PSYC 1020

B.F. Skinner

coined the term "reinforcement"

Wilhelm Wundt

first laboratory devoted to studying psychology

Sigmund Freud

formulated psychoanalysis

Ivan Pavlov

measured salivation in dogs

Mary Whiton Calkins

elected president of American Psychological Association (APA) in 1905

Biological perspective

biological aspects of human nature - genes, hormones, brain anatomy, etc.

Psychonalytic perspective

personality is shaped by early, often unconscious, childhood experiences with caregivers

Behavioral perspective

reinforcement from the environment shapes our responses

Sociocultural perspective

focus on dynamics of society and culture (racism, sexism, prejudice)

Humanistic perspective

we are innately good and in control of our destinies

Trait perspective

looks at current traits to describe personality and predict behaviors

Representative Sample

group of people with characteristics similar to those of the population of interest; allows researchers to generalize findings or apply information from a sample to the populations at large.

Some of Freud's theoretical insights were inspired by his in-depth examination of a patient known as "Rat Man." This exemplifies the\_____ method.

case study

\
(case study results cannot be used to support or refute hypotheses)

Phineas Gage Case Study: A railroad worker who survived after an iron rod blasted through his skull

Outcome: suggested the role that frontal lobes play in personality

H.M. Case Study: A man who suffered from profound memory loss following brain surgery.

Outcome: showed how brain damage can be linked to memory loss.

Little Albert Case Study: An 11-month-old who was conditioned to fear rats.

Outcome: revealed the ability to classically condition fear in humans.

The Genain Quadruplets Case Study: Identical quadruplet sisters who all developed schizophrenia.

Outcome: demonstrated a genetic factor is involved in schizophrenia.

“Rat Man” Case Study: A man with obsessive thoughts, including a punishment involving rats.

Outcome: Exemplified a case study on which Sigmund Freud based his theories.

Lorenz’s Geese Case Study: Goslings that became attached to Konrad Lorenz

Outcome: documented the imprinting phenomenon.

Imagine a researcher has found a strong correlation between hours per week spent studying and GPA; the more time spent studying, the higher the GPA. Which of the following correlation coefficients would BEST represent that relationship?

.03

\-.98

\-.41

\+0.72

\+0.72

Experimental Research Method

allows researchers to draw cause-and-effect conclusions

Survey Research Method Challenges

• wording can lead to response bias

• participants are not always truthful

• inaccurate representation of attitudes and beliefs may occur

• skimming the surface and failing to tap into the complex issues underlying responses

• may fail when the response rate falls short

Natural Research Method Challenges

• unwanted variables in natural environment

• replication of research is more difficult

Correlation Research Method Strength

• examines relationships among variables

• assists in making predictions

In the experimental method, the ____ variable is manipulated by the researcher to determine its effect on the ____ variable.

independent; depdendent

Confounding Variable

type of extraneous variable that changes in sync with the independent variable, making it difficult to discern which one is causing changes in the dependent variable

Experimenter Bias

researchers’ expectations that influence the outcome of a study

Operational Definitions

specify the precise manner in which the experiment are defined and and measured

If a study were to find that a higher attendance of childbirth training classes was correlated with a lower amount of pain medication required during childbirth, we’d call this a _____ correlation.

negative

A researcher is interested in studying food preferences among siblings. She argues that other close relatives, such as cousins, will share food preferences, as well. The researcher will need to determine the relative influences of heredity, also known as:

nature

Imagine a study in which participants are led to believe they administered electric shocks to laboratory rats located in another room. At the end of the study, the researcher failed to disclose that there were actually no rats involved. Which of the following has the researcher failed to include for his participants?

Debriefing

T or F: A case study with detailed information can be used to provide definitive support for a hypothesis.

False

A soft drink company conducts experiments on the impact of caffeine on student GPA. If caffeine intake is manipulated, it would be the \____ variable.

independent

To test the effect of a new drug on depression, we can randomly assign people to control and experimental groups. Those in the control group take a pill that contains no medication at all. This pill is called a \_______.

placebo

A(n) \_____ uses powerful magnets.

MRI

Dendrites

small, branchlike fibers extending from a cell body

Norepinephrine

helps prepare the body for stressful situations

Serotonin

Acetylcholine

enables movement by relaying messages from neurons to muscles?

Misinformation Effect

tendency for new and misleading information obtained after an incident to distort one’s memory of the incident

What is the role of Sensory Neurons?

to convey information from the peripheral nervous system to the central nervous system

Pancreas

secretes insulin, which regulates blood sugar.

The cerebrum includes:

all parts of the brain except for the brainstem

Corpus Callosum

joins the brain's two hemispheres

The brain is constantly undergoing alterations in response to experiences and is capable of a certain degree of physical adaptation and repair. This ability is known as:

neuroplasiticity

Jada is listening to a song by one of her favorite bands. The auditory cortex in her \_____ lobe processes the sounds.

temporal

Association Areas

in the cortex, synthesize information from all over the brain

What is the role of Neurotransmitters?

cross the synaptic gap between axons and dendrites in order to convey their message.

Josh's ability to see the professor is possible due to the visual cortex located in the \_____ lobe.

occipital

Hippocampus

Subcortical structure that is critical for the creation and consolidation of new memories

The central nervous system is made up of the _____ and _____.

brain; spinal cord

When a stimulus causes an involuntary response, we refer to it as a reflex; the simple communication pathway goes from sensory neurons through interneurons in the _____ and back out through motor neurons.

spinal cords

The primary motor cortex is located in the \_____ lobe of the brain.

frontal

Recognizing a face in a crowd BEST exemplifies:

* transduction
* perception
* sensation

perception

The wavelength of a light wave is related to _____, and the amplitude of a light wave is related to _____.

hue; brightness

In the auditory system, transduction takes place in the _____.

cochlea

The olfactory receptors are located in the _____.

olfactory epithelium

Gate-control theory explains the perception of _____.

pain

An important function of the cornea is to _____.

protect the eye from damage

Researchers believe phantom limb pain is the result of the reorganization of neurons in the _____ cortex.

somatosensory

Dave is experiencing dull pain from stubbing his toe, which is likely caused by _____.

slow nerve fibers

The vestibular sense contributes to humans’ ability to _____.

maintain balance and body posture

Classical conditioning

type of learning in which an association is formed between two stimuli

Lori’s cat becomes alert that food is cooked when the microwave beeps, but not when the coffeemaker makes a similar sound at the end of its brew cycle. This is an example of:

stimulus discrimination

Craig refuses to eat hamburgers ever since he became sick after eating hamburgers. Craig’s case illustrates:

conditioned taste aversion (type of classical conditioning that occurs when an organism learns to associate the taste of a particular food/drink with illness)

Many classical conditioning examples involve _____ behaviors. 

reflexive

High Order Conditioning

established conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus

An innate reinforcer is a _____ reinforcer that satisfies a biological need.

primary

A local coffee shop has a program that rewards frequent customers with a free coffee for every ten coffees they purchase. The coffee shop is using a _____ schedule of reinforcement.

fixed-ratio

A young child jumps after first hearing the fireworks, but as the fireworks show continues, her response to the fireworks decreases, illustrating the concept of:

habituation

T or F: The maintenance of learned behaviors can be maintained better with continuous reinforcement compared to partial reinforcement. 

False; we acquire behavior better through continuous reinforcement but maintain it better through partial reinforcement

Getting paid every two weeks is an example of a _____ schedule.

fixed-ratio

A baby continues trying different shapes until the cube-shaped block fits the square cut-out. What type of problem-solving technique did the baby use?

trial and error

Use this _____ for a perfect iced tea every time: 1 teabag per cup of water; sweeten with 1 cup of sugar per gallon.

algorithm

Availability Heuristics

explains why more people are afraid of flying than driving after hearing about a plane crash even though driving is far more dangerous

Frank lost a contact lens in his kitchen; he searches for it by examining each linoleum tile in turn to see if the lens is contained within the square. Gemma lost a lens in her kitchen; she looks for it near the base of the fridge and around the stove because these are the two appliances she remembers using when she was last in the kitchen Which individual is using a heuristic?

Only Gemma is using a heuristic

Difficulty adjusting to new situations and changing environments is related to _____ intelligence.

practical

Making several minor household repairs, Alyssa uses a shoe as a hammer and a butter knife as a screwdriver. Which BEST characterizes Alyssa’s problem solving?

She is not constrained by functional fixedness

Validity

ability of a test to measure what it actually is supposed to measure

Reliability

ability of a test to provide consistent, reproducible results

T or F: It is possible for a test to be reliable but not valid.

True. Think broken weighing scale. It will reliably show the same number each time—but the wrong one! We have psych assessments like that as well, so it's not enough to just be reliable; it has to also be valid.

All of the following are explanations for the IQ gap, with the exception of:

• access to books and technology

• socioeconomic status

• genetic differences across races

• chronic exposure to environmental stress

genetic differences across races

The average score on an IQ test is 100. In modern IQ testing, one standard deviation is 15 points. Someone with an IQ of 130 would be described as:

two standard deviations above the mean

Divergent Thinking

ability to think outside the box

In order to recall information presented in class, a student must take the first step of _____ information in a form that the memory system can use.

encoding

The first type of memory created according to the information-processing model is:

sensory memory

The duration of short-term memory is approximately _____ seconds.

30

Repeating a string of digits to remember them without writing them down is known as:

maintenance rehearsal

It is easier to remember social security numbers and phone numbers if you think of them in segments. This is known as: 

chunking

On average, short-term memory can hold between _____ and _____ items at one time.

5; 9

Example of implicit memory:

remembering how to ride a bicycle

Research indicates that retention of information is much higher with _____ than with _____

distributed practice; massed practice

Serial Position Effect

information presented at the beginning and end of class is more easily remembered than what happened in the middle.

Anterograde Amnesia

inability to create new memories following brain injury

Retrograde Amnesia

cannot access memories before brain damage or injury

T or F: The tendency for new and misleading information obtained after an incident to distort one’s memory of the incident is known as the misinformation effect.

True

I'm working as a neurologist in a local hospital, and a patient is brought in with a stroke. I need to scan her brain to determine the location of the stroke. What scan can I use to determine where (which part of the brain) experienced a disruption of blood flow?

CAT scan or MRI scan

If a patient needs a scan to find the location of a tumor but needs to avoid radiation, which type of scan would you suggest?

MRI - uses magnetic resonance, rather than radiation

Hue is determined by the _____________________ of the light reflecting off an object.

length of the wavelength

Brightness depends on _____________________.

amplitude, or wave height