AP Psych Midterm

Midterm review

Psychology

Psychology is derived from physiology (biology) and philosophy

Structuralism

early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

Functionalism

need to analyze the PURPOSE of behavior

Psychoanalytic/dynamic

unconscious, childhood

Behavioral

learned, reinforced

Humanistic

free will, choice, ideal, actualization

Cognitive

Perceptions, thoughts

Evolutionary

Genes

Biological

Brain, NTs

Sociocultural

society

Biopsychosocial

combo of all approaches

Mary Calkins

First Fem. Pres. of APA

Margaret Floy Washburn

1st fem. PhD

Charles Darwin

Natural selection & evolution

Dorothea Dix

Reformed mental institutions in the U.S.

Stanley Hall

1st pres. of APA1st journal

William James

Father of American Psychology - functionalist

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of Modern Psychology - structuralist

Basic research

the purpose is to increase knowledge (rats)

Applied research

the purpose is to help people

Psychologist

research or counseling, MS or PhD

Psychiatrist

prescribes medications and diagnose, M.D.

Adv of Experiment

researcher controls variables to establish cause and effect

Disadv of Experiment

difficult to generalize

Independent Variable

purposefully altered by the researcher to look for the effect

Experimental Group

received the treatment (part of the IV); can have multiple exp, groups

Control Group

placebo, baseline (part of the IV); can only have 1

Placebo Effect

show behaviors associated with the exp. group when having received a placebo

Dependent Variable

measured variable (is DEPENDENT on the independent variable)

Double-Blind

Exp. where neither the participant or the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to (drug studies)

Single-Blind

only participant blind - used if experimenter can't be blind (gender, age, etc)

Operational Definition

clear, precise, typically quantifiable definition of your variables - allows replication

Confound

error/ flaw in the study

Random Assignment

assigns participants to either control or experimental group at random - minimizes bias, increases the chance of equal representation among groups

Random Sample (selection)

a method for choosing participants for your study - that minimizes bias, everyone has a chance to take part

Representative Sample

The sample mimics the general pop. (ethnic, gender, age)

CORRELATION, Adv

identify the relationship between two variables

CORRELATION, Disadv

No cause and effect

Positive Correlation

variables increase & decrease together

Negative Correlation

as one variable increases the other decreases

Illusory correlation

belief of correlation that doesn't exist (old man predicts rain from arthritis)

NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION Adv

real-world validity (observe people

NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION Disadv

No cause and effect

CASE STUDY Adv

Studies ONE person (usually) in great detail - lots of info

CASE STUDY Disadv

No cause and effect

DESCRIPTIVE STATS

the shape of the data

Measures of Central Tendency, Mean

Average (use in a normal distribution)

Measures of Central Tendency, Median

Middle \# (use in skewed distribution)

Measures of Central Tendency, Mode

occurs most often

INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

establishes significance (meaningfulness)

STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

results not due to chance, exp. manipulation caused the difference in means

Confidentiality

names kept secret

Informed Consent

must agree to be part of the study

Debriefing

must be told the true purpose of the study (done after for deception)

Deception

must be warranted

NT

neurotransmitter

AP

action potential

NS

nervous system

NEURON

Basic cell of the NS

Dendrites

Receive incoming signal

Soma

Cell body (includes nucleus)

Axon

AP travels down this

Myelin Sheath

speeds up AP down the axon, protects axon, MS destroys this

Terminals

release NTs - send signal onto next neuron

Vesicles

sacs inside terminal contain NTs (rhymes w/?)

Synapse

gap b/w neurons

Action Potential

movement of Na and K ions across the membrane sends an electrical charge down the axon (more Na outside - like a salty banana)

All or none law

stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity of the response (flush the toilet)

Refractory period

neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP

Sensory neurons

receive signals

Afferent neurons

Accept signals

Motor neurons

send signals

Efferent neurons

signal Exits

Interneurons

cells in the spinal cord responsible for the reflex loop

CENTRAL NS

Brain and spinal cord

PERIPHERAL NS

The rest of the NS

Somatic NS

Voluntary movement

Autonomic NS

Involuntary (heart, lungs, etc)

Sympathetic NS

Arouses the body for fight/flight (generally activates - sympathetic to you getting eaten by a tiger helps you run away)

Parasympathetic NS

established homeostasis after a sympathetic response (generally inhibits)

NEUROTRANSMITTERS (NT)

Chemicals released in the synaptic gap, received by neurons

GABA

Major inhibitory NT

GlutamatE

Major Excitatory NT (get excited when seeing your mates!

Dopamine

Reward & movement

Serotonin

Moods and emotion

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Memory

Epinephrine & Norepinephrine

sympathetic NS arousal

Endorphins

pain control

Oxytocin

love and bonding

Agonist

a drug that mimics an NT

Antagonist

a drug that blocks an NT

Reuptake

Unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron. SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) block reuptake - treatment for depression

Hindbrain

the oldest part of the brain

Cerebellum

movement/balance (walking a tightrope balancing a bell)

Medulla

vital organs (HR, BP)

Pons

bridge b/w regions - basic functions

Reticular formation

alertness

Forebrain

higher thought processes

Amygdala

emotions, fear (Amy, da! You're so emotional!)

Hippocampus

memory (if you saw a hippo on campus you'd remember it!)