Psychology Flashcards
empirical approach
knowledge gained through direct observation and measurement
limitation of case study
resource intensive, it’s anecdotal and may not generalize to population
negative correlation
as one variable increases, the other variable decreases
positive correlation
as one variable increases, so does the other
no correlation
the direction of one variable had no relationship to the direction of the other variable
limitation of correlation
can’t draw causal conclusions because there could be a third variable and the bidirectionally issue
definition of psychology
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
independent variable (IV)
variable that is manipulated/controlled by the experimenter; affects dependent variable.
Dependent Variable (DV)
variable that is manipulated by the Independent Variable.
correlations
can make predictions
experiments
can draw conclusions
Biological Psychology
Examines the link between biological activity and psychological events
Nervous System
complex combination of cells that allows us to gain information about what’s going on inside and outside our bodies and respond appropriately
The two main parts of the Peripheral Nervous System
Somatic and Autonomic
Function of Somatic Nervous System
Carries sensory and motor muscle information to and from the CNS
Function of Autonomic Nervous System
Controls bodily functions not consciously directed
Two main parts of the Autonomic nervous system
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic
function of Sympathetic Nervous System
Expending energy and the fight or flight system
function of Parasympathetic Nervous System
Replenishing energy and Resting and the Digestive System
Neurons
Building blocks of the nervous system
functions of neurons
processing and storing information
size of neurons
fraction of inch to several feet
Dendrites
rootlike structures attached to cell body, receives impulses
Soma
cell body of neuron, contains nucleus, controls center of cell
Axon
long thin part of the neuron and transmits info to other neurons, muscles or glands
Myelin Sheath
goes around axon of some cells to speed up information transmission; made of a fatty waxy substance
when does myelination happen
throughout the first 25 years of life; allows for greater muscle control, judgement, and self control
Axon Terminal Buttons
Bulblike structures around axons; they store all of the chemical messengers
Reuptake
when neuron that fired takes back neurotransmitters
SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor)
drug used for depression because in a depressed brain, reuptake of serotonin occurs too prematurely
Neurotransmitters are aka
chemical messengers are aka
Serotonin (Rastafarian Neurotransmitter)
Mood, Hunger, Sleep, Arousal
Neurotransmitter associated with depression
Serotonin
MDMA
floods brain with serotonin
Ritalin and Adderall
Drugs that inhibit reuptake of dopamine
Neurotransmitter associated with Schizophrenia
Dopamine
Tolerance
when the brain of a person adapts to offsets a drug’s effects
Withdrawal
Discomfort and distress following the discontinuation of an addictive drug
Average weight of an adult brain
3 pounds
Parts of the Brain stem
Medulla, Pons, and Reticular Formation
Function of Pons
Coordinating Movement
Function of Medulla
Heart rate and breathing
Function of Reticular Formation
Filters incoming stimuli and controls degree of wakefulness
Function of Cerebellum
Controls Balance, Coordination, and Voluntary movement
Function of Thalamus
Sensory switchboard; transfers sensory info to and from higher and lower brain
Function of Limbic system
emotion and behavior, contains Hippocampus, Amygdala, and Hypothalamus
Function of Hippocampus
forms new memories
Function of Amygdala
Involved with Emotion
Function of Hypothalamus
Regulates motivated behaviors; Controls Autonomic nervous system (Sympathetic and Parasympathetic)
Cerebrum
Higher Brain Structure, grey matter, Consists of two hemispheres; left and right
Contralateral brain
The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa
Corpus Callosum
Connects the two hemispheres of the brain; collection of axon fibers about 200 million
Cerebral Cortex
Outer covering of the cerebrum; impulse control, plan making, four lobes
Four Lobes of Cerebral Cortex
Occipital, Temporal, Parietal, Frontal
Occipital lobe
part of the cerebral cortex that controls sight
Temporal Lobe
part of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing
Parietal Lobe
part of the cerebral cortex that contains the Somatosensory cortex responsible for the feeling in the body
Frontal Lobe
Part of the Cerebral Cortex that responsible for free will, decision making, etc.
Cognitive Psychology
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social changes throughout the lifespan
Cognition
All mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Jean Piaget
Father of cognitive psychology, came up with four stages of cognitive development
Piaget’s Four stages of cognitive development
Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, Formal Operational
Sensorimotor stage
Occurs from birth-2 years; take in through senses and motor movement, here and now, throughout stage babies begin to mentally represent the world
Preoperational Stage
Occurs from ages 2-6; symbolic capacity - uses images, words, gestures, to stand for objects and experiences. no longer trapped in here and now, one dimensional thinking - can only focus on one aspect of a situation at a time, egocentrism, can’t empathize, can’t pass law of conservation
Concrete operational
Occurs from ages 7-11; perform mental actions on concrete objects and events; two dimensional thought, can focus on more than one aspect of a situation. Can pass law of conservation task. Less egocentric, Lacks abstract reasoning, incapable of hypothetical thinking
Formal Operational
11 and older; develop abstract reasoning, can perform mental actions on concrete objects and events as well as on ideas, hypothetical thinking, more systematic approach to problem solving
Learning
Relatively permanent change in behavior or mental processes due to experience
Classical Conditioning
A simple form of learning where you make associations between two or more things and learn to anticipate events form those associations
Ivan Pavlov
Father of classical conditioning
Pavlov’s famous classical conditioning study
Make dogs salivate for meat when their hear the ringing of a bell
Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
Stimulus that causes a response prior to conditioning (learning)
Unconditioned Response (UR)
Unlearned response to unconditional stimulus
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
Previously neutral stimulus causes conditioned response because it’s been repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Response (CR)
Learned response to conditioned stimulus
Operant Conditioning
Simple form of learning based on consequences; controls the likelihood of voluntary behaviors
Positive Reinforcers
increase the likelihood that a behavior will occur again
Negative Reinforcers
increases likelihood of behavior when reinforcer removed
Punisher
decreases the likelihood of a behavior
Memory
learning that persists over time; something that is stored and retrieved
What do we remember
things that are important
Three Processes of Memory
Encode, store, and retrieve
three stage memory model
sensory, short term, long term stores
How much information can we remember
infinite amounts
Dual Track Memory system
Implicit and Explicit Memory
Two types of encoding
automatic and effortful processing
Automatic Processing
encodes implicit memories
Effortful processing
encodes explicit memories
Effortful encoding strategies
Mnemonics, Chunking, Hierarchy, Distributed Practice, Self-test, encoding verbal information at different levels
Misinformation effect
when you incorporate misleading information into one’s memory of an event
Social Psychology
Scientific Study of how we thing about, influence, and relate to one another
Social Perception
Examines ways in which people form and modify impressions and relate to one another
Attribution
Belief concerning why a person/people behaved in a certain way
Two Types of Attributions
Dispositional and Situational
Dispositional Attributes
ascribing a person’s behavior to internal factors eg. free will, personality traits
Situational Attributes
ascribing a person’s behavior to something external e.g. social influences, and circumstances
Fundamental Attribution Error (FAD)
Tendency for observers, when analyzing another’s behavior to underestimate situational attributes and overestimate the impact of dispositional attributes eg. saying people driving in the rain suck at driving in the rain
Actor-Observer Effect
Tendency to attribute people’s behavior to dispositional factors but our own situational factors
Self Serving Bias
tendency to attribute our successes to something dispositional but our failures to something situational
Zimbardo’s definition of Evil
An exercise of power to intentionally harm people
Milgram Experiment
1960s experiment to test whether an average american would hurt a stranger simply because an authority figure told them to do so
Foot in the door technique
someone will be more likely to obey a major request of they obey a small request first
Stanford Prison Experiment
had to end study after 6 days because it got out of hand
7 social processes that lead down slippery slope to evil
Mindlessly taking first small step, dehumanization of others, De-individuation of self (anonymity), Diffusion of personal responsibility, Blind obedience to authority, Uncritical conformity to group norms, Passive Tolerance to evil through inaction/indifference
Psychology of Heroism
You have to learn to be a deviant to be a hero, go against the conformity of the group, act when others don’t
Attitudes
Feelings often influenced by our beliefs, that predispose us to respond in a particular way to object, people, and events
Cognitive Dissonance
When two attitudes are in conflict or when behavior is not in line with thoughts or beliefs, we experience discomfort
Explicit Attitude
consciously aware of being held, and can consciously decide to think about it
Implicit Attitude
not consciously aware that the attitude is held, can be shown to exist with nonverbal cues and an IAT
Central Route of Attitude Formation
Uses Evidence/Info and is straightforward
Peripheral Route of Attitude Formation
Associations with positive/negative cues and isn’t straightforward
Results of Milgram Experiment
Over 60% of people in the study administered maximum voltage
Hallucination
a faulty perception of reality
Delusion
a faulty interpretation of reality
Agoraphobia
an anxiety disorder where you’re afraid of being trapped in an inescapable situation so you stay home all the time
Social Phobia
an anxiety disorder where you think everyone around you criticizes everything you do and causes you to avoid situations where you are around other people
Panic Disorder
Mary in front of TV on Friday night example
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Constant low-grade level of anxiety
PTSD
Anxiety disorder always preceded by a traumatic event
OCD
Anxiety disorder where an obsession (unwanted repetitive thoughts) cause a compulsion (unwanted repetitive action)
Major Depression
symptoms: thoughts of suicide, lethargy, loss of appetite, can’t stop eating, irrational thinking, not happy.
Persistent Depressive Disorder
symptoms: same as major depression but less severe and longer lasting
Bipolar Disorder
symptoms: rebound from major depression to mania and vice versa
Depressed Explanatory Style
Internal, stable, and global way of dealing with things
Nondepressed Explanatory Style
External, Temporary, and Specific
