Test 1 Units 1 & 2 Flashcards
what is psychology
the study of behavior and mental processes
behavior–what you see
mental processes–what you don’t see
psychologists use the scientific study to what
describe, predict, explain
what are the 20 subfields of psychology
behavioral neuroscience, experimental psych, cognitive psych, developmental psych, health psych, clinical psych, social psych, cross-cultural psych, evolutionary psych, behavioral genetics, clinical neuropsychology, counseling psych, educational psych, environmental psych,
forensic psych, industrial psych, personality psych, program evaluation, school psych, sport psych
behavioral neuroscience
study of how genetics effects behavior
experimental psych
study of how people sense, perceive, learn, and think about the world
developmental psych
study of how people change from conception to death
cognitive psych
study of mental processes in the brain
health psych
study of how psychological factors effect physical issues or disease
clinical psych
study of psychological disorders and treating them
social psych
study of how peoples thoughts, feelings, and actions affect them
cross-cultural psych
study of differences and similarities in different cultures and ethnic groups
evolutionary psych
***newer
study of behavior effected by our ancestors and genetics
behavioral genetics
***newer
study of traits inherited related to behavior
*extra info
some reasearchers believe that some traits are connected by genetic factors
clinical neuropsychology
***newer
study of biological factors and psychological disorders
counseling psych
not in notes
study of educational, social, and career adjustments
educational psych
not in notes
study of teaching and learning processes
environmental psych
not in notes
study of the relationship between people and their environment
forensic psych
not in notes
study of memory
* determining the truth with witness memories
industrial psych
not in notes
study of the impact of a workspace
personality psych
not in notes
study of the CONSISTANCY of a persons behavior
program evaluation
not in notes
assess weather a program meats their goals
school psych
not in notes
study of younger kids with academic or emotional problems
sport psych
not in notes
study of athletic activity and exercising
what diversity is there in the psychology field
2x as many women as men &
16% from racial minority
psychologists vs psychiatrists
psychologists: minimum masters degrees, employed in variety of settings
Psychiatrists: All have doctoral degrees, diagnose and treat psychological disorders, can prescribe drugs
when/where was psychology born
1879 in Leipzig, Germany
who founded the first laboratory
Wilhelm Wundt (father of psychology)
what is structuralism
*old school (not past 1900)
uncovering mental components of consciousness, thinking, and other mental activities
(measurement and experimentation)
led by Wilhelm Wundt
what procedure did structuralism use
Introspection:
analyzed peoples perception to understand the structure of the mind
how people described things
what is functionalism
*old school (not past 1900)
concentrated on what the mind and behavior allows people to adapt to
(applied science)
who was functionalism led by
William James
what is gestalt (whole) psychology
*used today
focuses on the organization of perception (how we organize sensory info into meaningful wholes)
what men created gestalt psychology
M. Wertheimer, K. Koffka, and W. Kohler
“Whole is greater than the sum of the parts”
what does neuroscience perspective mean
views behavior through the brain (nervous system) and other biological factors
(studies hereditary and evolutional instincts)
what does psychodynamic perspective mean
behavior is motivated by inner unconscious (individual has little control) Sigmund Freud
what does behavioral perspective mean
observable and measurable behavior
(studied by John B. Watson-1920s and B.F. Skinner)
john b. watson and b.f. skinner’s belief
you can get any desirable outcome by controlling a persons environment
ex. treat for good behavior
(control-reinforcement)
what does cognitive perspective mean
focuses on peoples understanding about the world (think, understand, and know)
uses informational processing- how we make decisions
what does humanistic perspective mean
belief people can control their behavior and people try to reach full potential
who are carl rodgers and abraham maslow and what did they believe
believed humans can freely make decisions- they emphasized how psychology is to enrich peoples lives
what are the controversies
*Nature (hereditary) v.s Nurture (environmental)
*conscious v.s conscious cause of behavior
*observable behavior v.s conative (internal) mental process
*free will v.s determination
*individual differences (humanistic) v.v universal differences (gestalt)
Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939)
first to receive a doctorate
Leta Stetter Hollingworth (1886-1939)
first to look at child development and women issues
Mary Cakins (1863-1930)
study memory, president of American Psychological Association
Karen Horney (1885-1952)
studied social and cultural factors in psych, founder of American journal of psychoanalysis
June Etta Downey (1875-1932)
study of personality traits, first head of psych department
Anna Freud (1895-1982)
contribution to treatment of abnormal issues
Maire Phipps Clark (1917-1983)
learned how kids of color figured out racial differences
what is the scientific method
systematic approach to find knowledge and understanding about behavior
what are the 4 steps of the scientific method
identify questions-identify problem
formulate an explanation-hypothesis and theory
carry out research to support or refute- experiment (descriptive, experimental, correlation)
communicate the findings (share)
what is a theory
explanation and predicts of a phenomena of interest
based on literature, research, and general knowledge
what is a hypothesis
prediction stated in a way to be tested
(operational definition
what is descriptive research
research to investigate a person or a group’s patterns of behavior
what is archival research
research with existing data
advantage-inexpensive
disadvantage-not always possible
what is naturalistic observation
OBSERVING NATURAL behavior
advantage-real everyday life behavior
disadvantage-no control over what happens, can trigger reactive behavior
what is survey research
representative sample asked prepared questions
advantage-easy to get, useful info
disadvantage-misrepresentation and bias
what is a case study
intensive investigation of an individual or group
advantage-improved understanding
disadvantage-individuals are unique
what is correlation research
two sets of variables to see if they are related/associated with each other
doesn’t show causation but shows prediction
what is correlation coefficient
strength and direction of the relationship
(-1 & +1) closer to one the stronger the relationship
what is positive correlation
move in same direction (time studying/grades)
what is negative correlation
move in opposite direction (time playing video games/grades)
what is experimental research
establishes cause-and-effect relationships
experiment with one changed variable to see the effects
what groups are used in a psychological experiment
experimental-special treatment and control-no special treatment (used for comparison)
requires living subjects split randomly
what is the independent variable
the condition manipulated (special treatment)
what is the dependent variable
effected by the independent, it is measured and expected to change
why does research need to be repeated
to increase confidence in prior findings
what are psychologic ethical procedures
protection from harm
privacy
informed consent- voluntary AND they know what the participation will involve
debriefing
(bound to prevent discomfort, illness, and pain to promote well-being)
why do psychologists use animals
can learn effects more quickly, greater experimental control, and provides beneficial info to humans
what is experimental bias
factors that change how the independent variable affects the dependent variable
how to psychologist avoid experimental bias
placebo effect, and double blind procedure (neither knows who is getting the the true drug or the placebo) deception is sometimes necessary
what are neurons
nerve cells, basic element of nervous system
1 trillion involved in the control of behavior, ability to communicate
what is the cell body (soma)
contains nucleus and keeps cell alive and functioning
what are dendrites
fibers that receive messages from other neurons
what is the axon
extensions that carries messages to other neurons
what is the myelin sheath
a tubelike protective layer of fat and protein around the axon, speeds the message up
what are terminal buttons/axon terminals
bubbles at the end of neurons (neuron transmitters) and sends messages
how do neurons communicate
neural impulses at varied speeds
what is the all-or-non-law
messages either fire or don’t
how is a neuron triggered
its in a resting state with a negative charge (-70 millivolts) and then triggered by a positive charge
what is an axon potential
when the positive charge enters through the membrane causing the charge to change and triggering an impulse to travel down the axon
what is an electromagnetic process
action potential uses both electrical and chemical prosperities
what are mirror neurons
specialized neurons that respond when they see someone doing something
explain how and why humans understand intentions and can predict behavior
what is the synapse
space between two neurons where the axon buttons communicate with the dendrites
what are neurotransmitters
chemical messengers received at the dendrites of the receiving neurons,
delivers excitatory (likely to fire) or inhibitory (less likely to fire)
what happens to the neurotransmitter after its done its job
the terminal buttons reabsorb them- reuptake
what are the 2 divisions of the nervous system
central nervous system
peripheral nervous system
what is the central nervous system
made of the brain and spinal cord
what is the peripheral nervous system
made of a network of nerves
connects back to the central nervous system
the peripheral nervous system is made of two divisions, the somatic and autonomic divisions, what’s the difference
somatic-regulates voluntary movements with sense organs
autonomic-regulate involuntary actions that keeps you alive (two more divisions sympathetic and parasympathetic)
what is the difference between the sympathetic and para sympathetic divisions
sympathetic-regulates fight or flight
parasympathetic-brings body back to calm state
what is a spinal reflex
connected to central nervous system, automatic involuntary response, controlled by the spinal cord without the brain
difference between the prefixes Psy and Phy
psy- of the mind
phy-of the body
what are the 3 kinds of neurons involved with reflexes
sensory (afferent)
motor (efferent)
interneurons
what is function of the 3 different types of neurons
sensory- transmits outside body info
motor-communicates how to move to muscles and glands
interneurons-connects the information between sensory and motor
what is the endocrine system
communication through gland network via hormones and bloodstream
what are hormones
they circulate through the blood and regulate the growth of the body
what is the master gland
pituitary gland (balls of the brain)
what is gene therapy
injecting genes into the bloodstream to hopefully produce chemicals to cure diseases
what is the function of the central core of our brain
control basics like breathing eating and sleeping
where is the hindbrain located
back of the brain
what is the medulla
breathing and heartbeat
*hindbrain
what are pons
combine movement between left and right side of the body, regulates sleep
*hindbrain
what is the cerebellum
bodily balance (gracefulness)
*hindbrain
wheer is the midbrain located
middle of the brain
where is the forebrain located
front of the brain
what is reticular formation
activates parts of the brain to have a heightened sense of awareness
effects sleep-wake cycle
what is the thalamus
station for sensory information
*forebrain
what is the hypothalamus
under thalamus, maintains homeostasis, regulates survival behavior
what is the limbic system
controls basic functions like emotion (amygdala), learning, memory (hippocampus), pleasure, and self-preservation
what is the cerebral cortex
the 4 lobes of the brain,
frontal
parietal
temporal
occipital
what is the frontal lobe
body’s voluntary actions
personality and emotion
what is the parietal lobe
perception and sensory experiences
what is the temporal lobe
hearing and speaking
what is the occipital lobe
processes visual information
what are association areas in the brain
mental processes with thinking, speech, language, and memory
what is neuroplasticity
the brain changing and learning new information, neurons form new interconnections and reorganize the information
what are the 2 hemispheres in the brain
right and left (both control motion and sensation in that side of the body)
what is laterization
dominance of one hemisphere over another
what does the left hemisphere specialize in
sequentially (logic and reasoning)
*math
what does the right hemisphere specialize in
spatial reasoning (memory and awareness)
*art
