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Intro to Anthro, Soc., and Psych. > Psychology > Flashcards

Psychology Flashcards

1
Q

Define psychology.

A

The study of human behaviour and mental processes.

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2
Q

What are the two fields of psychology?

A

Experimental and clinical

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3
Q

What do experimental psychologists do? [3]

A
  • Conduct experiments on behaviour
  • Monitor human reactions in different situations
  • Test drugs (painkillers, anti-depressants) for side effects and effectiveness
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4
Q

What is the goal of experimental psychologists?

A

To better see how the mind works.

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5
Q

What do clinical psychologists do?

A

Develop programs for those suffering from mental illnesses and behavioural disorders.

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6
Q

What makes a clinical psychologist’s job difficult? [2]

A

Mental illnesses are hard to treat because they are the result of an interplay of different stressors and the psychologist has to take into account individual differences.

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7
Q

What does the cognitive theories school of thought focus on? [3]

A
  • The act of thinking and acting (how we learn)
  • Sensation and perception, memory, emotion, problem solving, mental processes
  • Physical working of the brain and its behaviour
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8
Q

What is the basis of psychoanalysis?

A

The human mind is divided between conscious mental processes and unconscious desires, which are the prime motivators of behaviour.

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9
Q

What are the three parts of the mind according to psychoanalysis and what are they responsible for?

A

Id (primal), Ego (long term planning), and Superego (balance of the two).

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10
Q

What does behaviourism attempt to do?

A

Identify motivators of human behaviour.

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11
Q

What are three core beliefs in the behaviourism school of thought?

A
  • There is no unconscious mind
  • All behaviour is the result of previous experiences.
  • Childhood plays a significant role in development
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12
Q

According to behaviourism, behavioural responses are the result of…

A

environmental stimuli

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13
Q

Who are two key figures in behaviourism?

A

John Watson and Ivan Pavlov

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14
Q

Learning theory has its roots in the works of…

A

Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson

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15
Q

What does Learning Theory believe?

A

Most, if not all, behaviour is learned and that we can control what we learn.

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16
Q

How is much of our behaviour learned according to Learning Theory? What does this mean?

A

Much of our behaviour is learned through social interaction, which means that society has a big impact on behaviour.

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17
Q

Name a key figure in Humanism.

A

Abraham Maslow (hierarchy of human needs).

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18
Q

What is Humanism? [3]

A

The belief that we all strive for self-actualization, which is based on how we perceive the world.

  • Perceived needs are huge drivers of motivation.
  • Individuals are driven to achieve growth and self-fulfillment.
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19
Q

What is evolutionary psychology?

A

The belief that our behaviour can be explained using evolutionary principles, and as our behaviour is similar to animals, there is a biological root for the behaviour.

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20
Q

What are some examples in evolutionary psychology? [4]

A

Men who have the v-shape are found more attractive because that’s what showed someone was healthy and could provide to our ancestors. Women have hourglass figures (which emphasizes fertility). Symmetrical faces, golden ratio (1:1.15).

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21
Q

What is personality? [2]

A

The unique way of behaving, thinking, and reacting that everyone possesses.
- Used to be developed into nature vs. nurture, but it is now viewed as a mixture of both.

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22
Q

Who created psychoanalysis?

A

Sigmund Freud

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23
Q

How did the time Freud lived in influence his views on psychology?

A

He practiced psychiatry in Vienna in Victorian times, where people learned very early that their natural instincts and emotions are improper and should be repressed. Thus, Freud theorized some messed up things were being repressed.

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24
Q

What are Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development linked two?

A

Sexual gratification or frustration.

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25
Name the five stages of psychosexual development.
Oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latency stage, and genital stage.
26
What happens in the oral stage? [6]
- 0-18 months - Called oral stage because children are exploring the world with their mouths - Characterized by conflict over expectation and fulfillment. - Primarily linked to Id (pleasure seeking principle) - If you feed a child every time it cries it becomes clingy and needy, if you don't feed it every time it cries it becomes withdrawn and isolated. - Causes oral fixations (chewing gum, nails, and pencils, smoking, etc.).
27
What happens in the anal stage? [6]
- ~18 months-3 years - Characterized between battle between compliance and defiance. - Kids begin to show independence which comes into conflict with parental expectations. - Linked with potty training - If parents are strict and stick to a schedule, child will be neat and on time, if parents aren't strict, it can lead to someone who's always late and messy. - Anal-retentive = obsessively perfect
28
What happens in the phallic stage? [5]
- 3-6/7 years - Children become aware of differences between gender, which leads to them understanding relationships. - Begin to identify with the opposite sex as a potential mate (Oedipus Complex), and idealize them as the ideal mate. - If father is not present, girls are more likely to date older men who don't respect her - Characterized by competition between the child and same sex parent for opposite sex parent.
29
What happens in the latency stage? [4]
- 7-11 years - Children realize that their attraction to their opposite sex parent is stigmatized, so they repress it and it manifests in different ways. - Begin to identify with same sex parent and adopt similar mannerisms to them, and have no interest in the opposite sex. - Massive personalty development due to identification with same sex parent.
30
What happens in the genital stage? [2]
- 11+ years | - Personality is more or less fully developed.
31
Name three psychoanalytic techniques designed to elicit an immediate and accurate response that is the key to helping people unlock their unconscious mind.
- Dream analysis (problem: have to have a unifying language for symbols in dreams) - Hypnosis (problem: open to suggestion) - Free association/free writing/word association
32
Who was Alfred Adler?
A contemporary of Freud who helped to develop the Freudian model.
33
What did Freud and Adler disagree about?
Adler disagreed that sex and the unconscious mind were prime motivators and thought that people knew what drove them (individual psychology).
34
What did Adler believe motivated behaviour? [3]
Adler believed that power motivated behaviour. - All people feel inferior sometimes and try to compensate for that inferiority by putting themselves in situations that give them power (ie. bullies) - It is our response to feelings of inferiority that contribute to some of our personality development.
35
Describe Adler's theory on order of birth. [4]
- The order in which you were born impacts personality development. - The first child grows up loved and fawned over, and when the second comes along the first feels neglected and acts out. The oldest will come to resent the youngest, and the youngest will be self-centred and narcissistic. - If there are three kids, the first will be more neurotic due to added pressures and responsibilities, the third will be spoiled, narcissistic and self-centred, and the second will be overlooked, under-appreciated, and engage in attention-seeking behaviour. - Studies have disproved this theory, except for the middle child (Middle Child Syndrome).
36
Define humanism.
The idea that within every person is an active will towards health, growth, and actualization of human potential.
37
What key three things did Abraham Maslow believe?
- To understand humans, you must understand their highest aspirations - Human values are essentially good and desirable - Self-actualizing people can live more freely in the realm of being.
38
State Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs from bottom to top.
- Physiological: breathing, food, water, sleeping, sex. - Safety: security of body, employment, resources, family - Love/Belonging: friendship, family - Esteem: self-esteem/confidence - Self-Actualization: morality, creativity, problem-solving, lack of prejudice.
39
List five characteristics of a self-actualized being. [Note there are more than five listen in answer]
Realistic, self-accepting, naturalness, simplicity, autonomy, frequent peak experience, interpersonal relations, democratic values, philosophical, creativity, imperfections.
40
Who developed the theory of Psychosocial development?
Erik Erikson
41
Describe Erikson's theory of Psychosocial development. [5]
- Main element is the idea of an "ego identity" (conscious sense of self) - The ego identity is always changing due to new experiences in life and information. - A sense of competence motivates behaviours and actions. - If a stage is done well, a person will have a sense of mastery, and if not, will always feel inadequate. - People experience conflict that serves as a turning point in development at each stage. Conflict centres on developing a psychosocial quality or not. In these times, the potential for failure and growth is high.
42
Who dealt with the definition between extroverts and introverts?
Carl Jung
43
What is the basis for Jung's personality theory? [3]
The distinction between extroverts and introverts. - Introverts prefer their internal world of thoughts, feelings, and fantasies. - Extroverts prefer the external world, people, and activities.
44
What have introverted and extroverted become confused with and what were they intended to mean?
Shyness and sociability. They were intended to refer to whether you face outer reality or inner subconscious.
45
How do introverts and extroverts differ in regards to society? [2]
- Introverts are more mature, while society values extroverts more. - The current population is 75% extroverts.
46
According to Jung, what are the four basic functions humans have to deal with?
- Sensing: getting info by means of senses - Thinking: evaluating info logically - Intuiting: kind of perception that works outside the usual conscious processes, a complex integration of large amounts of info. - Feeling: matter of evaluating info by weighing one's overall emotional responses.
47
Of Jung's four basic functions, what two deal with the conscious part of the brain?
Sensing and thinking.
48
What do emotions serve as?
A fight or flight response, which comes up when there is a potential for conflict.
49
What is amygdala responsible for?
Emotions and instincts
50
What is the chemical response behind anger?
Anger happens when the natural animalistic instincts clouds your judgement. When that happens, amygdala triggers a release of dopamine (which makes you happy) and adrenaline (blood runs faster, become more alert).
51
Where did love come from?
Love is an extension of trust, we had to depend on others to survive, as mothers take care of their young.
52
What are the three types of memory?
Sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
53
Describe sensory memory. [5]
- Retains an exact copy of what is heard and seen. - Constantly taken in through five senses - Makes decisions on what to focus on, unconsciously pays attention to what sensory memory deems important. - Happens constantly, what holds brief attention. - Short visual memory that fades away, but if deemed important it is put into short-term memory.
54
Describe short-term memory. [3]
- Sounds, recalling of words and images, for a few seconds to several minutes, either moved to long-term memory or forgotten. - Provides storage for a fixed amount of information (7 independent sections). - Three basic operations: iconic, acoustic, working,
55
What are the three basic operations of short-term memory?
- Iconic: visual representation/visual memory - Acoustic: ability to hold/recognize sounds. - Working: active process that you use to keep something going until it can be transferred into long-term memory.
56
Describe long-term memory. [3]
- Where significant memories are held. - Most memory problems involve retrieval, as we remember far more than we recall. - Two types: semantic and episodic.
57
What are the two types of long-term memory?
- Semantic: how to do things, concepts, and skills. | - Episodic: memory we recall in serial form or episodes.
58
What is the cerebrum?
The largest part of the brain, divided into 2 hemispheres which are then divided into 4 lobes.
59
What is the cerebral cortex?
The outermost layer of grey matter making up the superficial aspect of the cerebrum.
60
Name three cerebral features.
- Gyri: elevated ridges winding around the brain. - Sulci: small groups dividing the gyri. - Fissures: deep grooves dividing large regions/lobes of the brain.
61
What is the Central Sulcus?
Divides the frontal lobe from parietal lobe.
62
Name the three fissures.
- Longitudinal Fissure: divides two cerebral hemispheres. - Transverse Fissure: separates cerebrum from cerebellum. - Sylvian/Lateral Fissure: divides temporal lobe from frontal and parietal lobe.
63
Name the four lobes of the brain.
Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, and Temporal.
64
What is the role of the frontal lobe? [4]
- Memory formation - Emotions - Decision-making/reasoning - Personality
65
Name the cortical regions of the frontal lobe. [4]
- Primary Motor Cortex: controls movements. - Broca's Area: controls facial neurons, speech, and language comprehension, located on left frontal lobe. - Broca's Aphasia: ability to comprehend speech, but decreased motor ability to speak. - Orbitofrontal Cortex: site of frontal lobotomies to decrease rage, aggression, and have poor emotional responses, possible side effects are epilepsy, poor emotional responses, etc.
66
What is the parietal lobe responsible for?
TAKE IT AWAY ME OF TOMORROW.
67
Understanding the development of the human brain requires understanding two basic concepts. What are they?
Grey and white matter.
68
Pruning is a term that refers to
A period when the brain begins to shed some of the grey-matter cells built up in childhood to make room for the growth of white matter.
69
What type of psychology is used to help define and deal with a person's problems?
Clinical psychology.
70
The cerebellum is responsible for...
Coordinating and regulating muscle activity.
71
What are the two forms of abnormal psychology?
Adaptive and maladaptive.
72
The Frontal lobe is responsible for:
- Memory formation - Emotions - Decision-making and reasoning - Personality

Intro to Anthro, Soc., and Psych. (5 decks)

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