Psychology Lecture Notes Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on provided psychology lecture notes to aid in exam preparation.

CORRELATION

Identify relationship between two variables

EXPERIMENTS

Purposefully manipulate variables to determine cause /effect

NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION

Observe ppl in their natural settings

CASE STUDY

Studies ONE person (usually) in great detail

META-ANALYSIS

Combines multiple studies to increase sample size and examine effect sizes

Hypothesis

Tentative explanation – must be FALSIFIABLE – able to be supported or rejected

Operational Definition

Clear, precise, quantifiable definition of your variables – allows replication and collection of reliable data

Qualitative data

Descriptive data (eye color)

Quantitative data

Numerical data – IDEAL and necessary for statistics

Population

Everyone the research could apply to

Sample

The people (or person) specifically chosen for your study

Positive Correlation

Variables increase & decrease together

Negative Correlation

As one variable increases the other decreases

Independent Variable

Purposefully altered by researcher to look for effect

Experimental Group

Received the treatment (part of the IV); can have multiple exp, groups

Control Group

Placebo, baseline (part of the IV); can only have 1

Dependent Variable

Measured variable (is DEPENDENT on the independent variable)

Placebo Effect

Any observed effect on a sub. That is “caused” by the placebo (shows effectiveness of exp. Treatment). Usually fixed w/ blinded studies

Double-Blind

Exp. where neither the participant or the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to (drug studies)

Single-Blind

Only participant blind – used if experimenter can’t be blind (gender, age, etc)

Confound

Error/ flaw in study that is accidentally introduced (can be called a confounding variable)

Random Assignment

Assigns participants to either control or experimental group at random –increase chance of equal representation among groups (spreads the lefties across both groups) – allows you to say Cause / Effect

Mean

Average (use in normal distribution)

Median

Middle # (use in skewed distribution)

Mode

Occurs most often

Bimodal

Has two modes – usually indicates good bad scores

Range

Distance bw smallest and biggest #

Standard deviation

Avg. amount the scores are spread from the mean (bigger # = more spread)

STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Results not due to chance, exp.manipulation caused the difference in means

EFFECT SIZE

Data has practical significance – bigger = better

Confidentiality

Names kept secret

Informed Consent

Must agree to be part of study

Informed assent

Minors AND their parents must agree

Debriefing

Must be told the true purpose of the study (done after for deception)

Surveys

Usually turned into correlation. Subject to self report bias

Social desirability

Ppl lie to look good

Wording effects

How you frame the question can impact your answers

Random Sample (selection)

Method for choosing participants for your study –everyone has a chance to take part, increases generalizability

Representative Sample

Sample mimics the general pop. (ethnic, gender, age)

Convenience Sample

Select participants on availability – less representative and less generalizability this way

Sampling bias

Sample isn’t representative, due to conv. sampling

Cultural norms

Behvs of a particular group can influence research results

Experimenter bias / Participant bias

Experimenter/participant expectations influences the outcome

Cognitive bias

Bias in thinking/judgment

Confirmation bias

Find info that supports our preexisting beliefs

Hindsight bias

“I knew it all along”

Overconfidence

Overestimate our knowledge / abilities

Hawthorne effect

Ppl change behavior when watched

Evolutionary psycs

Study how natural selection influences behavior

Heredity (nature)

How genes influence your behavior

Environment (nurture)

How outside situations influence your behavior (school)

CENTRAL NS

Brain and spinal cord

PERIPHERAL NS

Rest of the NS – relays to Central NS

Somatic NS

Voluntary movement, has sensory and motor neurons

Autonomic NS

Involuntary organs (heart, lungs, etc) – contains the:

Sympathetic NS

Fight/flight (generally activates – exception digestion)

Parasympathetic NS

Rest / digest (generally inhibits - exception digestion)

NEURON

Basic cell of the NS

Dendrites

Receive incoming NTs

Axon

AP travels down this

Myelin Sheath

Speeds up AP down axon, protects axon

Synapse

Gap b/w neurons

SENSORY neurons

Receive sense signals from environ.–send signal to brain

MOTOR neurons

Signals to move – send signals from brain

Interneurons

Cells in spinal cord /brain responsible for reflex arc

Reflex arc

Important stimuli skips the brain and routes through the spinal cord for immediate reactions (hand on a hot flame)

GLIA

Support cells – give nutrients and clean up around neurons

Action Potential

Ions move across membrane sends an electrical charge down the axon

Resting potential

Neuron maintains a -70mv charge when not doing anything

Depolarization

Charge of neuron briefly switches from neg to pos. – triggers the AP

Threshold of depolarization

Stimulus strength must reach this point to start the AP

All or nothing principle

Stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity or speed of the response (flush the toilet)

Refractory period

Neuron must rest and reset before it can send another AP (toilet resets)

NEUROTRANSMITTERS (NT)

Chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by neurons. Classified as excitatory (increase APs in other neurons) or inhibitory (decrease APs)

GABA

Major inhibitory NT

Glutamate

Major excitatory NT (glutes excite you!)

Dopamine

Reward (short term) & fine movement – in hypothalamus, assoc. w/ addiction

Serotonin

Moods (long-term), emotion, sleep –in amygdala, too little assoc. w/ depression

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Memory and movement –in hippocampus, assoc. w/ Alzheimer’s

Norepinephrine

Sympathetic NS - too little assoc. w/ depression

Endorphins

Decrease pain

Substance P

Pain regulation (abnormality increases pain and inflammation)

Oxytocin

Love, bonding, childbirth, lactation

Adrenaline

Fight/flight

Leptin

Makes you full (stops hunger)

Ghrelin

Makes you hungry (turns you into a gremlin)

Melatonin

Sleep

Agonist

Drug that mimics a NT

Antagonist

Drug that blocks a NT

Reuptake

Unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron

Depressants

Decrease NS activity (alcohol)

Stimulants

Increase NS activity (caffeine & cocaine)

Hallucinogens

Hallucinations and altered perceptions (Marijuana)

Opioids

Relieve pain (endorphin agonists) (heroin)

Tolerance

Needing more of a drug to achieve the same effects

Addiction

Must have it to avoid withdrawal symptoms

Withdrawal

Symptoms associated with sudden stoppage

Cerebellum

Movement, balance, coordination, procedural memory (walking a tightrope balancing a bell)

Brainstem / Medulla

Vital organs (HR, BP, breathing)

Reticular activating system

Alertness, arousal, sleep, eye movement