sem 1 final review Flashcards
the goals of psychology
describe, predict, explain, and control/influence
edward b. titchner
structuralism and introspection
william james
functionalism
cognitive perspective
mental processes influence behavior and vary from person to person
cross-cultural perspective
diversity of behavior in different cultural settings (individualistic vs. collectivistic)
evolutionary perspective
psychological processes help adapt to the environment
empirical evidence
data acquired through observation or experimentation
descriptive research
observe and describe behaviors
random assignment
all participants have the same chance of being in the experimental group
3 basic types of neurons
sensory neurons, motor neurons, interneurons
actional potential
electrical impulse along exon, resting potential neuron is polarized -> passes stimulus threshold -> depolarizes (sodium in, potassium out)
central nervous system
brain and spinal cord, protected by meninges and cerebrospinal fluid
phrenology
increased interest in cortical localization
functional plasticity
shift functions from damaged to undamaged brain areas
structural plasticity
physically change structure due to learning or environmental stimulus
medulla
control vital autonomic functions, damage is fatal
hypothalamus
regulates hunger
grey matter
glial cells, neuron soma, unmyelinated axons
brocas area
lower left frontal lobe, crucial in speech production
wernikes area
left temporal lobe, crucial in comprehending written and spoken communication
sensation
basic sensory experience of environmental stimulus
perception
meaningfully integrate, organize, and interpret sensory data
vision
cornea -> pupil (iris) -> lens -> retina -> optic nerve
rods
thin, long, blunt, 125 million, black and white (dark) vision
cones
short, fat, tapered, color vision, concentrated in the fovea (retinas center)
audition
outer (collect sound) -> middle ear (amplify sound) -> inner ear (transform sound)
sensory adaptation
gradual decline in sensitivity to a constant stimulus
gustation
saliva dissolves chemical substances -> activate taste buds
gate-control theory of pain
brain regulates pain by sending signals to spinal cord to close or open gates (pathways) to reduce or intensify pain based on the perception of that pain
kinesthetic sense
sense of location and position of body parts in relation to eachother
vestibular sense
sense of balance from semicircular ear canals
gestalt psychology
we perceive whole objects (figures or gestalts) instead of isolated pieces
figure-ground relationship
we automatically separate figure (main object) from ground (background)
myller-lyer illusion
lines at corners appear longer or shorter because of size constancy
monocular cues
require only 1 eye
relative size
if 2 objects are assumed to be similar sizes, the larger one is closer
overlap
an object that is blocked by another object is perceived as being farther away
aerial perspective
faraway objects appear slightly blurred by the atmosphere
texture gradient
the details of surfaces that extend in the distance becomes less clearly defined
linear perspective
parallel lines meet in the distance, the closer parallel lines are the farther away they seem
perceptual cues
distance or depth perception that require information from both eyes
convergence
degree to which muscles rotate your eyes to focus on an object
binocular disparity
when the images on both retinas are very different, the object is interpreted to be close
attention
the capacity to selectively focus your senses and awareness on a particular stimulus
3 characteristics of attention
limited capacity, selective, blind
limited capacity
the ability to focus your attention on only the information that is most relevant to your goals
selective
the ability to focus on certain things and ignore others (eg cocktail party effect)
blind
we miss obvious stimuli in our field of vision or hearing
NREM1
theta waves, sensations disengaged, consciousness can be regained quickly
NREM2
sleep spindles and k complexes, delta waves
NREM 3 and 4
delta waves, heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing drop to lowest levels
sigmund freuds beliefs of dreams
manifest content (actual dream images) and latent content (disguised meaning of the dream), fulfillment of repressed wishes
new activation-synthesis model of dreaming
dreams are the subjective awareness of the brains internally generated sleep signals
neurocognitive model of dreaming
there is continuity between waking and dreaming cognition, reflect interest, personalities, and worries
dyssomnia
disruptions in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep
parasomnia
undesirable physical arousal, behaviors, or events during sleep
neodissociation theory of hypnosis
hypnotized people experience dissocation of consciousness into one conscious stream and one dissociated stream (hidden observor)
diminishing rewards
dopamine receptors go down as a result of drug tolerances
conditioning
learning associations between the environment and behavior
robert rescorla
shocked rats (1 group all the time another group some of the time), showed that conditioned stimulus must be a reliable signal that predicts the unconditioned stimulus’ presence
edward thorndikes law of effect
responses that bring satisfaction become strengthened and responses that bring unpleasantry will be weakened
partial reinforcement
behaviors are more resistant to extinction than continuously reinforced behaviors
ec tolamn
cognitive processes are important to learning behaviors
cognitive map
mental representatin of a layout built through experience
martin seligman
classically conditioned dogs to associate a tone with fear then used a shuttle body so dogs could learn to avoid a shock
learned helplessness
exposure to inescapable aversive events creates passive behavior
albert bandura
expectation of reinforcement effects performance and observational learning
stage model of memory
sensory, short-term, long-term
alan baddley’s model of working memory
phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, central executive
tip of the tongue experience
the inability to get information you’re sure is stored in your memory
context effect
the tendency to remember information more easily in the same setting as the original learning environment
mood congruence
a given mood tends to evoke memories that are consistent with that mood
context effect
the tendency to remember information while in the same phsyiological biological learning conditions
encoding failure
information was never encoded into long-term memory in the first place
absentmindedness
when attention is divided, encoded memories are less detailed
retrieval cue failure
the inability to recall a memory due to inadequate retrival cues
retroactive interference
a new memory interferes with remembering an old memory
proactive interference
an old memory interferes with remembering a new memory
suppression
the deliberate, conscious effort to forget informaiton
repression
when motivated forgetting occurs unconsciously
source confusion
when the source of amemory is forgotten or is attributed to the wrong source
misinformaiton effect
information received after an event can change the memory of that event
lashley and thompsons findings
simple memories are localized, complex memories are distributed
aplysia studies
both neuron function and structure change during conditioning
thinking
manipulating mental representations of informaiton to draw inferences and conclusions
problem-solving
thinking and behavior directed towards obtaining a not readily available goal
heuristic
a general rule-of-thumb strategy that only might work, reduces the number of possible solutions
insight
a solution arrived in a sudden realization
intuition
coming to a conclusion without conscious awareness of the thought process involved
functional fixedness
only view an object as functioning in the usual way
mental set
tendency to persist in solving problems with solutions that worked in the past
confirmation bias
search for information that conigmrs a belief
intelligence quotient (IQ)
a measure of general intelligence derived by comparing an individuals score with the scores of others in the same age group
mental age
a measure of general intelligence in which an individuals mental level is expressed in terms of the average abilities of a given age group
3 requirements of a scientifically accepted test
standardization, reliability, validity
standardization
test is given to a large number of subjects of a particular group, standards follow normal distribution
reliability
consistently produce similar socres on different occassions
validity
test meausres what its supposed to
Howard Gardner
different mental abilities are biologically distinct and controlled by different brain regions, mental abilities are independent of eachother
successful intelligence
analytic, creative, practical
analytic intelligence
mental processes learn to solve problems
creative intelligence
ability to deal with new situations by drawing exissting skills
practical intelligence
the ability to adapt to the environment
3 characteristics of motivation
activation, persistence, intensity
instinct theories
people are motivated to engage in certain behaviors because of evolutionary programming
drive theories
behavior is motivated by the desire to decrease internal tensions caused by unmet biological needs
incentive theories
behavior is motivated by the pull of external goals
arousal theory
people are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal
humanistic theories
people are innately motivated to realize their highest personal potential
ghrelin
strongly stimulates appetite
cholecystokinin
triggers satiation (fullness)
leptin
decreases food intake
insulin
promotes glucose absorbtion by cells
neuropeptide Y
triggers eating behaviors
normal BMI
18-25
overweight BMI
25-29.9
obese BMI
over 30
maslows hierarchy of needs
people are motivated to satisfy the levels needs before moving on, physioogical -> safety -> love -> esteem -> self-actualization
emotional intelligence
ability to manage your own emotions, comprehend others emotional responses, respond appropriately to others emotions
