Psych Final

Psychology

The scientific study of mind and behavior

John Watson

Father of behaviorism

Cognitive psychology

dedicated to studying how people think.

Developmental psychology

study how people grow, develop and adapt at different life stages

Social psychology

study how individual or group behavior is influenced by the presence and behavior of others

Biological psychology

study of the biology of behavior

Behaviorism

the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only

Case study

Detailed examination of particular person or example of something

Survey

Random sample (representative of the population), wording effects

Observation

Naturalistic: observes from distance; Participant: becomes part of the group

Longitudinal Study

a study that observes the same participants on many occasions over a long period of time

Cross-Sectional

study analyzes a variable across a population at a specific point in time.

Correlation

Positive and negative; does not show causation

Experiments

Single and double blind, control group, placebo effect

Independent variable

The variable the experimenter manipulates

Dependent variable

What you measure in the experiment and what is affected during the experiment. The dependent variable responds to the independent variable

Validity

assumes that the test in question measures precisely what it aims to measure

Reliability

find same results when we run it again

How neurons communicate

Electrochemical process

Structure of neurons

Dendrites, cell body, axon (plus myelin sheath) axon terminal

Neurotransmitters

bind to receptor sites and influence whether next neuron fires or not

Dopamine

movement, learning, attention, emotion (associated with schizophrenia)

Serotonin

mood, hunger, sleep, arousal

Norepinephrine

alertness and arousal

Acetylcholine

muscle action, learning, memory

fMRI (functional MRI)

Functional MRI shows us the brain functioning as we do a particular task

Amygdala

Fear and anger

Hypothalamus

Hunger, thirst, body temperature, sexual behavior, talks to pituitary gland)

Hippocampus

Forming new memories, learning

Motor cortex

Planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements

Frontal lobe

Higher cognitive functions

Parietal lobe

Processes sensory information

Temporal lobe

hearing, language

Occipital lobe

Vision

Epigenetics

Environmental influences on gene expression

Cultural influences

Customs, norms, individualist and collectivist

Language development

Babbling (6 months), first word (1 year)

Motor development

Crawling (6 months), first steps (1 year)

Piaget's stages of cognitive development

Sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational

Sensorimotor (0-2 y/o)

Object permanence

Pre-operational (2-7 y/o)

Based on intuition

Concrete operational (7-12 y/o)

Conservation; thinking logically

Formal operational (12+ y/o)

Abstract thought

Theory of mind

People's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict. (3.5-4.5 y/o)

Deindividuation

losing sense of self/identity in the crowd

social loafing

relying on others in the group to do the work

group polarization

attitudes go to the extremes after discussing with like-minded individuals

Fundamental attribution error

attributing people's behavior to personality characteristics instead of the situation

Cognitive dissonance

discomfort that arises from having conflicting attitudes / beliefs and behavior

Asch's line study (Conformity)

group "vision test", where study participants were found to conform to obviously wrong answers if first given by other "participants", who worked for experimenter

Milgram electric shocks study (Obedience)

an authority figure ordered participants to deliver what they believed were dangerous electrical shocks to another person

Foot in the door phenomenon

if get someone to agree to a small request more increases likelihood they will agree to a bigger request

Zimbardo's prison simulation study (power of social roles)

people will readily conform to the social roles they are expected to play, especially if the roles are as strongly stereotyped

Jonestown cult

social psychological principles at play in this case study

Prejudice

implicit associations test

Mere exposure effect

we like something more as it becomes more familiar

Altruism; bystander intervention

helping people with no expectation of personal benefit

Id (Freud)

impulsive, demands immediate gratification

Ego (Freud)

mediates between the id and superego

Superego (Freud)

moral component of personality (self-conscience)

Psychosexual stages of development

oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

Oral

(0-18 months) pleasure centers on the mouth- sucking, biting, chewing

Anal

(18-36 months) pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control

Phallic

(3-6 years) pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings

Latency

(6-11 years) Not a real stage, an interlude, sexual needs quiet, children focus on school work and sports

Genital

(puberty on) maturation of sexual interests

Ego defense mechanisms

repression, projection, denial

Projective tests

Thematic Apperception Test (ambiguous pictures); Rorschach inkblot test

Humanistic Perspective (Carl Rogers)

self-concept; incongruence or gap between self-concept and reality

Trait theories

interested in identifying traits that describe personality; can compare people on personality traits

Five factor model of personality

CANOE: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, extraversion

Abnormal behavior

atypical/deviant; maladaptive behavior; personal distress or concern to others

Anxiety disorders

GAD, panic disorder (may also present with agoraphobia)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

obsessions, rituals that temporarily relieve the anxiety

Mood disorders

major depressive disorder; persistent depressive disorder

Schizophrenia

hallucinations, delusions, changes in the brain

Bipolar disorder

periods of mania and periods of depression

Personality disorders

difficult to treat; anti-social, narcissistic, borderline

Psychotherapy

talking with a therapist

Humanistic

listening, unconditional acceptance/positive regard, positive view of human nature

Behavioral

phobias, addictions, problem behaviors; intensive exposure therapy, systematic desensitization, token economies

cognitive

negative thought patterns; reality check

cognitive-behavioral

detecting and changing negative thoughts and changing behaviors

Piaget

stages of cognitive development

Sigmund Freud

personality: id, ego, superego; unconscious; childhood personality development

autonomic nervous system

two branches: sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest)

Beta waves (high frequency, low amplitude)

awake

Alpha waves (lower frequency, higher amplitude)

Relaxed

NREM-1 (theta waves)

Brief transitional stage of light sleep (5-10 mins)

NREM-2

Temperature drops, heart rate slows (~ 20 mins)

NREM-3 (delta waves)

Slow wave sleep; muscles relax; deepest sleep (~ 30 mins)

REM sleep

Brain more active; body relaxed and immobilized; eyes move rapidly; dreams; high frequency beta waves (90 mins)

unconscious processing

we process information outside conscious awareness that still influences us

biopsychosocial approach

explain human behavior by considering biological factors (physical health, genetics); psychological factors (mental health, self-esteem, coping skills); social (family relationships, peers, socioeconomic factors) **

Sensation

Detecting stimuli in the environment

Perception

Select, organize, and interpret our sensations; the brain interprets what we see

Transduction

Sensory information is transformed into neural impulses

Sensory adaptation

Adjust to continuous stimuli, less sensitive (e.g. hum of projector)

Change Blindness

something changes in environment and we don't notice, like talking to a different person without realizing

Extra sensory perception (ESP); psychics

Not used by police departments because they are not helpful in solving crimes