Psychology Test One Flashcards
1
Q
what is the definition of psychology?
A
the scientific investigation of mental processes emotions and behavior that lies at the intersection of biology and culture
2
Q
what is the definition of biopsychology
A
seeks to understand mental processes, emotions, and behavior by studying electrical and chemical activity of the nervous system
3
Q
what is localization of a function
A
different part of the brain control different aspects of functioning
4
Q
what is an example of localization of function, who was involved
A
prefrontal cortex, phineas gage had damage to his prefrontal cortex causing his behavior and social skill to change
5
Q
what is the definition of culture
A
the influence of membership in a larger group ( ex a nation)
6
Q
what is a cultural anthropologist
A
they observe people in other cultures in their natural settings
7
Q
what is a cross cultural psychologist
A
they test psychological hypothesis in different cultures
8
Q
what questions did psychologist inherit from philosophy
A
nature vs nurture
rationalism vs empiricism
mental vs physical
9
Q
what is the question of nature vs nurture
A
to what extent are psychological processes a function of biological processes or environmental
10
Q
what is the question of rationalism vs empiricism
A
does knowledge about the world come from logic and reasoning or from experience and observation
11
Q
what is the question of mental vs physical, what is it called
A
do mental and physical events interact called the mind body problem
12
Q
who is wihelm wundt and what did he do
A
he is the father of psychology and created the first psychological lab in leipzig germany in 1879. he also used a method called introspection
13
Q
what is introspection
A
the process of looking inward and reporting ones conscious experience
14
Q
what did wihelm wundt us introspection to do
A
study the structure of consciousness
15
Q
who is edward titchner
A
student of wihelm wundt, developed school of thought called structuralism
16
Q
what is structuralism
A
it used introspection to uncover the basic elements ( structure) of consciousness
17
Q
who is william james
A
he wrote the first textbook called the principle of psychology in 1890 and studied the thought of functionalism
18
Q
what is functionalism
A
- a school of thought brought up by darwinism
- argued that psychology processes are functional meaning they serve a purpose
- explained that psychology processes in terms of role or functions of helping an individual adapt to the environment
19
Q
who is thomas kuhn
A
an american philosopher who studied the history of science
20
Q
what normal science
A
research firmly based upon one or more scientific achievements that some particular scientific community acknowledges for a time as the supplying foundation for its further practice
21
Q
what is paradigm
A
the theoretical framework of normal science the scientist use to interpret or make sense of their disciple
22
Q
what a paradigm shift
A
a paradigm shift is possible when scientists continue to encounter an anomaly that cannot be explained by the current paradigm
23
Q
how is scientific revolution accomplished
A
Rejection of the older paradigm along with acceptance of the new theory signifies a scientific revolution
24
Q
what are the four perspective in psychology
A
psychodynamic
behaviorist, cognitive and evolutionary
25
who developed psychodynamic theory
sigmund freud
26
what metaphor is applied to psychodynamic perspective
methods?
data?
- awareness is like an iceberg, the small portion is conscious, the larger portion is unconscious
- case study is the method used
- clinical observations is used to collect data (ex dream analyses
27
what are the three major criticisms of psychodynamic theory
- failure to be scientifically grounded
- violation of the falsifiablity criterion ( the ability for a theory to be proven wrong as a means of advancing
- reliance on retrospective
28
what the behaviorist perspective
their view is that we acquire and maintain our behaviors as a result of learning
29
what is the metaphor associated with behaviorist perspective
method?
data?
- humans and animals are like machines
- experimental method (create a lab situation to test a hypothesis about how a certain environmental events will affect behavior
- quantitative empirical data such as rats running through a maze
30
who did behaviorist perspective begin with
it began with ivan pavolv and was popularized by john watson and B.F Skinner
31
what are the three premises of psychodynamic perspective
- behavior is determined by a dynamic interplay between thoughts feelings and wishes
- most mental events are unconscious
- mental processes may conflict with one another
32
what was the dominant perspective between 1920s and mid 1960s
behaviorism
33
what are the three premises of behaviorist
- environmentalism : all organisms including humans are shaped by the environment
- experimentalism; experiments can reveal what aspects of the environment causes behavior
- optimism: people can be changed
34
what is cognitive perspective
it focuses on how people perceive process and retrieve information through thought and memory
35
what is the metaphor for cognitive perspective
method?
data?
- the mind is like a computer
- experimental data is used
- quantitative empirical data
36
how is the mind like a computer
the environment inputs which are transformed stored and retrieved using various mental programs leading to specific response outputs
37
what is evolutionary perspective
human behaviors must be understood in terms of their evolutionary and adaptive significance
-mental processes and behaviors evolved because they helped our ancestors survive and reproduce
38
what is the metaphor for evolutionary perspective
method?
data?
- we are all runners in a race competing for survival sexual partners and resources
- mostly deductive
- start with a known behavior in a species and attempt to explain it on the basis of evolutionary principles
39
what is natural selection
natural forces select adaptive traits in organisms that help them adjust to survive in their and that are likely to be passed on to their offspring
40
what is inclusive fitness
natural selection favors organisms that maximize their own reproductive success plus that of genetically close relatives
41
What are the four characteristics of psychological research
theoretical framework, standardized procedures, generalizability, and objective measurement
42
what is a theory
a systematic way of organization and explaining observation
43
variable
a phenomenon that changes across situation or varies among individuals
44
what is a continuous variable
it can theoretically assume and infinite number of values
45
what is categorical variable
can assume only a finite number of values
46
what is standardized procedure
expose the participants in the study to procedures that are as similar as possible
47
what is representative sampling
a person is a representative of a population of a whole so that conclusions drawn from the sample are true of the population as a whole
48
what is internal validity
it is the extent to which a study methodologically sound
49
what is external validity
it is the extent to which a studys findings can be generalized to situations outside the lab
50
what is experimenter dilemma
a trade off in which researchers must choose to place more emphasis on external validity or external validity
51
what is a construct
abstract variable we want to measure such as health
52
what is a measure
an objective way of assessing an abstract construct
53
what is reliability
a measures ability to produce consistent results
54
what is validity
a measures ability to assess the variable to interest accurately
55
what are the three techniques to determine reliability
test -retest
internal consistency
inter rate
56
what is test- retest
consistency across time ( does the same test taken several time produce similar results )
57
what is internal consistency
consistency across items ( different items that measure the same variable on a test should produce similar results )
58
what is inter rater
consistency across people
59
what are the three types of validity
face validity , construct validity, and criterion validity
60
what is face validity
whether or not the test appears, just by looking at it as though it assess what it claims to assess
61
what is construct validity
the degree to which a test measures what it claims to measure
62
how is construct validity determined, what do they mean
convergent- strong correlations with related measure
| discriminant - low correlations with unrelated measure
63
what is criterion validity
the degree to which a test allows a researcher to distinguish among groups
64
what is descriptive research
it seeks to describe phenomena as they exist rather than manipulate variables
65
what are the 3 methods of descriptive research
case study, naturalistic observation, survey research
66
what is a case study
an in depth observation of the behavior of one person ( or a small group)
67
what 2 situations are case studies mostly used in
interpretive research
| and when large numbers of participants are not available
68
what are the four limitations of a case study
- small sample size (limits generalizability)
- study may not be repeatable
- susceptibility to researcher bias
69
what are the four limitations of a case study
- small sample size (limits generalizability)
- study may not be repeatable
- susceptibility to researcher bias
- cannot establish causation
70
what is naturalistic observation
an indepth study of a phenomenon in its natural setting g
71
what are the 5 limitations of naturalistic observation
- may limit generalizability to the population
- study may not be replicable
- observation may alter natural behavior (observer effects)
- susceptibility to researcher bias
- cannot establish causation
72
what is survey research
asks questions of a large random sample of people about their attitudes or behaviors using interviews or questionnaires
73
what is the 2 limitations of survey research
- self report bias: people may not respond truthfully to the questions
- cannot establish causation
74
what is the descriptive statistics for central tendency
mean, median and mode
75
in a skewed distribution where is the mean median and mode
the mean is closest to the tail
the median is in the middle
and the mode is at the hump
76
what is standard deviation
the amount the average participant deviates from the mean of the sample
77
what is skewness
the degree of symmetry for the right and left sides of the curve
78
what is a disadvantage of the mean
outliers
79
what is kurtosis and what types are there
it is the peakedness of the distribution
| , there is leptokurtic and platykurtic
80
leptokurtic is _____ peaked than normal distribution
more
81
platykurtic is ______ than normal distribution
flatter
82
true or false: can correlation imply causation
false
83
what is correlational research
it determines the degree to which two variables are co - related
84
what does a scatterplot do
it visually represents the relationship between two variables
85
what is the x value on a scatter plot
the predictor
86
what is the y value on a scatter plot
the criterion
87
what is the correlation coefficient (r)
a statistic the summarizes the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables
88
what values does (r) range from, what do they mean
- it ranges from 1.0 to -1.0
- the closer to 1.o the stronger the relationship
- the closer to 0 the weaker the relationship
89
what does a positive correlation mean
high values of x are associated with high values of y
90
what does a negative correlation mean
high values of x are associated with low values of y
91
in psychological research what is considered a meaningful correlation
a strong correlation?
.3 is considered a meaningful correlation while .5 is considered a strong correlation
92
what is the yerkes- dawson law
if there is some degree of nonlinearity between x and y then (r) will underestimate the true degree of the relationship meaning (r) will be closer to 0
93
what is experimental research
experimenters manipulate some aspect of a situation and measure the impact of the manipulation on the way the participants respond
94
what is the independent variable
the thing being manipulated by the experimenter
95
what is a dependent variable
the response the experimenter measures to see if the experimental manipulation had an effect
96
what are the six steps for experimental research
1. framing a hypothesis
2. operationalizing variables
3. developing a standardized procedure
4. selecting and assigning participants
5. applying statistical techniques
6. drawing conclusions
97
What is framing a hypothesis
An experiment must frame a hypothesis that predicts the relationship between two or more variables
98
What is an example of framing a hypothesis
Gerald Vogel observed that deprivation of REM sleep relieves symptoms of depression
99
What is operationalizing
Defining how an abstract construct will be measured
100
What is development of a standardized procedure, how are the groups split
The independent variable and the participants performance on the dependent variable are all that should vary
-groups are usually split into experimental and control groups
101
What is an experimental group
The experimental group experiences the experimental manipulation ( they are the independent variable)
102
What is the control group
Consist of a neutral condition instead of the independent variable
103
What is a single blind study
Participants are blind to crucial information (ex the condition they are being exposed to
104
What is a double blind study
The participants and researchers are blind to who has been exposed to which experimental condition
105
What is the placebo affect
An experimental intervention produces an effect because the participants will believe they will produce an effect
106
What does it mean for a participant to be representative
The participant must be representative of the population as a whole
107
Why is random assignment essential
It is essential is for internal validity as it minimizes the chance that participants in different groups differ in a systematic way
108
What happens when there is a confounding variable
It could produce effects that are confused with the effects of the independent variable
109
What is inferential statistics
Draw conclusions ( inferences ) about cause and effect
110
What two steps does analyzing experimental data involve
1. Descriptive statistics
| 2. Inferential statistics
111
What is the p value
The probability that the results are due to chance
112
What is quasi-experimental studies
Shares the logic of the experimental method but there is no random assignment to groups and no manipulation of an independent variable
113
What are the 7 ways to evaluate a study critically
1. assess the study’s theoretical framework
2. Asses the adequacy and appropriateness of the sample
3. assess the adequacy of measure and procedures
4. Examine the data
5. Examine the conclusions drawn by investigators
6. consider the meaningfulness of the study
7. Evaluate the ethics of the study
114
What happened in zimbardos prison experiment
He assigned some kids as prisoners and some as guards, the behaviors of those involved changed, the prisoners actually began to think they were prisoners. The ethics were off
115
What is the fundamental unit of the nervous system
Neuron
116
What are dendrites
They receive information from other neurons
117
What does the cell body contain
It contains the the nucleus; it processes information from other neurons
118
What is an axon
A long extension from the cell body that transmits info to other neurons
119
What is the myelin sheath
Insulates the axon and speeds up conduction of action potentials
120
What are the terminal buttons
They release neurotransmitters
121
What is the synapse
The space between neurons
122
What are the three classes of neurons
Sensory (afferent)
Motor (efferent)
Interneurons ( pass information between sensory and motor neurons in the central nervous system
123
What is sensory (afferent) neurons
Transmits info from the sensory receptors to the spinal cord and brain in the central nervous system
124
What is the motor (efferent )
Transmit commands from the central nervous system to the muscles organs and glands
125
What is the membrane
The most crucial factor in the neurons ability to communicate
126
What allows limited passage through the membrane
Protein channels
127
When the neuron is at resting potential are the Na+ gate channels opened are close
Closed
128
Sodium ions are returned to the extracellular fluid by what
Sodium- potassium pump
129
What is the mV of a neuron at resting potential
-70 mV
130
What is a graded potential
Stimulation of a neuron opens ion channels in its membrane, causing and spreading voltage changes
- goes to -50 mV
131
An influx of sodium ions does what
Depolarizes the membrane, which excites it making it more likely to fire
132
And efflux of potassium ions causes what
Hyper polarization of the membrane making it least likely to fire
133
What mV does the neuron reach during an action potential
+40 mV
134
Can an action potential happen if it doesn’t reach a mV of -50 mV, how is this different that a graded potential
No, graded potentials have the ability to accumulate unlike action potential that are all or nothing
135
How does an action potential reach +40 mV
Na+ flows in which depolarizes the membrane
136
Where do potentials occur
In the axon hillocks
137
What are excitatory neurotransmitters
They depolarize the membrane making an action potential more likely
138
What are inhibitory neurotransmitters
They hyperpolarize the membrane causing the action potential to be least likely
139
What does postsynaptic receptor binding do
Opens or close channels
140
What happens to postsynaptic receptors that are not blinded to neurotransmitters
They are deactivated by
1. Degradation by enzymes
2. Reuptook into the presynaptic neuron
141
What does GABA do
Inhibits brain neurons, it is involved in the regulation of anxiety
142
What does glutamate do
It’s excitatory; its involved in learning and can be neurotoxic
143
What does epinephrine and norepinephrine do
Regulates psychological and emotional arousal, behavior and mood such as anxiety and depression
144
What does endorphins do
It’s mood elevating, sleep inducing and pain relieving
145
Where is dopamine produced
In the substantia Nigra of the midbrain
146
What does dopamine do
Regulates emotional Arousal, attention, movement and pleasure and reward
147
What does serotonin do
Regulates pain, sleep,aggression, emotional arousal and mood
148
What does acetylcholine do
Involved in muscle contractions and memory
149
What are the two parts of the nervous system
Peripheral and the central nervous system
150
What are the two parts of the peripheral nervous system
Somatic and autonomic nervous system
151
What does the somatic nervous system do
Involved with intentional actions, transmits sensory signals to the central nervous system via afferent neurons, carries motor commands away from the cns via efferent neurons to the skeletal muscles
152
What does the autonomic nervous system do, what is it two divisions
- conveys info to and from our internal bodily structures that Carry out our basic life process
- sympathetic “fight or flight system”
- parasympathetic “rest and digest system”
153
What does EEG do
Records voltage fluctuations emerging from the brain between sites on the scalp and a neutral reference
154
What is neuroimaging
It uses computer programs to convert data from scanning devices into visual images of the brain
155
What types of neuroimaging is there’s an what do they do
- CT : produces static pictures of the brain structures
- PET : uses radioactive glucose to map brain regions for high and low activity
- fMRI : uses strong magnets to tell us about brain function as a person preforms a psychological task
156
What is grey matter
Cell bodies
157
What is white bodies
Myelin
158
What is the function of the dorsal part of the spinal cord and the ventral part
Sensory signal are brought into through the back ( dorsal) and motor signals leave though the front (ventral)
159
What is the purposes of the spinal cord
Sends sensory neurons in various parts of the body to the brain and relays motor commands from the brain to the muscles and organs via motor neurons
160
Name the 5 dermatone sections of the spinal cord and how many are in that section
```
8 cervicl
12 thoracic
5 lumbar
5 Sacral
1 coccygeal
```
161
What are the parts of the hindbrain
The medulla, pons and cerebellum
162
Where and what is the medulla
The medulla is the first part attached to the spinal cords, it helps regulate respiration, circulation and heart rate
163
Where’s is the pons located and what does it do
It’s the bulging part above the medulla, it it involved in rapid eye movements, facial expressions, chewing and dreaming
164
Where is the cerebellum and what does it do
Located at the very back of the brain , controls balance and posture and smoothing and contributes to some learning
165
What is reticular formation
Diffuse network of neurons that extends from the medulla into the midbrain
Regulates consciousness and alertness
166
What is the mid brain
The middle part of the brain that connects the hindbrain to the forebrain
167
What are the parts of the midbrain
- superior colliculus
- inferior colliculuis
- tectum (roof)
- Tegmentum (floor)
- the tegmentum releases substantia nigra
168
What are the five parts of the subcortical forebrain
1. Hypothalamus
2. Thalamus
3. Amygdala
4. Hippocampus
5. Basal ganglia
169
What does the hypothalamus do
Regulates body temp, thirst and appetite, works closely with the pituitary gland
170
What does the HPA do
Mediates the biological response to stress
171
What does thalamus do
Relays sensory info to the cortex and relays motor commands from the cortex to the motor system
172
What does the amygdala do
Part of the lambic system, plays a major role in emotions esp fair
173
What does the hippocampus do
Part of the lambic system, formation of explicit memories; vulnerable to stress
174
What are the parts of the basal ganglia and what does it do
- caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus
| - controls motor behavior, emotion and cognition
175
What are the three major points about the cerebral cortex
1. It’s the largest part of the human brain (makes up 80%)
2. Grayish in color because it is folded
3. Organized into four parts
176
What is gyri and sulci
Gyri is the hills and sulci are the valleys
177
What are the 4 sections of the cerebral cortex
1. Frontal
2. Parietal
3. Occipital
4. Temporal
178
What is located in the (left ) frontal lobe and what does each control
- frontal lobe : abstract thinking, planning, and social skills
- brocas area: speech production and grammar
- primary motor cortex
- central fissure
179
What are the parts of the parietal lobe and what are their functions
- parietal lobe :touch, special orientation, nonverbal thinking
- somatosensory cortex
180
What are the parts of the occipital lobe and what are their functions
- occipital lobe :vision
| - primary visual cortex
181
What are the parts of the temporal lobe and what are their functions
- temporal lobe : language, hearing, visual pattern recognition
- wernickes area : speech comprehension
182
What separated the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex
Corpus callosum
183
What does the left side of the brain control
Language, logic, details, analytical thinking, and positive emotion
184
What does the right side of the Brain control
Spatial representation, synthesis and negative emotions
185
What is the split brain study and who was a person who researched it
The split Brain study is research on people who have had their corpus callosum cut which blocks communication between halves
The person to research this was micheal gazzaniga
186
What is a gene
Unit of hereditary transmission, they are arranged along chromosomes and located at the nucleus
187
What is it when both alleles are the same
Homozygous
188
What is it when the alleles are different
Heterozygous
189
What is behavior genetics
Examines the generic and environmental bases of differences among individuals on a psychological traits
190
What is the degree of relatedness
The probability of sharing a gene
191
What is the degree of relatedness for monozygotic twins
1.0
192
What is the degree of relatedness for dizygotic twins
.5
193
What is the heritability coefficient
Quantifies the extent to which variations in a trait can be accounted for by genetic variation
194
What does each coefficient mean in the heritability coefficient
If its close to 1 then the trait is completely heritable
| If it is close to zero then it is not, usually the coefficient for twins is between .15 to .6
