Psychology Overall Review

critical thinking

curiosity + skepticism + humility

Willem Wundt

established the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany

First experiment: conscious processing takes longer than sensory

Structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

formed by Edward Bradford Titchener

introspection as a scientific method

biased to individual

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Introspection

William James

Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Empirical Psychology

the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method

Theoretical psychology

thinking about how things work based on data

Applied psychology

applying to real world

Socrates

wrote about pleasure and pain, 5 senses, imagination, etc.

Plato and Aristotle

learning and memory, motivation and emotion, perception and personality

Hippocrates

Human brain is interpretation of consciousness, differentiated psych disorders

Galen

everyone is born w one of 4 personality temperments

Rene Descartes

Dualism, or the idea that the mind and body are separate entities that interact

Body can be studied scientifically

Mind is a spiritual entity

Thomas Hobbes

Monism- body and mind can be studied scientifically. Human experience are physical processes from brain

Hermann von Helmholtz

diehard reductionist-reduce psych down to bio

Emil Kraepelin

likened mental disorders to physical diseases

Jean charcot

explored the use of hypnosis to evaluate neuroses.

Gestalt approach

A psychological school of thought originating in Germany that proposed that the whole of a perception must be understood rather than trying to deconstruct perception into its parts

Sigmund Freud

argued that much human behavior is governed by unconscious psychic forces

conscious thoughts don't go away, they stay inside of us

also focused on people with physical pain with no physical cause

Psychoanalysis

Freud's theory of personality that attributes thoughts and actions to unconscious motives and conflicts; the techniques used in treating psychological disorders by seeking to expose and interpret unconscious tensions

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Edward Thorndike

behaviorism; Law of Effect-relationship between behavior and consequence

Ivan Pavlov

discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell

John B. Watson

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat

B.F. Skinner

1904-1990; Field: behavioral; Contributions: created techniques to manipulate the consequences of an organism's behavior in order to observe the effects of subsequent behavior

REWARD AND PUNISHMENT

reinforcement strengthens behavior, punishment diminishes behavior

Playground for rats

showed neuroplasticity, rats in different situations developed different neural pathways

human psychology

focus on here and now, promote growth and flourishing

Abraham Maslow

Carl Rogers

Cognitive Revolution

The shift away from strict behaviorism, begun in the 1950s, characterized by renewed interest in fundamental problems of consciousness and internal mental processes.

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Scientific Method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

self correcting

Replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Exploratory Research

Research conducted to gather more information about a problem or to make a tentative hypothesis more specific

meta-analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies to get 1 conclusion

case study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

survey

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

be wary of biased wording

random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Correlation

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

coreelation coefficient

a numerical value that indicates the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables goes from -1 to 1

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

regression toward the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward their average.

Does correlation imply causation?

NO!

double-blind procedure

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.

fact

something known to be true

theory

organized set of principles that describes, predicts, and explains phenomona

Law of Parsimony

principle that simple explanations of phenomena are preferred to complex explanations

Scientific inquiry vs speculative argument

Limits to intuition and common sense that science can surpass

Personal experience bias

Postulate a theory

2 components: Testable & Falsifiable

specific

Design study

identify important variables, decide how to define and measure the variables

collect data

gather information

test the hypothesis

find data to support or refute

publish

publish or specify new hypothesis

Laboratory research

careful regulation and observation, may elicit atypical behavior

Field research

understand behavior in real world settings

lose control

Self report

a series of answers to a questionnaire that asks people to indicate the extent to which sets of statements or adjectives accurately describe their own behavior or mental state

Bias: people lie, or they just dont know

behavioral observation

the measurement of behavior as it occurs by someone other than the person whose behavior is being observed

archival research

method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships

no bias

records may not be complete

Three levels of explanation

description, correlation, causation

Description

describing phenomenon through observation

theorize

Causation

gold standard of psych-explains cause of something

scatterplots

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation).

Advantages of correlations

able to predict how things will behave

biological psychology

a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior

Biology

we are biological creatures, every thought and feeling is a biological event

Cognition

we possess capacities for abstract and concrete thought

Development

we change over time, biologically and intellectually

Neuroplasticity

the ability within the brain to constantly change both the structure and function of many cells in response to experience or trauma

Neurons

a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

neuron cell body (soma)

contains nucleus, cells life support center, has branching fibers

Dendrites

a neuron's bushy, branching extensions that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body

Axon

A threadlike extension of a neuron that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body.

Axon terminal

The endpoint of a neuron where neurotransmitters are stored

mylein sheath

layer of fatty tissue that covers many axons and helps speed neural impulses

improves neural efficiency, judgement, and self control as you get older

glial cells

cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons

action potential

a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon

exciatory signal vs. inhibitory

E accelerates, I brakes

Threshold

the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse

Refractory period

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired

Signal strength

Stronger stimulus triggers more neurons

Synapse

the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

nervous system

the body's speedy, electrochemical communication network, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems

Central Nervous System (CNS)

brain and spinal cord, central decision

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body.

Sematic nervous system

the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles (skeletal nervous system)

autonomic nervous system

the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.

Nerves

electrical cables formed from bundles of axons, link CNS with muscles, glands, and sensory organs

sensory neurons

neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

Motor neurons

neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

Interneurons

neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs

Reflexes

specific patterns of motor response that are triggered by specific patterns of sensory stimulation

endocrine system

the body's "slow" chemical communication system; a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

horomones

chemical substances that carry messages through the body in blood

Endocrine hangover

lingering emotion-related hormones

Adrenal glands

a pair of endocrine glands that sit just above the kidneys and secrete hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that help arouse the body in times of stress. (adrenaline)

pituitary gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

lesion

tissue destruction. A brain lesion is a naturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue

Brainstem

the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions- parts: medulla, pons, reticular formation

Medulla

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing