psychology exam 1

psychology

the study of mind and behavior

plato

nature

aristotle

nurture

hippocrates

4 humors (yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, blood)

wilhelm wundt

father of structuralism

structuralism

school of thought whose goal is to identify basic structures of psych experience and the human mind

introspection

research participants describe experiences as they work on mental tasks

functionalism

school of thought focused on exploring how mental and behavioral processes function

William James

functionalism; the mind is a stream of consciousness

Mary whiton calkins

first woman president of apa

psychodynamic

school of thought focused on how unconscious processes influence behavior

sigmund freud

psychic determinism

carl jung

individuation; collective consciousness; intra/extraversion

psychodynamic

role of unconscious and early childhood experiences

operational definition

statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

acetylcholine

function: enables muscles, learning, memory

malfunction: ACh-producing neurons deteriorate in people with alheimers

endorphins

function: influences pain or pleasure perceptions

malfunction: oversupply with opiate drugs can suppress bodys natural supply of endorphins

dopamine

function: influences movement, learning, attention, emotion

malfunction: oversupply=schizophrenia undersupply=tremors

serotonin

function: mood, hunger, sleep, arousal

malfunction: undersupply=depression (treated with SSRIs)

neurotransmitters

acetylcholine, endorphins, dopamine, serotonin

neuron

a nerve cell

medulla

controls for heartbeat and breathing

pons

coordinated movements and control sleep

reticular function

filters incoming stim, relays important info, controls arousal

thalamus

sensory control center

cerebellum

enables nonverbal learning and skill memory; controls voluntary movement along with cerebral cortex

amygdala

aggression and fear

hypothalamus

hunger, thirst, body temp, sex behavior

hippocampus

processes conscious and explicit memories

limbic system

amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus

cerebral cortex

perceiving, thinking, speaking, motor cortex, sensory functions, association areas

frontal lobe

planning, judgement, thinking

parietal lobe

touch info processing

occiptal lobe

visual info processing

temporal lobe

hearing and language

methods to study the brain

lesions, EEG, fMRI

plasticity

the brains ability to modify itself after damage

blindness

unused areas of the brain used for other things instead

behavior genetics

study of relative power and limits of genetic environmental influences on behavior

epigenetic

the study of environmental influences on gene expression

consiousness

subjective awareness of ourselves and out environment

altered states of consciousness

daydreaming, drowsiness, dreaming, hallucination, food or O2 starvation, sensory deprivation, hypnosis, meditation

dual processing

info is simultaneously processed on conscious and unconscious tracks

selective attention

focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stim

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

sleep

period of natural loss of consciousness

circadian rhythm

physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24 hour cycle

sleep hygiene

practices and habits that promote sleep

sleep disorders

apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia

sleep apnea

paused in breathing during sleep that last at least 10 seconds

narcolepsy

extreme daytime sleepiness with frequent episodes of falling asleep

insomnia

persistent difficylty with falling asleep

development

the physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social changes that occur throughout the human lifespan, guided by nature and nurture

types of development

physical, social-emotional, cognitive

zygote

fertilized egg

embryo

2 weeks after fert

fetus

9 weeks after fert

teratogens

agents that can reach the baby and cause harm

newborn behaviors

rooting reflex, sucking reflex, crying when hungry

motor development

changes in the cerebellum that enable the sequence

pruning

stage in brain development by which unused networks shut down

critical period

the optimal period in the development for exposure to certain stim that promote functioning

piaget’s stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational

sensorimotor

0-2; senses; object permanence

pre operational

2-7; internal rep of the world; theory of mind, language understanding

concrete operational

7-11; increased logical thinking; conservation

formal operational

11-death; systematic thinking understanding of abstract concepts and scientific reasoning; abstract logic

schema

mental container that holds experiences

assimilation

use already developed schemas to understand new info

accomodation

learning new info, changing the schema

object permanence

ability to know that an object exists even when it is out of sight

egocentrism

unable to see and understand other peoples viewpoints

theory of mind

peoples ideas about their own and other mental states

conservation

understanding that changes in form of an object do not necessarily mean changes in the quality of an object

social developemt

secure attachment, avoidant attachment, ambivalent attachment, disorganized attachment

attachment

emotional blinds we develop with others, usually primary caregiver

secure attachment

secure, explorative; believe needs will be met

avoidant attachemnt

emotionally distant; needs probably wont be met

ambivalent attachment

anxious; cannot rely on needs being met

disorganized attachment

depressed; confused, no strategy to meet needs

parenting styles

authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, rejecting-neglecting

authoritative

supportive and demanding

authoritarian

unsupportive and demanding

permissive

supportive and undemanding

rejecting-neglecting

unsupportive and undemanding

adolescence

transition period between childhood and adulthood

kohlberg’s level of moral thinking

preconventional morality, conventional morality, postconventional morality

preconventional morality

self interest; obey rules to avoid punishment

conventional morality

uphold laws and rules to gain approval or maintain social order

post conventional morality

actions reflect self defined ethical principles

gender related cognition

2 yrs-aware of physical differnces beteen boys and girls

3 yrs-label themselves boy or girl

4 yrs-most kids have a sense of gender identity

6 yrs-know gender stereotypes exist

William masters and Virginia Johnson

first to do research on gender and sex

sensation

process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stims

perception

organization and interpretation of sensory info

bottom up processing

starts at sensory receptors and works up to a higher level of processing

top down processing

constructs perceptions from sensory input. by drawing on experience and expectation

prosopagnosia

face blindness

transduction

conversion of one form of energy into another (receive-transform-deliver)

absolute threshold

min energy needed to detect a stim 50% of the time