Psych Chap 1-4 but im screaming into my hands the entire time im making this

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?

1. identifying questions of interest
2. formulating an explanation
3. conducting an experiment/research
4. 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