ap psych cram thompson packet

psychology

the study of behavior and mental processes

Strcuturalism

used introspection to determine the underlying structures of the mind

functionalism

need to analyze the purpose of behavior

psychoanalytic/dynamic approach

unconscious, childhood

behavioral approach

learned, reinforced

humanistic approach

free will, choice, ideal, actualization

cognitive approach

perceptions, thoughts

evolutionary approach

genes

biological approach

brain, Neurotransmitters

sociocultural approach

society

biopsychosocial approach

combination

order of approaches (1870s to now)

structuralism, functionalism, psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, evolutionary, biological, sociocultural, bio psychosocial

mary calkins

first female president of APA

margaret floy washburn

first female to get a PhD

charles darwin

natural selection and evolution

dorothea dix

reformed mental institutions in the US

stanley hall

first president of APA

william james

father of american psychology - functionalist

wilhelm wundt

father of modern/scientific psychology - structuralist

basic research

purpose is to increase knowledge (rats)

applied research

purpose is to help people

psychologist

research or counseling - MS or PhD

psychiatrist

prescribe medications and diagnose - M.D.

experiment

researcher controls variables to establish cause and effect

independent variable

purposefully altered by researcher to look for effect

experimental group

recieved the treatment - can have multiple groups

control group

placebo, baseline - can only have 1

placebo effect

show behaviors associated with the experimental group when having received placebo

dependent variable

measured variable

double blind procedure

niether the participants or the experimentare 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)

operational definiton

clear, precise, typically quantifiable definition of your variables - allows replication

confound

error/flaw in study

random assignment

assigns participants to either control or experimental group at random - minimizes bias, increase chance of equal representation

random sample (selection0

method for choosing participants for your study - minimizes bias, everyone has a chance to take part

representative sample

sample mimics the general population

correlation

identify relationship between two variables - no cause and effect

positive correlation

variables increase and decrease together

negative correlation

as one variable increases the other decreases

correlation coeficient

the stronger the number the stronger the relationship regardless of the positive or negative sign

3rd variable problem

different variable is responsible for relationship (breast implants and suicide)

illusory correlation

belief of correlation that doesn't exist (old man predicts rain from arthritis)

naturalistic observation

real world validity (observing people in their own setting) - jade goodall

case study

studies one person in great detail - lots of information

descriptive statistics

shape of the data

measures of central tendency

mean, median, mode

mean

average - use in normal distribution

median

middle number - used in skewed distribution

mode

occurs most often

positive skew

mean > median (high point on left)

negative skew

mean < median (high point on right)

inferential statistics

establishes statistical significance

statistical significance

if p is less than or equal to 0.05 than the results are most likely not due to change - manipulation caused the difference in means

ethical guidelines (APA)

confidentiality, informed consent, debriefing, deception must be warranted, no harm - physical or mental

neuron

basic cell of the nervous system

dendrites

receive incoming signal

soma

cell body (includes nucleus)

axon

action potential travels down this

myelin sheath

speeds up action potential down axon, protects axon

multiple sclerosis

myelin sheath destruction. disruptions in nerve impulse conduction

vesicles

sacs inside terminal contain neurotransmitters

synapse

gap between neurons

action potential

movement of sodium and potassium ions across a membrane sends an electrical charge down the axon

axon starting charge

negative until the membrane becomes permeable and the sodium potassium pumps flood with positive ions

all or none law

stimulus must trigger the AP past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity of the response

refractory period

neuron must rest and reset before it can send another action potential

sensory neurons

afferent neurons - receive signals

motor neurons

efferent neurons - send signals

inter neurons

cells in spinal cord repsonsible for reflex loop

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

broken down into somatic and autonomic nervous system

somatic nervous system

voluntary movements

autonomic nervous system

automatic body functions - broken down into sympathetic and parasympathetic

sympathetic nervous system

fight or flight

parasympathetic nervous system

established homeostasis after a sympathetic response

neurotransmitters

chemicals released in the synaptic gap, received by neurons

gaba

major inhibitory neurotransmitter

glutamate

major excitatory neurotransmitter

dopamine

reward and movement

serotonin

moods and emotion

acetylcholine (ACh)

memory and muscle movement

epinephrine and norepinephrine

sympathetic NS arousal

endorphins

pain and pleasure

oxytocin

love and bonding

agonist

mimics a neurotransmitter

antagonist

drugs that block neurotransmitters

reuptake

unused NTs are taken back up into the sending neuron

ssri (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor)

block reuptake of serotonin

hindbrain

oldest part of the brain

cerebellum

movement and balance

medulla

heartbeat and breathing

pons

sleep and dreams

reticular formation

alertness and arousal

forebrain

higher thought processes

amygdala

fear and aggression

hippocampus

memory

hypothalamus

reward/pleasure center, eating behaviors, controls pituitary gland

thalamus

relay center for all sensory information except smell

cerebral cortex

outer portion of the brain - higher order thought processes

occipital lobe

vision