Psychology unit 1

This collection of flashcards are over the entirety of Prof. Gassin's Psych 101 class

What 2 elements of understanding does science rely on?

logic and observation

descriptive approaches of observation

• Naturalistic observation

• Survey

• Case study

What do you get from a correlational approach?

a basic process that gets data for you that helps with prediction

What can correlational approach NOT do?

determine cause and effect

What 2 pieces of information does the r in a correlational coefficient give us?

• Direction of the relationship of the variables

• How strong the relationship between the variables is

positive correlation

as values on one variable increase so does the other

negative correlation

as values on one variable increase, values on the other decrease

What does the experimental approach allow?

Allows for relatively reliable cause-and-effect claims

What is the downside of the experimental approach?

Have to heavily control and weed out many variables and creates very unrealistic contexts for testing cause-and-effect

Basic process of the experimental approach

1. Randomly assign participants to one of at least 2 groups

2. Implement intervention/experience with one of the groups

3. Measure effect of interest and compare group averages

What is the name of the group that gets an intervention/experience in an experimental approach?

experimental group

What is the name of the group that DOES NOT get an intervention/experience in an experimental approach?

control group

What are the six strategies for success in studying?

1. Retrieval practice

2. Interleaving

3. Spaced practice

4. Concrete examples

5. Elaboration

6. Dual coding

What is retrieval practice?

repeatedly bringing info into mind

What is interleaving as a study skill?

When you alternate between ideas when studying

Spaced practice as a study skill

when you break up study sessions over time

Concrete examples as a study skill

when you connect abstract ideas to examples, and find examples to real life

Elaboration as a study skill

when you flesh out ideas with details, get a different take on things, and ask why/how questions

Dual coding as a study skill

when you use both words and pictures

True or False: teaching to a specific study skill promotes better learning

False

What areas of study contribute to the study of psychology?

• Philosophy

• Biology

• Physiology

Who is Wilhelm Wundt and what did he contribute to psychology?

Regarded as the father of psychology, Wilhelm Wundt founded the 1st psychology lab which marked the very beginning of psychology

Who is Mary Wilton Calkins and what did she contribute to psychology

Mary was the 1st woman president of the APA and emphasized the importance of memory and theories of the conscious self

Who is Francis Summer and what did he contribute to psychology?

He was the 1st African American to earn a PhD in psychology and worked in the development in mental well being for African Americans

Where does our understanding of the world come from?

• Tradition

• Intuition

• Authority

• Logic

• Experience

Steps of the scientific method

1. develop question

2. develop hypothesis

3. design a study & collect data

4. analyze data

5. share findings

6. repeat

What is the descriptive approach to a study?

Allows the exploration of a question in a naturalistic way, this technique also utilizes surveys and case studies in a in-depth and multidimensional way

What is the correlational approach to a study?

Allows for numeric description of a relationship between the variables, this helps with prediction but still CANNOT determine cause and effect

Who is considered the father of modern psychology?

Wilhelm Wundt

If I am doing a research project where I am collecting many types of data (e.g., interviews, medical exam results, intelligence test results) about one person with a rare mental illness, what kind of study am I doing?

A case study

Consider two correlation coefficients, +.37 and -.52. If someone claims that the first is stronger than the second, are they correct?

No

Define the nervous system

A system in the body that coordinates sensory information and bodily action

What are 2 general types of cells?

1. Glial

2. Neuron

What are glial cells?

support for neurons, provide nutrients and clean waste products

What are neurons?

cells that allow very fast electrochemical communication over long distance

Neuron structure

What is the chemical process between neurons?

the passing between chemicals/hormones between neurons

What is the electric process between neurons?

The change in voltage of a neuron when they pass neurotransmitters

What is resting potential in a neuron?

When at rest, the neuron has a negative charge inside

What is action potential in a neuron?

When the neuron has a positive charge that “skips” down the myelinated axon

What does the sympathetic system do?

The sympathetic system is part of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body for 'fight or flight' responses, increasing heart rate, dilating pupils, and redirecting blood flow to muscles.

What does the parasympathetic system do?

Makes your body “rest and digest”

2 messaging neurotransmitters in psychology

• Serotonin

• Dopamine

What does serotonin do?

controls mood and appetite

what does dopamine do?

linked with sense of reward and motivation

What makes up the peripheral nervous system?

• somatic nervous system

• autonomic nervous system

• sympathetic nervous system

• parasympathetic nervous system

Does the autonomic nervous system control voluntary or involuntary movement?

Voluntary

What is the cortex of the brain and what is its function?

The wrinkled outer layer of the brain that deals with most advanced mental functions

What does the cortex do?

understanding language, thinking, learning, perception

What are the lobes of the brain?

• Frontal lobe

• Broca’s area

• Parietal lobe

• Temporal lobe

• Occipital lobe

What happens when the Broca’s area is damaged?

Problems with speech, word choice, grammar

What does the frontal lobe do?

Touch, integrating with what we see and hear, overall sensory information, planning, thinking in advance,

What does the temporal lobe do?

processing auditory information, understanding language,

What does the occipital lobe do?

Visual processing

What is the limbic system?

The structures in the middle of the brain

What parts make up the limbic system?

• Hippocampus

• Amygdala

• Thalamus

• Hypothalamus

What does the limbic system do?

emotion, instincts, memory formation

What does the cerebellum do?

connecting and timing of movement, balance, timing

What does the brainstem do?

involved in basic life functions and arousal

Brain lateralization

The idea that left and right hemispheres of the brain have different functions

• Left brain “versus” right brain

What allows the brain to act as a “whole”?

the corpus callosum, a fiber network that connects the 2 hemispheres

What is the connectome?

The other fiber networks that provide connections between brain regions

What is the endocrine system?

A system in the body that involves glands releasing hormones into the blood stream

What does the pineal gland produce?

melatonin

What do the adrenal glands produce?

adrenalin

How does the endocrine system compare to the nervous system?

the endocrine system is slower and has more widespread effects than the nervous system

Nature vs Nurture

What determines who we are and how do both contribute to our characteristics

Epigenetics

the study of how molecules around a gene influence the DNA and how its working

true or false: can epigenetics molecules be affected by the environment?

true they are affected by many environmental factors