aice psych midterm

Psychology

The scientific, systematic study of behavior and mental processes in both humans and animals.

The first psychologist

Wilhelm Wundt

Major perspectives of psychology

Biological= Inherited traits determine abilities, character, and behavior. Behavioral= Subjects learn or modify behavior based on response to environmental stimuli. Cognitive= Focuses on how people process, store, retrieve, and use information, and how this influences behavior. Psychoanalytic= The unconscious mind determines behavior, thoughts, and feelings.

Major subfields of psychology

Industrial-organizational= Develops methods to boost workplace production, improve conditions, train people, and reduce accidents. Clinical= Diagnose, treat, and investigate the cause of psychological disorders. Sports= Study how psychology influences sports, athletic performance, exercise, and physical activity.

Psychologist vs. psychiatrist

Psychologists observe, analyze, and evaluate behavior, or treat patients through behavioral intervention. Psychiatrists treat patients with medication or operations.

Hindsight bias

Perceiving past events as more predictable than they were. “I knew it all along” phenomenon.

Operational definition

A specific description of the concepts involving the conditions of a scientific study. Details how a concept or variable is measured and the operations used to produce them, so they help eliminate bias and make the study easy to replicate.

Research methods

Case study= An intensive study or investigation of a person or group. Naturalistic observation= The researcher observes the subjects in a natural setting without interfering. Surveys= Large numbers of individuals are asked a fixed set of questions about their attitudes, beliefs, and experiences.

Population

The entire group of people in which the results of a study will be generalized to. The sample chosen to undergo the study must be randomly selected and must be representative of the whole population.

Positive vs. negative correlations

Positive= As one variable increases, the other also increases. Negative= As one variable increases, the other decreases.

Independent vs. dependent variables

Independent= The variable that the researcher manipulates. Dependent= The variable that changes in response to the independent variable and is measured by the researcher.

Measures of central tendency

Mean= Average (the sum of data points divided by the count of data points). Median= The middle value of the data when ordered numerically. Mode= The most frequent number in the data set.

Endocrine system

The body’s chemical communication system. Glands secrete hormones (chemical messengers) into the blood stream, and their effects last longer but are slower than electrochemical communication

Nervous system

The body’s electrochemical communication system that contains all nerve cells. Its communication is fast but short-lived.

Sympathetic vs. parasympathetic nervous systems

Sympathetic= responds to emergency situations and activates “fight or flight”. Parasympathetic= returns the body to a normal, relaxed state.

Sleep hormone

Melatonin

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals released by neurons that determine neuron firing. Acetylcholine= Muscle action, learning, and memory. Dopamine= Pleasure and motivation. GABA= Slows the brain and calms. Serotonin= Mood control, sleep, and vital functions. Norepinephrine= Arouses the body when stressed. Endorphin= Pain control and pleasure.

Parts of a neuron

Dendrites= Receives signals. Cell body= Processes signals and contains genetic information. Axon= Carries impulses from the cell body to the axon terminals. Axon terminals= Releases neurotransmitters to stimulate the next neuron. Myelin sheath= Insulates and protects the axon.

Reflex

Motor neurons are triggered by the spinal cord in response to sensory input.

Neuron firing

The dendrites receive the action potential (electrical charge). The charge must be strong enough to reach the threshold (stimulation required to trigger an impulse), and then it is an all-or-none response (neurons either fire at full strength or don’t fire. The action potential travels down the axon through depolarization (loss of inside/outside charge difference that causes the axon to open up). After the neuron fires, it has a refractory period (resting pause that occurs after a neuron fires).

Reuptake

The sending neuron reabsorbs the neurotransmitters.

Major lobes

Frontal= Speaking, movement, and judgement. Parietal= Sensory input and body position. Temporal= Auditory information. Occipital= Visual information.

Areas of the brain

Broca’s area= Speaking and expressing language. Medulla= Heartbeat and breathing. Hippocampus= Stores explicit memories. Cerebellum= Movement, balance, and implicit memories. Amygdala= Emotion, fear, and aggression.

Left vs right hemispheres

Left= language, math, literal interpretation, and controls the right side of the body. Right= perceptual tasks, inferences, visual perception, emotion, and controls the left side of the body.

Splitting the corpus callosum

The hemispheres of the brain cannot communicate with each other.

EEG

Records brain waves.

MRI

Uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of brain anatomy.

Tolerance and withdrawal

Happen because the brain stops producing certain neurotransmitters that it relies on the drug for. Tolerance= Effects of a drug diminish with regular use, so users take larger and larger doses. Withdrawal= Discomfort and distress after discontinuing an addictive drug or behavior.

Psychoactive drugs

Opiates= Depresses neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety. Alcohol= Slows brain activity that controls judgement and inhibition. Cocaine= Stimulates the brain, temporarily increasing alertness and euphoria. Hallucinogens= Distort perception and evokes false sensory images.

Circadian rhythms

24-hour cycles that impact sleep, temperature, hormones, and digestion.

Stages of sleep

NREM 1= Transitional state between sleep and wake where you may experience hypnagogic sensations. NREM 2= Asleep, but can be awakened without too much difficulty, and sleep spindles of brain activity. NREM 3= Deep sleep where it is hard to be woken and large, slow delta waves of brain activity. REM= Rapid eye movement and vivid dreams occur, and muscles are relaxed but other body systems are active.

Sleep disorders

Sleep apnea= Intermittently stop breathing during sleep. Narcolepsy= Sudden attacks of overwhelming sleepiness. Insomnia= Persistent problems with falling or staying asleep. Night terrors= Episodes of being terrified and panicked during deep sleep, but no memory of this in the morning.

Priming

Exposure to a stimulus influences response to a later stimulus by activating unconscious associations.

Semantic vs episodic memory

Semantic memory= Facts and general knowledge. Episodic memory= Experienced events.

Iconic vs echoic memory

Iconic memory= fleeting sensory memory of visual stimuli. Echoic memory= fleeting sensory memory of auditory stimuli.

Spacing and testing effects

Spacing effect= Distributed study or practice tends to yield better long term retention than massed study. Testing effect= Repeated self-testing tends to improve memory and learning

Best time to study

Right before sleep because memories are processed during sleep.

Shallow vs deep processing

Shallow processing= encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words. Deep processing= encoding semantically based on the meaning of words, which yields better retention.

Mood congruent memory

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood. For example, recalling happy events when happy, which prolongs your good mood.

State dependent memory

Things learned or remembered in one physiological state can be more easily recalled when in that state again. For example, if you study on a treadmill, you will have better recall when your heart rate is accelerated again.

Proactive vs retroactive interference

Proactive interference= The disruptive effect of older learning on new information (better recall of old information) Retroactive interference= The disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information (better recall of new information).

Anterograde vs retrograde amnesia

Anterograde amnesia= Inability to form new memories. Retrograde amnesia= Inability to retrieve information from the past.

Elizabeth Loftus

Studies the misinformation effect by showing two groups a clip of a traffic accident and then asking how fast the cars were when they hit/smashed into each other. People who heard smashed were two times more likely to falsely recall broken glass.