
Hypothesis
What is a positive correlation?
When two variables change in the same direction, both becoming larger or smaller
ex: the relationship between the amount of time a student spends studying and their exam scores. In a positive correlation, as one variable increases, the other variable also increases
What is negative correlation?
When two variables change in the opposite direction while one becomes larger the other becomes smaller
ex: as the amount of exercise increases, body weight tends to decrease.
How do you interpret a correlation coefficient?
where the number can vary between –1 to +1 showing the strength of the direction of the relationship between variables +1 and –1 both being strong and the closer to 0 is less strong
What is a dependent variable?
The variable that the researcher uses to see how much effect the independent variable had.
What is an independent variable?
a variable that is influenced by the experimenter, this shows what the difference between the experimental and control group is.
What is the control variable?
Any variable that is held constant in a research study
What is a cofounding control variable?
An unmeasurable variable that influences both the supposed cause and effect
ex: Imagine you’re studying whether eating breakfast (independent variable) influences student performance on a test (dependent variable). A cofounding variable could be sleep quality. Students who sleep better might both eat breakfast regularly and perform well on tests. To control for this, you include sleep quality as a control variable
What is random sampling?
a subset of a larger population that everyone in the population has the same probability of being selected.
What is random assignment?
where all participants have the same chance of being assigned to either group.
What are the three stages of the memory process?
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
Encoding
the process of converting sensory input into a form that the brain can understand and use
ex:when you hear a new phone number, and your brain converts the auditory information (the sound of the numbers) into a memory trace that you can later recall when needed.
Storage
Information is stored in the brain (like a computer hard drive)
Retrieval
Information is brought out when needed (like a computer screen when needed)
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory
Memories are composed of three primary stages and three different processes
The stages are sensory, short-term memory, and long-term memory
(While the processes are encoding, storage, and retrieval)
Compare and contrast the stages of the memory process and the Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory
They are similar because they both have input as the first step in some form. They differ
when it comes to types of storage and details on how memories are retrieved
What are the two types of long-term memory?
Explicit memory (declarative)
Implicit memory (non-declarative)
Explicit memory
(type of long-term memory)
It involves the ability to recall facts, experiences, and events consciously (declarative memory)
ex: when you are studying for your chemistry exam, the material you are learning will be part of your explicit memory.
Explicit memories are broken into episodic(experienced events) and semantic(knowledge and concepts)
Implicit memory
(type of long-term memory)
The retention of information and experiences without conscious awareness or intentional effort
ex:Imagine you learned to ride a bicycle when you were a child. Years later, as an adult, you decide to hop on a bike after not riding one for a long time. Even if you can’t consciously recall every detail of how to ride a bike, your body seems to remember, and you can pedal and maintain balance relatively effortlessly.
Implicit memories are broken into procedural(skills and actions) and emotional
conditioning.
Episodic memory
Experienced events (first date)
Semantic memory
knowledge and concepts (state capitol)
Procedural memory
skills and actions (driving a car, ride a bike)
Emotional conditioning
earning to associate an emotion with a stimulus (scared of
thunder)
Amygdala
Regulates emotions, such as fear and aggression.
It plays a part in how memories are stored because storage is influenced by stress hormones.
ex: During pavlovian conditioning, a neural tone was paired with a foot shock to the rats. This produced a fear memory in the rats
Hippocampus
important for memory, vital in the formation, consolidation, and retrieval of memories
Cerebellum
It involves procedural memory, motor learning, and classical conditioning
Prefrontal cortex
Researchers have used brain scans to see how people learn and process information
What are the two types of amnesia?
- Retrograde amnesia
- Anterograde amnesia
Retrograde amnesia
when a person cannot remember anything before the accident
Anterograde amnesia
when a person cannot remember things after the accident
Proactive interference
when the old information interferes with the new information (saying its 2022 when its 2023)
Retroactive interference
when the new information prohibits remembering the old information (just learned chapter 13 so you have a hard time remembering chapter 3)
What is the difference between the types of amnesia and interference?
amnesia happens after an accident, which is problematic, while interference is just everyday forgetting and you should not worry about it.
What are the 7 types of memory errors?
- Transience
- Absentmindedness
- Blocking
- Misattribution
- Suggestibility
- Bias
- Persistence
Transience
(type of memory error)
Access to memory fades over time
- Forgetting
ex: getting old and forgetting what happened when you were a kid
Absentmindedness
(type of memory error)
When attention is focused elsewhere causing lapses in memory
- Forgetting
ex: forgetting where your phone is whilst talking to someone
Blocking
(type of memory error)
When you can’t access stored information (Tip of the tongue)
- Forgetting
ex: when information is “on the tip of your tongue”
Misattribution
(type of memory error)
Confusing the source of information on your own
- Distortion
Misattribution is a memory error that occurs when people attribute a memory to the wrong source, context, or person
ex: Imagine you hear a rumor about a celebrity, and later, you mistakenly recall that information as if it were something you personally witnessed or read in a reliable news source. The misattribution occurs when you attribute the information to a different and more credible source than the original rumor.
ex: recalling a dream as a waking memory
Suggestibility
(type of memory error)
When external sources lead to the creation of false memories
- Distortion
ex: results from leading questions
Bias
(type of memory error)
How one’s current feelings and view of the world can distort memory of a past event
- Distortion
ex: witnessing something in person but when describing the event later you include details you didn’t see at the time but that were said on a new story about the event
Persistence
(type of memory error)
Involuntary recall of unwanted memories, usually unpleasant
- Intrusion
ex: PTSD patient suddenly recalling a traumatic event
Rehearsal
(memory-enhancing strategy)
Repeating information to be remembered
ex: learning multiplication tables
Chunking
(memory-enhancing strategy)
Organizing information into smaller bits/chunks
ex: memorizing a phone number in a 3-3-4 number sequence
Elaborative rehearsal
(memory-enhancing strategy)
the process of actively relating new information to existing knowledge or memories
ex:such as associating a new person’s name with characteristics of someone you already know well
Thinking about the meaning of new information and its relation to already known knowledge
Mnemonic devices
(memory-enhancing strategy)
A memory aid that organizes information for encoding
ex: Never Eat Soggy Waffles (north-east-south-west)
Shadow Task
A task in which the individual is asked to repeat an auditory message as it is
presented
cocktail party phenomenon
refers to the ability to focus one’s attention a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli (auditory)
Broadbent’s filter model
(theory of selective attention)
suggests that, during selective attention, the mind initially filters incoming information based on its physical attributes (like pitch or location) before engaging in deeper cognitive processing, allowing the brain to focus on specific stimuli while temporarily ignoring others.
Treisman’s attenuation Model
(theory of selective attention)
Suggested that selection starts at the physical or perceptual level, but that the unattended information is not blocked completely, it is just weakened or attenuated. As a result, highly meaningful or pertinent information in the unattended ear will get through the filter for further processing at the level of meaning
Schemata
“Mental frameworks” or structures that organize information and help individuals understand and interpret the world around them
the mental scalding between categories
Categorization
the way we sort objects into groups, known as cognitive categories, that help us organize knowledge (“general groupings”)
ex: we can quickly recognize that a cat and a dog both belong to the group “animals.” Both have four legs and a tail prototype is defined as a mental representation of an object or concept
Prototype psychology
a mental representation of the idealized form of an object or concept
They are used to quickly identify and recognize instances within a group.
ex: when thinking of a “fruit,” the prototype might be an apple or banana, influencing how quickly one recognizes less prototypical fruits like a pomegranate as part of the category
Concepts
mental representations of categories or ideas
ex: the concept is “happiness.” The concept of happiness represents a mental understanding of a positive emotional and psychological state.
Trial and error
(problem-solving strategy)
continue trying different solutions until problem is solved
ex: restarting phone, turning off wifi, turning off Bluetooth in order to determine why your phone is malfunctioning
Algorithm
(problem-solving strategy)
step by step problem-solving formula
ex: Instruction manual for installing new software on your computer
Heuristic
(problem-solving strategy)
general problem-solving framework
ex: working backwards, breaking a task into
steps
Anchoring bias
tendency to focus on one particular piece of information when making decisions or problem-solving
(type of pitfalls to problem solving)
Conformation bias
focuses on information that confirms existing beliefs
(type of pitfalls to problem solving)
Hindsight bias
the belief that the event just experienced was predictable
(type of pitfalls to problem solving)
Representative bias
unintentional stereotyping of someone or something
ex: “John formed a representative bias when he assumed all engineers were introverted, based on his encounter with a few reserved engineers, overlooking the diversity within the profession
(type of pitfalls to problem solving)
Availability bias
decision is based upon either an available precedent or an example that may be faulty
“Due to the availability bias, Susan overestimated the likelihood of a shark attack after watching a sensationalized documentary, despite the statistical rarity of such incidents.”
(type of pitfalls to problem solving)
Mental set
continually using an old solution to a problem without results
(type of pitfalls to problem solving)
Functional fixedness
inability to see an object as useful for any other use other than the one for which it was intended
(type of pitfalls to problem solving)
Lexicons
refer to parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. It is the words of a given language (dictionary)
Grammar
Grammar is the set of rules that are used to convey meaning through words
Semantics
Semantics refers to the meaning of
something
Syntax
Syntax refers to the grammar of something
Morpheme
a word or a part of a word that has meaning.
It includes prefixes, suffixes, base words, and roots (e.g. talks, talker, talked)
Phonemes
sounds in a word that allow us to create meaning from the word.
(psychology: /sīˈkäləjē/)
Briefly explain the development of language
As our brain develops, so does the ability to speak and form sentences. It progresses through the acquisition of sounds, gestures, and complex grammar. The more someone grows, the more language they acquire
Soma
Cell body
Dendrites
branch-like extension of the soma that receives incoming signals from other neurons (input)
Axon
Major extensions of the soma
Terminal buttons
axon terminal containing synaptic vesicles
Synaptic Vesicles
storage site for neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters
chemical messenger of the nervous system
Myelin sheath
fatty substance that insulates axons (coats the axon and acts as an insulator), increases the speed at which the signal travels, the loss of insulation it provides can be detrimental to normal function
Synapse
small gap between two neurons where communication occurs
Receptors
protein on the cell surface where neurotransmitters attach.