test 1 Flashcards
What is psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
What are the roots of psychology?
Psychology has roots in philosophy and physiology (thoughts and body)
What did Plato believe about knowledge?
Believed we are born with complete knowledge within our soul; inborn=nature
What did Aristotle believe about knowledge?
Believed knowledge was acquired through experience; experience=nurture
Who is Rene Descartes?
Mathematician-logical thinking; dualism
What is dualism?
Mind and body interact as 2 separate entities
Who is considered the father of psychology?
William Wundt; from Germany. He was the first to be able to measure reaction times to stimulants; 1st psych lab
What is structuralism?
Focuses on the structure and most basic elements of the mind; Edward Titchener “What the mind and body are”
What is functionalism?
Followed the teachings of Darwin and focused on how thoughts, feelings, and behavior help us adapt to the environment; William James “How the mind and conscious work”
What are the goals of psychology?
-Describe behavior
-Explain behavior
-Predict behavior
-Change (control) behavior
What is psychoanalytical (Psycho dynamic) theory?
Sigmund Freud; Behavior and personalities result from conflicts between inner desires (sexual/aggressive) and society’s expectations… conflicts occur in the unconscious/subconscious. Personality development set into motion early in life by caregivers. “Talk Therapy,” “Dreams”
What is behavioral psychology?
John B. Watson; Scientific study of behaviors that can be seen and/or measured. BF Skinner; behaviors and their consequences, behaviors and personalities are primarily determined by learning, shaped by focus in the environment, classical and operant conditioning
What is humanistic psychology?
Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow; human nature is essentially positive and people naturally grow and change for the better; positive psychology focused around choice, self-determination, and self-actualization
What is cognitive psychology?
George Miller; mental processes that direct behavior (connections between behavior and the human brain)
What is evolutionary psychology?
Charles Darwin and David Buss; theory of evolution by natural selection… survival of the fittest. Behaviors and mental processes are shaped by the forces of evolution, inherited traits either increase or decrease in frequency because they are maladaptive
What is biological psychology?
Numerous founders; Physiology used to explain behavior and mental processes. Hormones, genetics, anatomy, brain structure, etc.
What is sociocultural psychology?
Lev Vygotsky; Importance of social and cultural factors on behavior: parents, teachers, peers, culture, etc.
What is biopsychosocial psychology?
George Engel; examines the biological, psychological, and socio-cultural influences on behavior. factors don’t exist in isolation, factors constantly interact
What is the scientific method?
-find a question
-form hypothesis (educated guess)
-design study and collect data
-analyze the data and draw conclusions
-report the findings to allow for replication of the study
-theory is tentative explanation that begins to develop
What is a population?
Total group of individuals or subjects to be studied.
What is a sample?
A portion of the total to be used in research.
What is a random sample?
Each person has an equal chance of being selected.
What are the pros and cons of naturalistic observation?
Pro: Able to observe them in their natural habitat (not changed/manipulated).
Con: Tells us what not why, very time consuming, observer does not have a lot of control over participants, observer bias.
What are the pros and cons of a case study?
Pro: Great info, lots of conclusions about the person.
Con: May not generalize to a large group, confabulation (honest lying) and hindsight bias.
What are the pros and cons of the survey method?
Pro: Great deal of info.
Con: Only skins the surface, low response rate, wording effect is a concern, social desirability, and sample itself can be an issue.
What is correlation?
Statistical relationship between two variables.
What is a positive correlation?
Both variables go in the same direction… both go up or both go down.
Example: Income and tax, calories and weight gain.
What is a negative correlation?
One variable goes up while the other goes down and vice versa.
Example: Rainfall and plant watering time, temperature and clothing layers.
What does ‘correlation is not causation’ mean?
Just because the data correlates doesn’t mean one variable causes the other; a third variable could exist.
What does a correlation of .04 indicate?
Weak correlation.
What does a correlation of .80 indicate?
Strong correlation.
What is the experimental method?
Can demonstrate cause and effect, manipulates the factors of interest, holds constant other factors.
What is an independent variable?
The experimental factor that is manipulated, the treatment itself (drug).
What is a dependent variable?
The behavior measured; the factor that might be impacted by changes on the independent variable.
What are extraneous variables?
Environmental or participant factors that can affect the outcome (temp of room, lighting, time of day, etc.).
What are confounding variables?
A type of extraneous variable that changes with the independent variable, making it difficult to determine what is causing the change in the dependent variable.
What is a placebo?
Sugar pill or false treatment.
What is the placebo effect?
Believing a fake pill is having the same effect as the real medication due to psychological deception.
Example: If you tell a person that a headache is a common side effect of a particular medication, that person is more likely to report headaches even if they are actually taking a placebo.
What is a blind experiment?
When the subjects don’t know which group they are in.
What is a double blind experiment?
When both subjects and research assistants don’t know which group participants are in; cuts down bias.
What is reliability?
Consistency/stability of a measure; yields consistent results across time.
What is validity?
Did the study measure what it was supposed to measure?
Internal validity: Measured what it intended to measure. External validity: Findings that can be generalized to the population of interest.
What are research ethics?
Written guidelines for ethical treatment of research participants; studies involving people/animals must be approved by IRB (institute review board).
What is informed consent?
Right to be informed of risks and ability to withdraw at any time.
What is deception in research?
Is acceptable if not harmful to individual.
What is debriefing?
Must be used during an experiment whereby the researchers had to use some form of deception for the purpose of the study.
What is confidentiality?
The state of keeping or being kept secret or private.
Identify parts of a research study: A researcher wants to study the impact of meditation on anxiety levels in teens.
Population: Teens.
Representative Sample: 100 teens.
Dependent Variable: Anxiety levels in teens.
Independent Variable: Impact of meditation.
Experimental Group: Group A (50 teens) will participate in teacher-led meditation techniques for 45 minutes in one room.
Control Group: Group B (50 teens) will be allowed to spend that 45 minutes in unstructured activities in another room.
Extraneous Variable: Anxiety disorder, external challenges with family, friends, or life.
Everything psychological…
is simultaneously biological
Biological psychology
branch of psychology which deals with the biological basis for behavior (also known as psychobiology, neuropsychology, physiological psychology, behavioral neuroscience)
Nervous system
utilizes chemical and electrical processes to convey messages throughout the body; communication network
Nervous system includes:
brain, spinal cord, nerves
Basic nerve cells
approximately 100 billion neurons in the human brain
Neurons…
communicate with each other; could be 100 trillion to a quadrillion connections between neurons
Cell body
(Soma) contains nucleus
Dendrites
receive information
Axon
passes the signal along
Myelin sheath
fatty cells around the axon which increases speed
Axon terminal (buds)
release the message
Glial cells
act as glue, protect brain, barrier between brain and blood, removes cell waste, outnumber neurons 10 to 1, myelin sheath
3 types of neurons
sensory neurons, interneurons, motor neurons; messages carried by electrical impulses, all or none response
Sensory neurons
brings in information from body’s sense receptors
Interneurons
the CNS neurons that relay information between sensory inputs and motor outputs
Motor Neurons
carry outgoing information from the CNS to muscles and glands
Communication within neurons
from dendrites to axon terminals; messages carried (in one direction) by electrical impulses, recorded as the all-or-none action potential (spike potential)
Action potential…
either fires or it doesn’t; no such thing as a ‘little’ reaction
Strength/Seriousness of stimulus determined by…
sensory neurons firing more often, sensory neurons delivering to more neurons
Axon terminal of neuron ‘A’ to…
dendrites of neuron ‘B’
Synapse
the small gap between two neurons; exchange of chemical neurotransmitters across the synapse
Neurotransmitters
chemicals which facilitate communication between 2 neurons in the synapse
Fit
key (neurotransmitter) and lock (receptors)
Neurotransmitter from Neuron ‘A’…
can either help excite (excitatory) or hinder (inhibitory) neuron ‘B’ from firing its own action potential
If some neighboring neurons send inhibitory signals…
neuron will not fire
If enough neurons send excitatory signals…
neurons fires
Acetylcholine
learning, memory, muscle contractions; Alzheimer’s disease
Dopamine
movement, thought processes, rewarding sensations; Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, drug addiction
Serotonin
emotional states, sleep; depression
Norepinephrine
physical arousal, learning, memory; depression, stress
GABA
inhibition of brain activity; anxiety disorders
Endorphins
pain perception, positive emotions; opiate addiction
Agonist
drugs boost
Antagonist
drugs block
CNS
central nervous system
PNS
peripheral nervous system
Parts of the CNS
two functions: receive info from body sends to brain, takes info from brain sends to body
PNS
2 divisions: somatic or skeletal division (controls voluntary actions) and automatic (involuntary-automatic functions- digestion, respiration; sympathetic, parasympathetic)
Sympathetic
fight or flight
Parasympathetic
rest/calm
Both sympathetic and parasympathetic are…
responses triggered by neurotransmitters
Endocrine system
made up of ductless glands, secret hormones- chemical messengers (bloodstream), pituitary gland- ‘master gland’- located in brain- under the control of the hypothalamus
Thyroid
metabolism
Pineal
sleep-wake cycles
Adrenal glands
excites nervous system
Pancreas
blood sugar
Ovaries/testes
sex hormones
Brain and spinal cord
protected by layer of 3 thin membranes (meninges), bathed in cerebrospinal fluid to cushion and transport nutrients and waste; 3 sections of brain: hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain
Hindbrain
brainstem- oldest part of the brain (reptilian), medulla oblongata)- heart rate and breathing, pons- sleeping and coordination between right and left side of body, cerebellum- voluntary movement and balance, reflexes
Midbrain
generally helps generate movement in response to sensory input, reticular formation extends from hindbrain through midbrain- filters and relays information: vision, hearing, arousal (sleep/wake), coordinates motor response
