Unit-1 Flashcards
How did Socrates and Plato influence Psychology?
They believed the mind and body are separate, the mind exists after death, and we are born with innate ideas.
How did Aristotle influence Psychology?
He denied the existence of innate ideas and believed knowledge grows from experience (empiricism). The mind and body are not separable.
How did Descartes influence Psychology?
He agreed with Socrates and Plato. He was a dualist (mind & body are separate). He proposed the first model of communication between mind & body. “I think therefore I am”.
What is monism?
There only exists one substance, and it is all physical.
What is dualism?
The physical substance is separable from the mental/spiritual substance. There is the existence of a soul/spirit.
How did John Locke influence Psychology?
He rejected the ideas of Descartes. He believed we are a blank slate (Tabula Rasa) at birth. Knowledge originates in experience and should rely on observation and not instinct.
Who was Wilhelm Wundt?
He established the first psychology laboratory in Germany and is the founder of experimental or cognitive psychology.
Who was William James?
He was the father of American Psychology (1st college psychology class). He founded functionalism (studied the function of the mind). He defined psychology as “The science of mental life”.
What is behaviorism?
The study of observable behaviors. The scientific method is used.
Who was John Watson?
He studied learned behavior and did the “Little Albert” experiment= fear of white, furry objects/animals (rats).
Who was B.F. Skinner?
He conditioned rats using reinforcement-the consequences of a behavior determine whether it will be more/less likely to occur
Who was Freud?
He believed the unconscious part of the mind operates outside conscious awareness but influences conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions (Psychoanalytic theory).
What is empiricism?
The belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation.
What is a correlation coefficient?
A measure of direction and strength of a correlation.
What is a positive correlation?
A relationship between two variables in which both variables move in the same direction.
What is a negative correlation?
A relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other decreases.
What does the numerical value of the correlation coefficient indicate?
A correlation coefficient greater than zero indicates a positive relationship while a value less than zero signifies a negative relationship.
What is a illusory correlation?
When we incorrectly believe two variables have a relationship to each other.
What is a independent variable?
The variable that is manipulated/changed.
What is a dependent variable?
The variable that is measured.
What is random selection?
Obtaining a sample of people that resembles the entire population.
What is random assignment?
Where participants are randomly assigned to either the experimental group or a control group.
How is mode calculated?
Count the most frequently observed measurement.
How is mean calculated?
Add all measurements together and then divide by the number of values.
How do you calculate median?
Find the value that is in the middle of the data set.
What is a CT (computerized axial tomography) scan?
A rotating scanner takes a series of X-ray photographs showing densities of tissue in the brain. Used to locate lesions and tumors, which appear darker because they are less dense than the cortex.
What is a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)?
Uses a magnetic field to line up the nuclei of specific molecules in the brain tissue. Pulses of radio waves cause the nuclei to rotate out of alignment. Produces pictures of soft tissue at a better resolution than a CT scan. Help localize brain damage (stroke).
What is a DTI (diffusion tensor imaging)?
Used to visualize white matter pathways, which are fiber bundles that connect both nearby and distant brain regions to each other. Measures the rate and direction of diffusion (movement of water molecules) along white matter pathways. It is a critical tool in mapping the connectivity of the human brain.
What is a PET (positron emission tomography) scan?
Uses a harmless radioactive substance so radiation detectors can scan the brain while a person performs perceptual or cognitive tasks (reading/speaking). Areas of the brain activated during these tasks demand energy and greater blood flow, resulting a higher radioactivity in that region.
What is a fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scan?
Detects differences between oxygenated hemoglobin and deoxygenated hemoglobin when exposed to magnetic pulses. Oxygenated hemoglobin concentrates in the active areas of the brain and provides a picture of the level of activation in each brain area. Does not require exposure to radioactive substances and can localize changes in the brain very accurately. Used also during cognitive activities like remembering past events, imagining future events, daydreaming, and mind wandering.
What is an action potential
The process of a neuron “firing” or transmitting an electrical message from the dendrites to the terminal buttons.
What are neurotransmitters?
The chemical messengers that allow one neuron to send a message to another neuron.
What is a synapse and what occurs there?
The junction/gap between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites/cell body of another neuron. Here an action potential moves from one neuron to another.
What is Gestalt?
Perceiving the whole rather than the sum of the parts.
What is double-blind observation?
An observation whose true purpose is hidden from the observer and the person being observed.
What are neurons?
Cells in the nervous system that communicate with each other to perform info-processing tasks.
What is the cell body (soma)?
Part of neuron that coordinates the info-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive.
What are dendrites?
Part coming off cell body that receive info from other neurons and relay it to the soma.
What is an axon?
Part of neuron that carries info to other neurons , muscles, or glands.
What is the myelin sheath?
An insulating layer of fatty material covering the axon that helps send signals faster.
What are glial cells?
They are the neuron’s support cells.
What is the process of conduction?
The movement of an electrical signal through a neuron.
What is the process of transmission?
The movement of electrical signals from one neuron to another over the synapse.
What is resting potential?
The difference in electric charge between the inside/outside of a neuron’s cell membrane (inside membrane is slightly negative).
What is the refractory period?
The time following an action potential and a new action potential cannot occur.
What is saltatory conduction?
Charge jumps from node to node increasing speed of info.
What is reuptake?
Neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by presynaptic axon.
What is enzyme deactivation?
Enzymes break down specific neurotransmitters.
What is the nervous system?
A network of neurons that conveys electrochemical info throughout the body.
What is the central nervous system?
It collects sensory info from the environment via the spinal cord and brain.
What is the peripheral nervous system?
Connects CNS to body’s organs and muscles.
What is the somatic nervous system?
It controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles.
What is the autonomic nervous system?
Controls involuntary/automatic commands controlling internal organs/glands.
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
Activated during arousal and fight or flight situations.
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
Activated in calm situations
What does the medulla do?
Coordinates heart rate, circulation, and respiration
What does the reticular formation do?
Regulates sleep, wakefulness, and arousal
What does the cerebellum do?
Controls fine motor skills
What does the pons do?
Relays info from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain.
What does the tectum do?
Provides orientation in the environment
What does the tegmentum do?
Involved in movement and arousal
What does the cerebral cortex do?
Responsible for perception, emotion, movement, and thought
What is contralateral control?
Each hemisphere controls the functions of the opposite side of the body.
What does the occipital lobe do?
Processes visual info
What does the parietal lobe do?
Processes info about touch
What does the temporal lobe do?
Monitors hearing and language
What does the frontal lobe do?
Facilitates movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement.
What does the thalamus do?
Receives/transmits info from senses (except smell) to cortex
What does the hypothalamus do?
Regulates body temp, hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior
What does the hippocampus do?
Creates/integrates new memories
What does the amygdala do?
Played a major role in emotional processes (fear, punishment, reward)
What does the basal ganglia do?
Directs intentional movements
What does the thyroid do?
Regulates body temp and heart rate
What do the adrenal glands do?
Regulate stress responses
What does the pancreas do?
Controls digestion
What does the pineal gland do?
Secretes melatonin (sleep/wake cycle)
What does the pituitary gland do?
Releases hormones that direct the functions of many other glands
What is phantom limb syndrome?
Feeling sensations where missing limbs would be
What is Broca’s area?
A small area in the left frontal lobe where we develop spoken language
What is Wernicke’s area?
Area in the upper left temporal lobe where language comprehension takes place
What is sensation?
Simple stimulation of a sense organ
What is perception?
The organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation
What is psychophysics?
Methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer’s sensitivity to a stimulus
What is absolute threshold?
The minimal intensity needed to barely detect a stimulus in 50% of trials
What is Weber’s law?
The just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity.
What does the length of a light wave determine?
Hue or color
What does the amplitude or intensity of a light wave determine?
Brightness
What does a light wave’s purity determine?
Saturation or richness of colors
What does the iris control?
The amount of light entering the eye
What do cones detect?
Color and fine detail in daylight conditions
What do rods detect?
White/grey/black in low-light conditions (night vision)
What is the fovea?
Area of the retina where vision is the clearest (no rods)
What creates a blind spot?
A location of the retina producing no sensation because there are no rods/cones (where optic nerve travels through)
What is area V1?
Part of the occipital lobe containing the primary visual cortex
What creates color blindness?
One cone type is missing (genetic disorder)
What is a illusory conjunction?
A perceptual mistake where the brain incorrectly combines features from multiple objects
What does the vestibular system do?
Helps us maintain balance/position of our bodies relative to gravity
What is bottom-up control?
Environment (stimuli) influences are thinking
What is top-down control?
Our thinking influences how we see (perceive) the environment
What is conductive hearing loss?
Eardrum/ossicles are damaged and cannot conduct sound waves to cochlea
What is sensorineural hearing loss?
Damage to cochlea, hair cells, or auditory nerve (aged hearing loss)
What is area A1?
The portion of the temporal lobe that contains the primary auditory cortex
What is the cochlea?
A fluid-filled tube that is the organ for auditory transduction
What does the frequency/wavelength of a sound wave determine?
Pitch or how high/low a sound is
What does the amplitude or the height of a sound wave determine?
Loudness or a sound’s intensity
What does a sound wave’s complexity (mix of frequencies) determine?
Timbre or a listener’s experience of sound quality and resonance
What is change blindness?
Failure to detect changes to visual details of a scene
What is binocular disparity?
The difference in the retinal image of the two eyes that provides info about depth
What is inattentional blindness?
Failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention
What is the feature-integration theory?
Focused attention isn’t required to detect individual features that make up a stimulus but is required to bind those features together
What is the color-opponent system?
Pairs of visual neurons that work in opposition creating after images (red-green, blue-yellow)
