Psychology Exam 1

Structuralism

Wilhelm Wundt (1879). To identify the basic parts of thoughts, cognitions, etc.—used introspection

Functionalism

William James (father of American psychology), late 1800s & early 1900s. Influenced by Darwinism

Psychodynamic Theory

Sigmund Freud, late 1800s & early 1900s. All about how you develop, things that are hidden within you, and the role of the unconscious. Psychoanalysis

Behaviorism

John Watson, BF Skinner, Ivan Pavlov — USA, mid 1900’s

What can animal models tell us?

Focus on things we can see, count, measure, detect, etc. How past experiences shape future behavior

Humanism

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow — US and Europe, mid 1900’s

Bringing the person back into the equation. Hierarchy of needs

Modern approaches

Multiculturalism (collectivism vs. individualism), cognitive psychology, positive psychology, evolutionary psychology, neuroscience and the biomedical model

Most take the interdisciplinary approach

Diversity

characteristics that make us seem different from one another in a specific context or situation

Diversity

1890 -— Mary Whiton Calkins (one of the first females to receive a doctorate in psychology

1920 —- Francis Cecil Sumner (first black person in the US awarded a doctoral degree in psychology)

culture

Beliefs, values, rules, and customs that exist within a group of people who share a common language or environment. The Muller-Lyer Illusion

Psychological research

Scientific method (rigorous objective approach with clear steps and ethics)

Four goals: Describing, Predicting, Controlling, and Explaining

Scientific method

five steps: Theory → Hypothesis → Test → Analyze → Share

Statistical data to check for significant effect. Replication is important

Ethics

Accepted standards. Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) reviews proposed research. 1) Privacy, 2) Confidentiality, 3) informed consent), 4) Protection from harm

Confound

recognize potentially unintentional affects on a dependent variable. A source of error

Operational definitions

qualify (describe) and quantify (measure) variables so thet they can be understood clearly and objectively

Science

Psychology is a…

Descriptive research, correlational research, and experimental research

Common psychology research strategies

Descriptive research

Systematic and objective description of what is occurring. Three types: case studies (no generalization), observational studies, self-reports (sampling bias)

Basic functions of nervous system

1) Receive sensory input (hearing, touching, tasting)

2) Process the information (remembering it)

3) Respond

Neurons

basic units of nervous system. They receive, integrate, and transmit information. 3 types make up the reflex arc

Sensory neurons

incoming (afferent) information from your sensory organs

Motor neurons

outgoing (efferent) information to muscles and body organs

Interneurons

connect sensory and motor neurons; most prevalent in the body

Central Nervous

brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

Somatic: skin, muscles, joints send signals to CNS and vice versa

Autonomic: glands and internal organs send signals to CNS and vice versa

CNS sends signals to glands/organs

Sympathetic: fight or flight, heart racing, pupils dilate

Parasympathetic: rest and digest, digestion increases, pupils contract

Glial cells

“glue”

Provide structure and produce myelin, provide house-keeping duties, and interface with blood supply

Dendrites, Soma, Axon, Terminal buttons, Synapse

Basic structure of neurons

Dendrites

detect information from other neurons

Axon

carries info towards other neurons, covered in myelin sheath (insulation), Myelin helps signals travel fast with no signal loss. Damaged myelin sheath=multiple sclerosis

Terminal buttons

At the end of the axons. Release neurotransmitters into synapse (area where neurons exchange information)

Electrochemical communication

Communication within a neuron—Action potential (electrical) travels cell body to terminals

Communication between neurons—Neurotransmitters

Threshold of excitation

Build up of incoming signals to the dendrites and cell body must reach a critical level before and action potential will be triggered

Action Potential

All or None. Once neuron fires, it must recover at its normal state of “resting potential”

Presynaptic to postsynaptic

axon terminal button → neurotransmitter → dendrite

Reuptake, diffusion, enzyme degradation

three major ways in which neurotransmitters are removed from the synapse

Psychoactive drugs

Alter how neurotransmitters function:

Agonists (increase effect/production)

Antagonists (inhibit effect/production)

Early studies of the brain

Franz Gall: Phrenology (study of bumps on the head)

Paul Broca: Anatomical studies

Phineas Gage

Frontal cortex injury changed his personality

Modern computer reconstruction used skull to localize brain injury

Acetylcholine

motor control over muscles. Attention, memory, learning, and sleeping. Botox

Norepinephrine

Arousal and alertness

Serotonin

Emotional states and impulse control. Dreaming.

dopamine

reward and motivation. Motor control over voluntary movement. Parkinson’s disease

GABA

gamma-aminobutyric acid. Inhibition of action potentials. Anxiety reduction. Intoxication (through alcohol)

Glutamate

Enhancement of action potentials. Learning and memory

Epinephrine

Adrenaline rush

Endorphins

pain reduction. Reward

Modern brain research

Electroencephalograph (EEG): measures brain “waves” broadly

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): measures changes in the blood’s oxygen level in the brain during performance of a task

Forebrain, Midbrain, and Hindbrain

three main brain divisions

Forebrain

Subcortical (cerebral cortex): Thalamus (sensory), Hypothalamus (body functions/motivation), Hippocampus (new memories), Amygdala (emotions w/ experiences)

Cortical (limbic): Occipital (vision), Parietal (touch), Temporal (hearing), Frontal (complex thought, planning)

Hindbrain

Medulla (breathing, heart rate), Pons(sleep, arousal), Cerebellum (balance)

Midbrain

Substantia nigra (initiation of voluntary motor activity, produces dopamine)

Special cortical areas

Somatosensory cortex

Motor cortex: Homunculus (“little man”)

Broca’s area, Wercicke’s area

Peripheral organs

receive both sympathetic and parasympathetic inputs to maintain homeostasis

Endocrine system

glands support specific body functions by producing chemicals called hormones

Behavior genetics

twin and adoption studies:

Biological vs. adoptive relatives

Twins raised together vs. twins raised apart in adoptive families

Twins

Monozygotic twins (identical)

Dizygotic twins (fraternal)

Plasticity

changing existing neural connections. Neurons that fire together, wire together. Neural pruning

Much more common in children than in adults

Neurogenesis

Growing new neurons