PSC 001 Midterm 1 (UC Davis)

psychology

the study of the mind, the brain, and behavior

complexity requirements

1. large # of parts

2. large # of interactions among parts

3. hierarchical organization

4. non-linearity

5. emergent properties (the whole is greater than the sum of the parts)

6. cannot be predicted by knowledge of properties of the parts alone

Aristotle

nature vs. nurture - is behavior attributed to inherited traits or environment?

systems perspective

nothing is innate, and nothing is purely environmental -- behavior arise from interactions between our mind, our bodies, and our environment

the brain's job is to facilitate this interaction between brain, body, and world

Descartes

dualism -- the mind and the body are separate yet intertwined

Wilhelm Wundt

founded the first psych lab -- began empirical psych work

structuralism

- internal

- learning about the structure of thoughts

functionalism

- external

- fully understanding the body and our environment will help predict and explain behavior

William James

- asked how human behavior contributes to survival and how it is adaptive

- functionalist -- believed thoughts and emotions contribute directly to survival

- student Mary Whiton Calkin became the first female president of the American Psychological Association

Gestalt Theory

the whole of personal experience is greater than the sum of its parts

- cognitive processes amount to a greater "whole" than just the individual components

Sigmund Freud

behaviors are driven by early childhood experiences and unconscious sexual desires and conflicts

Ivan Pavlov

-pioneered the science of learning

- classical conditioning -- psychic response of dogs salivating at the sight of food

Behaviorism

John B. Watson -- studied observable behaviors to determine origins and predict future behavioral outcomes

B.F. Skinner -- consequences of our past behaviors shape our current behaviors (behavioral conditioning)

Cognitive psychology

George A. Miller - started the "cognitive revolution" with a center for cognitive science at Harvard

-- study of how people and animals think, learn, and remember things

Humanistic psychology

current environments and resources help to both constrain and nurture our thoughts and actions

Notion of Embodiment

all aspects of perception, movement, cognition, and interactions with the environment are based on the coupling of a brain, in a body, in an environment

embodiment

bodily interactions with the world

- precondition for subjectivity, emotion, value, and meaning

- based on the actual shape and physical capacities and limits of the body

scientific method

1. theory

2. hypothesis

3. research

4. support or refute hypothesis

5. replication

3 kinds of study

descriptive - lots of detail

correlational - is x associated with y?

experimental - if I manipulate x, what happens to y?

descriptive studies

- real world setting = ecological validity

- no intervention = naturalistic

- intervention = participant

longitudinal studies

- developmental design

- observations made over time

cross-sectional studies

examining different populations to avoid time required for longitudinal studies

- cohort effects = different groups affected by different things

blindness

reduces observational bias

correlational studies

using data generated from real world situations to correlate related phenomenon

- correlation does not equal causation

- directionality problem

- third variable problem

- ethical problems

experiments

1. researcher manipulates independent variable

2. assigned to control or experimental group

3. measures dependent variable

4. assesses and compares results for both groups

confounding variables

variables outside of the independent and dependent variables in an experiment

random sampling

allows for representative sample to be made for population

- external validity

- removes selection bias

cerebral cortex

critical for higher brain functions such as speech, thought, complex movement patterns, goals and planning

- corpus callosum -- a bridge of axons connecting the hemispheres and permitting information to flow between them

neuron

brain cells that communicate to other parts of the body (specialized)

languages of the nervous system

electrical: action potential

chemical: neurotransmitters

arranged in circuits called neural networks

3 basic types of neurons

sensory - input; afferent

motor - output; efferent

interneuron - processing; detection --> response

neuron structure

dendrites - communicate between neurons

axons - coated with myelin that improves electrical signals

nodes of ranvier - between myelin sheaths (ion channels)

connections between neurons

synapses

- chemical information transferred through synaptic cleft

giving signal - presynaptic neuron

receiving signal - postsynaptic neuron

excitatory neurotransmitters

increases chance that neuron will fire

-decreases polarization

inhibitory neurotransmitters

decrease chance the neuron will fire

-increases polarization

action potential

neuron fires --> positive ions flood cell --> depolarization

repolarization = gradual change back to resting membrane potential

Termination of neurotransmitters

reuptake - binds back onto presynaptic neuron (recycling)

enzyme deactivation - break down

auto-reception - monitors neurotransmitter concentration and signal enzymes

Drugs

agonists - enhances action of neurotransmitters; blocks reuptake or mimics neurotransmitters

antagonists - inhibits action of neurotransmitter; destroys or blocks activity of receptor

acetylcholine

motor control over muscles; learning, memory, sleeping, and dreaming

epinephrine

energy

norepinephrine

arousal and vigilance

serotonin

emotional states and impulsiveness; dreaming

dopamine

reward and motivation; motor control over voluntary movement

GABA

inhibition of action potentials; anxiety reduction; intoxication

glutamate

enhancement of action potential; learning and memory

endorphins

pain reduction; reward

substance P

pain perception; mood and anxiety

brain stem

houses basic programs of survival

-spinal chord, midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata, reticular formation

cerebellum

movement - motor function, learning, and motor memory

damage:

lobes on either side = loss of limb coordination

bottom = loss of balance

subcortical structures

emotions and appetitive behaviors (affects limbic system)

- below cerebral cortex

hypothalamus

regulatory structure

- affects organs, temperature, body rhythms, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels

- involved in motivated behaviors (hunger)

thalamus

gateway to cortex

-organizes and relay information to other parts of the brain except smell

-shuts off sensations during sleep

hippocampus

storage of new memories

- grows with use

- remembering arrangements of places and objects in space

amygdala

associating things in the world with negative or positive emotions (learning)

basal ganglia

planning and producing movement

- damage can produce tremors and uncontrollable jerky movements

- contains the nucleus accumbens -- experiencing rewards and motivating behaviors