Psychology Exam 1 study notes

Define Psychology.

Psychology refers to the scientific study of the mind and behavior

What is introspection?

A process by which someone examines their own conscious experience in an attempt to break it into its component parts

What is behaviorism

The focus on observing and controlling behavior

who were the three prominent behaviorists discussed in class

Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B. F. Skinner

What is humanism

A perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans

who were the two prominent humanists discussed in class?

Abraham Maslow, and Carl Rogers

What role did the cognitive revolution play in shifting the focus of psychology?

It shifted psychology back to focus on the mind and mental processes after a long period dominated by behaviorism

Which psychological perspective studies the way people experience the whole as more than the sum of the parts?

Gestalt psychology

What are the different contemporary areas of psychology

Biopsychology and Evolutionary Psychology
Sensation and Perception
Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Personality Psychology
Social Psychology
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Health Psychology
Sport and Exercise Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Forensic Psychology

Who are the influential people of color discussed in multicultural psychology.

Francis Cecil Sumner, Joseph White, and Mamie Phipps Clark

Who are the influential women in the field of psychology

Compare and contrast reliability and validity.

reliability is about consistency while validity is about accuracy

Define case studies

observational research study focusing on one or a few people

Define naturalistic observation

observation of behavior in its natural setting

Define surveys

list of questions to be answered by research participants—given as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally—allowing researchers to collect data from a large number of people

Define archival research

method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships

Define cross sectional research

compares multiple segments of a population at a single time

Define longitudinal research

studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over an extended period of time

blank psychologists study lifespan development.

Developmental

blank studies employee productivity and efficiency

Industrial-Organizational

A blank psychologist might be consulted as part of jury selection for a trial.

Forensic

Psychology uses the blank method

scientific

blank is a well-developed set of ideas that proposes an explanation for observed phenomena.

A theory

When subjects drop out of a study, this is referred to as blank

attrition

What technique is used to assess the consistency of observations by different observers?

inter-rater reliability

What is the difference between a positive and a negative correlation?

Positive correlation is when two variables change in the same direction whereas negative correlation is when two variables change in different directions

Define confirmation bias

A tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs

What is an operational definition of a variable?

A description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent variables and manipulate the independent variables

Differentiate between the independent and dependent variables

And independent variable is influenced or controlled by the experimenter while a dependent variable is a variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had

Describe the theory of evolution by natural selection

states that organisms that are better suited for their environments will survive and reproduce compared to those that are poorly suited for their environments

What happens to excess neurotransmitters in the synapse?

They drift out of the synaptic cleft, or they break down, or they rueptake

What happens during the action potential? (depolarization)

Many additional pores open, causing a massive influx of Na+ ions and a huge positive spike in the membrane potential

The two major divisions of the nervous system are the blank and blank

central nervous system; peripheral nervous system

Differentiate between the central and peripheral nervous systems.

The CNS is the brain and the spinal cord while the PNS connects the rest of the body with the CNS

Differentiate between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

The sympathetic nervous system is involved in preparing the body for stress-related activities; the parasympathetic nervous system is associated with returning the body to routine, day-to-day operations.

Differentiate between the somatic and autonomic nervous systems.

The somatic nervous system is associated with activities traditionally thought of as conscious or voluntary while the autonomic nervous system controls our internal organs and glands and is generally considered to be outside the realm of voluntary control

Define homeostasis.

Homeostasis is a state of equilibrium, or balance, in which biological conditions (such as body temperature) are maintained at optimal levels.

What are sulci and gyri?

landmarks in the brain that allow us to separate the brain into functional centers

What are the functions of the cerebral cortex?

It’s associated with higher level processes such as consciousness, thought, emotion, reasoning, language, and memory.

Which sense is not first routed through the thalamus?

Smell

What does the hypothalamus do?

regulates a number of homeostatic processes, including the regulation of body temperature, appetite, and blood pressure

Where is Broca’s area located?

The frontal lobe

The gaps in the myelin sheath around axons are called blank

Nodes of Ranvier

The field of blank studies how the environment influences gene expression.

epigenetics

What is an IRB, and what does it do?

An IRB is is a committee of individuals often made up of members of the institution’s administration, scientists, and community members who review proposals for research that involves human participants

What is a peer-reviewed article?

an article read by several other scientists (usually anonymously) with expertise in the subject matter, who provide feedback regarding the quality of the manuscript before it is accepted for publication

What is deception and debriefing in a research study?

Deception is the act of hiding information from participants while debriefing is the act of giving an honest explanation after the study has been complete

What are the major neurotransmitters

Acetylcholine

Beta-endorphin

Dopamine

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

Glutamate

Norepinephrine

Serotonin

Explain the differences between a genotype and a phenotype.

a genotype is an organism's internal genetic code, while a phenotype is the observable physical or behavioral trait

Identify the hemispheres of the brain.

the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere.

Identify the lobes of the brain and their functions.

frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes

What is the Frontal Lobe

Reasoning, motor control, emotion, and language (contains the motor cortex and Broca's area)

What is the parietal lobe

Processing sensory information like touch, temperature, and pain (contains the somatosensory cortex)

What is the temporal lobe

Hearing, memory, emotion, and some aspects of language (contains the auditory cortex and Wernicke's area)

What is the occipital lobe

Visual processing (contains the primary visual cortex)

Acetylcholine: Involved in + effect

Involved in: Muscle action, memory

Effect: Increased arousal, enhanced cognition

Beta-endorphin: Involved in + Effect

Involved in: Pain, pleasure

Effect: Decreased anxiety, decreased tension

Dopamine: Involved in + effect

Involved in: Mood, sleep, learning

Effect: Increased pleasure, suppressed appetite

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA): Involved In + Effect

Involved in: Brain function, sleep

Effect: Decreased anxiety, decreased tension

Glutamate: Involved in + effect

Involved in: Memory, learning

Effect: Increased learning, enhanced memory

Norepinephrine: Involved in + effect

Involved in: Heart, intestines, alertness

Effect: Increased arousal, suppressed appetite

Serotonin: Involved in + effect

Involved in: Mood, sleep

Effect: Modulated mood, suppressed appetite

Biopsychology

The study of how biology influences behavior

Clinical Psychology

Area of psychology that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior

Cognitive Psychology

Study of cognitions, or thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions

Counseling Psychology

Area of psychology that focuses on improving emotional, social, vocational, and other aspects of the lives of psychologically healthy individuals

Dissertation

Long research paper about research that was conducted as a part of the candidate’s doctoral training

Empirical Method

Method for acquiring knowledge based on observation, including experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities

Forensic Psychology

Area of psychology that applies the science and practice of psychology to issues within and related to the justice system

Functionalism

Focused on how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment

Suffix that denotes “scientific study of”

ology

Personality Psychology

Study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique

Personality Trait.

Consistent pattern of thought and behavior

Psychoanalytic theory

Focus on the role of the unconscious in affecting conscious behavior

Sport and exercise psychology

Area of psychology that focuses on the interactions between mental and emotional factors and physical performance in sports, exercise, and other activities

Structuralism

Understanding the conscious experience through introspection

cause-and-effect relationship

changes in one variable cause the changes in the other variable; can be determined only through an experimental research design

confounding variable

unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often giving the false impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable, when, in actuality, the outside factor causes changes in both variables

control group

serves as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence the results of the study—by holding such factors constant across groups so that the experimental manipulation is the only difference between groups

Correlation

relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one variable changes as the other does

double-blind study

experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments

empirical

grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing

fact

objective and verifiable observation, established using evidence collected through empirical research

falsifiable

able to be disproven by experimental results

hypothesis

tentative and testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables

placebo effect

people's expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experience in a given situation

replicate

repeating an experiment using different samples to determine the research’s reliability

single-blind study

experiment in which the researcher knows which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group

action potential

electrical signal that moves down the neuron’s axon

adrenal gland  

sits atop our kidneys and secretes hormones involved in the stress response

allele

specific version of a gene

axon

major extension of the soma

Broca’s area  

region in the left hemisphere that is essential for language production

cerebellum  

hindbrain structure that controls our balance, coordination, movement, and motor skills, and it is thought to be important in processing some types of memory

chromosome

long strand of genetic information

corpus callosum  

thick band of neural fibers connecting the brain’s two hemispheres

forebrain

largest part of the brain, containing the cerebral cortex, the thalamus, and the limbic system, among other structures

genotype

genetic makeup of an individual

heterozygous

consisting of two different alleles

hindbrain

division of the brain containing the medulla, pons, and cerebellum