Studied by 10 people
The 1st example given in class for the bystander effect/diffusion of responsibility
the parklane movie theater incident
Who conducted the bystander effect experiment
Darley and Latane
Psychology
The science of mental processes and behavior
Behavior
Everything you do and react to
First impressions occur within
the first second
Attention to the ____ and ____ seconds of interaction are important to relations
first; last
The purpose of research in psych is
to describe, predict, or control behavior
The subfields of psychology allow psychologists to
explain the same behavior in multiple ways
Evolutionary psychology suggests that
behavior is influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors.
What is a PhD (doctor of philosophy)
a research degree that requires a dissertation based on an original investigation
What is a PsyD (doctor of psychology)
a degree that focuses more on the clinical aspect of psychology, it centers on the treatment of psychological disorders
Both the PhD and the PsyD typically _____ years of work past the bachelor's level.
4 or 5 years
How are psychiatrists different from psychologists?
they have a medical degree and specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders, often using treatments that involve the prescription of drugs.
Where can we trace psychology's roots back to?
the ancient Greeks, who considered the mind to be a suitable topic for scholarly contemplation
What is structuralism?
Wundt's approach, which focuses on understanding the fundamental mental components of consciousness, thinking, emotions, and other kinds of mental states and activities.
What was Wundt's introspection technique?
a procedure where people are presented with a stimulus and asked to describe in as much detail as possible what they were experiencing
What is James' functionalism?
a theory that concentrates on what the mind does and how behavior functions.
Gestalt psychology
an approach to psychology that focuses on the organization of perception and thinking in a "whole" sense rather than on the individual elements of perception.
Neuroscience
views behavior from the perspective of biological functioning
Cognitive
examines how people understand and think about the world
Behavioral
focuses on observable behavior
Humanistic
contends that people can control their behavior and that they naturally try to reach their full potential
Psychodynamic
believes behavior is motivated by inner, unconscious forces over which a person has little control
Free will
choices made freely by an individual
Determinism
the notion that behavior is largely produced by factors beyond people's willful control
What are the 4 main steps of the scientific method?
identifying questions of interest
formulating an explanation
conducting an experiment/research
communicating findings
Theories
broad explanations and predictions concerning observations of interest.
Hypothesis
a testable prediction that predicts the effect the independent variable will have on the dependent one.
In psychology, the only way to establish a relationship between variables is with
the scientific method or experimental research
Operational definition
the translation of a hypothesis into specific, testable procedures that can be measured and observed in an experiment
Remember that a ______ is a broad explanation, whereas a ________ is a more narrow prediction.
theory; hypothesis
Archival research
research based off of prior recorded findings and studies to test a hypothesis. (census documents, online databases, newspaper articles...)
Naturalistic observation
the investigator observes some naturally occurring behavior and does not make a change in the situation
Case study
research conducted by analyzing and comparing cases, though suffers from small sample sizes.
Correlational research
one variable affects the other (ex given in class: more churches = more alcoholics)
Survey research
a sample of people chosen to represent a larger group of interest (a population) is asked a series of questions about their behavior, thoughts, or attitudes.
Positive correlation
indicates that as the value of one variable increases, we can predict that the value of the other variable also increases
Negative correlation
indicates that as the value of one variable increases, we can predict that the value of the other variable decreases
Experimental group
any group that receives a treatment
Control group
a group that receives no treatment
Independent variable
the condition that is manipulated by an experimenter
Dependent variable
the variable that is measured in a study that's expected to undergo change.
Confounding variables
an unaccounted variable that is related to both the cause and effect in an experiment.
Random assignment to condition
participants are assigned to different experimental groups, or conditions, on the basis of chance and chance alone.
Significant outcome
indicates that the findings of a research study are statistically meaningful, there is a large enough difference between the conditions
Informed consent
a document signed by participants that tells them what the study entails and how it'll involve them
Experimental bias
factors that distort the way an independent variable affects the dependent variable in an experiment
Placebo
A false treatment
Neuron
Nerve cells, the basic elements of the nervous system. They are the fundamental unit of the central nervous system.
Dendrites
the part of the neuron that receives messages from other neurons.
Axon
carries messages received by dendrites to the other neurons.
Terminal buttons
the small bulges at the end of an axon that send messages to other neurons.
Myelin sheath
a protective coating of fat and protein that wraps around the axon
All-or-None Law
states that neurons are either on or off and when there is enough of a force to pull the trigger, a neuron fires.
What charge do neurons have in their resting state?
negative charge
Action potential
an electric nerve impulse that travels through the axon when it is set off by a trigger. it changes the neuron's charge from (-) to (+).
Mirror neurons
neurons that fire when a person observes another individual carrying out the same behavior
Man in the mirror
when people are aware of their actions and its consequences, they are given choice.
Synapse
space between neurons
Messages inside neurons are transmitted in _____form
electrical
Messages traveling between neurons travel via ______means
chemical
The body and mind are not connected, rather they are
one system
What is the central nervous system (CNS) composed of
the brain and spinal cord
Sensory (afferent) neurons
transmit information from the perimeter of the body to the central nervous system and the brain
Motor (efferent) neurons
send messages from the brain and nervous system to the muscles and glands
Peripheral nervous system
the part of the nervous system that's made of long axons and dendrites that branch out from the spinal court and brain and reaches the extremities of the body. it contains our automatic and somatic subdivisions.
Somatic division
specializes in the control of voluntary movements
Automatic division
controls the part of your body that automatically functions to keep us alive (ex. breathing)
Sympathetic division (autonomic division)
our body's fight or flight
Parasympathetic division (autonomic division)
calms down the body after an emergency has ended
endocrine system
chemical communication network that sends messages through the body through the bloodstream.
pituitary gland
controls the functioning of the rest of the endocrine system. hormones secreted from this gland control growth
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
records electrical activity in the brain through electrodes placed on the outside of the skull
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
provide a detailed 3D image of the brain by aiming a powerful magnetic field at the brain
Positron emission tomography (PET)
show biochemical activity within the brain at a given moment
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
uses magnetic fields to produce an understanding of the functioning of the brain by briefly interrupting normal brain activity.
The central core
the "old brain" it decides what's important to you as a trigger
Cerebellum
the part of our brain that controls bodily balance
Reticular formation
produces general arousal of our body. (ex: heightened state of awareness when we're startled to see if it's necessary to respond.)
Thalamus
relay station for information about the senses to be sorted out to be sent to the cerebellum and medulla
Hypothalamus
the center of the limbic system, it maintains homeostasis and the 4 basic survival functions, feeding, fighting, fleeing, and f@cking.
Limbic system
the part of the brain that controls eating, aggression, and reproduction. our "animal brain"
Cerebral cortex
the "new brain" responsible for the most sophisticated information processing in the brain; it contains 4 lobes
What are the 4 lobes of the brain
Parietal, temporal, occipital, and frontal
Motor area
Largely responsible for the body's voluntary movement
Sensory area
includes 3 regions: body sensations, sight, and sound
Neuroplasticity
the brain's ability to change throughout the life span through the addition of new neurons
Hemisphere
the symmetrical left and right halves of the brain that control motion in and receive sensation from the side of the body opposite their location.
Corpus callosum
the fibers that connect the brain hemisphere and allow them to communicate
What are Dr. Hinitiz's thoughts on: If a tree falls in a forest, if nobody hears it, does it ever really make a sound?
it doesn't make a sound, rather it makes a vibration
Why do we seek patterns?
because of Gestalt, our brains take shortcuts
What was the Gestalt figure drawn in in class
linked rings
Sensation
refers to the activation of the sense organs (a physical response)
Perception
refers to how stimuli are interpreted (a psychological response)
Stimulus
Energy that produces a response in a sense organ
Psychophysics
the study of the relationship between the actual physical aspects of a stimulus and our psychological experience of that stimulus
Absolute threshold
the lowest intensity of stimulus that an organism can detect
Difference threshold (aka. Just noticeable difference)
the smallest level of added or reduced stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred
Weber's law
our perception of change in a stimulus is based on what the stimulus is
Adaptation
an adjustment in sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli
Note 
Flashcard (29)