PSYCH MIDTERM

Psychology

scientific study of mind and behavior

Phineas Gage

Frontal lobe damage. Associated with impulsivity.

Wilhem Wundt

Creator of the first experimental psychology laboratory.

Structuralism

attempted to analyze conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements.

functionalism

the study of the purpose and function of behaviors and mental

processes

Behaviorism

study only observable behavior : less subjective, more scientif

cognitive psychology

Flashcard: Study of mental processes such as perception, memory, problem-solving, and decision-making. Focuses on how we acquire, process, store, and retrieve information.

Psychoanalytic theory

attempts to explain how behavior and personality are influenced by unconscious processes.

cross cultural psychology

field that draws comparisons about individuals and group behaviors across cultures.

Correlational Designs

measure how closely two factors vary together, or how well you can predict a change in one factor from observing a change in the other factor

positive correlation

both variables either increase or decrease together

negative correlation

one variable is not predictably related to the other

Limitation of Correlation

correlation does not infer causation.

independent variable

factor that is varied or manipulated

dependent variable

behavior that is measured (and is expected to change as a function of change in the independent variable)

random assignment

assigning participants randomly to experimental conditions

sample

subset of population

random sampling

every person in the population has an equal chance of being selected

convenience sample

people who are conveniently available for the study.

placebo effect

When receiving special treatment or something new affects human behavior

Experimenter bias

The experimenter's expectations influence the outcome of a study (experimenters might see what they want to see)

Demand characteristics

Participants form an interpretation of the experiments purpose and subconsciously change their behavior to fit that interpretation.

Replication

process of repeating a study and finding a similar outcome each time.

cerebellum

fine motor skills

medulla

coordinates heart rate, circulation, respiration

reticular formation

regulates sleep, wakefullness, and arousal

pons

relays information from cerebellum to the rest of the brain

limbic system

emotion, motivation, memory

hypothalamus

regulates 4 Fs

amygdala

role in emotional process

hippocampus

critical for creating and integrating new memories

basal ganglia

intentional movement

cerebral cortex

Large surface area is folded so it can be placed into the limited volume of the

skull

brocas area

language production

wernickes area

speech comprehension

contralateral organization

left hemisphere controls right side of body, and vice versa

neurons

cell that specializes in receiving and transmitting information

cell body

coordinates information processing tasks and keeps cell alive

dendrites

receive information from other neurons and relays it to the cell body

axon

long slender projection that conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body

synapse

region between the axon of a neuron and the dendrite of another

myelin sheath

fatty sheath that insulates axons. works like wire insulation.

2 part process

action potential and transmissions across the syapse

when a neuron is at rest

outside + charged (Na+, Cl-)

inside - charged (K+ A-)

resting potential = -70 mV

depolarization

when stimulated sodium channels open and + ions rush in

repolarization

after the sodium gates close - potassium moves out

action potential

an electrical signal that is conducted along the length of a neurons axon to a synapse. (all or none )

transmission across the synapse

When the action potential reaches the terminal buttons, it causes the release

of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft

excitatory neurotransmitters

increase the likelihood of an action potential (by causing the membrane potential to be less negative)

inhibitory neurotransmitter

decrease the likelihood of an action potential (by causing the membrane potential to be more negative)

acetylocholine

important transmitter between motor neurons and voluntary muscles

dopamine

regulates motor movement, motivation, pleasure, and emotional arousal

serotonin

plays a primary role in regulating sleep and wakefulness and eating behavior

agonist

chemical that enhances or mimcs the action of a neurotransmitter

antogonist

chemical that blocks the action of a neurotransmitter

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

powerful magetic field to produce high quality images of the brain and structure

fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)

Used to examine changes in ongoing brain activity by measuring changes in the blood’s oxygen levels. Great for determining location (i.e., good spatial resolution); not so great at determining timing (i.e., bad temporal

EEG

EEG can record electrical activity from large populations of

simultaneously active neurons at the scalp with millisecond resolution.

EEG is a direct measure of neural activity.

EEG has good temporal resolution but poor spatial resolution

sensation

physical processing of environmental stimuli by the sense organs

perception

psychological process of interpreting sensory information

Psychophysics

method that measures the strength of a stimulus and the observers sensitity to that stimulus

absolute threshold

smallest amount of stimulation needed for detection by a sense 50% of the time.

just noticeable difference

the minimum

difference between two stimuli needed to detect a difference between them

50% of the time

• The more intense the original stimulus the larger the amount that needs to be added before you detect the difference

top down processing

when our perceptions are influence by our expectations by prior knowledge

Bottom up processing

occurs when we perceive individual bits of sensory information and use them to construct a more complex message

signal detection theory

response to a stimulus depends on persons sensitivity and on a persons decision criteria

sensory adaptation

diminished sensitivity as a result of constant or recurring stimuli

inattention blindness

failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention

change blindness

failure to detect changes to the visual details of a scene

photoreceptors

transform light into a neural signal (transduction)

ganglion cells

gather information from photoreceptors

optic nerves

message sent to brain via this

trichomatic color theory

3 different cones each sensitive to different wavelengths of light (short medium long)

opponent processing theory

we perceive color in terms of opposing pairs.

Cells that are stimulated by red are inhibited by green – when red is no longer perceived a rebound effect occurs – the previously inhibited cells are free to fire

Travel of Eye

Signal travels down optic nerve to brain

passes through thalamus

sent to primary visual corrtex

monecular depth cues

helps us perceive depth using one eye

binocular depth cues

retinal disparity - different retinal images each eye receives based on its different perspective.

multimodal perception

Effect that concurrent stimulation in more than one modality has on perception of events and objects in the world

synesthesia

condition in which perceptual or cognitive activities (i.e., listening to music, reading) triggers exceptional sensory experiences

learning

experience that results in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner

Classical Conditioning

Process of learning by associating a neutral stimulus with a meaningful stimulus to elicit a specific response. Involves Pavlov's famous dog experiment.

unconditioned response

Definition: Automatic, involuntary reaction to a stimulus without prior learning or conditioning. Example: Salivating when smelling food.

conditioned response

An automatic response to a specific stimulus that has been learned through repeated association with an unconditioned stimulus.

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist known for his research on classical conditioning with dogs. Discovered the concept of conditioned reflexes.

Neutral Stimulus

A stimulus that initially does not elicit a response but can become a conditioned stimulus through association with an unconditioned stimulus.c

conditioned stimulus

A stimulus that triggers a learned response when paired with an unconditioned stimulus. It is a key concept in classical conditioning.

extinction in classical conditioning

Flashcard: Extinction in classical conditioning is the process of weakening a learned response by repeatedly presenting the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus.

generalization

once a response has been conditioned, similar stimuli can elicit the same response

discrimination

ability to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli

John B Watson

father of behaviorism

all behaviors can be explained by conditioning.

Little Albert Experiment

A study by Watson & Rayner where a baby was conditioned to fear a white rat through association with a loud noise, demonstrating classical conditioning.

Preparedness

an organisms evolutionary history can make it easier to learn particular associations

Operant Conditioning

individuals behavior is modified by its consequences

B.F. Skinner

B.F. Skinner: American psychologist known for behaviorism. Pioneered operant conditioning, emphasizing reinforcement and punishment in shaping behavior.

Edward Thorndikes Law of Effect

Behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely

Behaviors followed by negative consequences become less likely

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a favorable consequence to increase a behavior

Negative Reinforcement

removing an unfavorable consequence to increase a behavior.

positive punishment

adding an unfavorable consequence to decrease a behavior

negative punishment

removing a favorable consequence to decrease a behavior

reinforcement

increases likelihood of behavior occurring again