Finals Prep - im on my 2nd cup of coffee. it is not my last for the night

Psychology

The study of mental processes and behavior

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.

What was the Gestalt figure drawn in in class

Linked rings

Psychodynamic theory

Freud’s perspective. Believes behavior is motivated by inner, unconscious forces over which a person has little control

Behavioral theory

Focuses on observable behavior

Humanistic theory

Contends that people can control their behavior and that they naturally try to reach their full potential

Cognitive theory

Examines how people understand and think about the world

Evolutionary theory

Behavior is influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors.

Scientific method

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

Experimental manipulation

Is the change that a researcher deliberately makes in an experiment

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 condition that is manipulated by an experimenter.

Theory; Hypothesis

Remember that a ______ is a broad explanation, whereas a ________ is a more narrow prediction.

Significant outcome

Indicates that the findings of a research study are statistically meaningful.

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

Autonomic division

Part of the peripheral nervous system. controls the parts of the body that automatically function to keep us alive

Somatic division

Part of the peripheral nervous system specializes in the control of voluntary movements

Sympathetic division

Our body's fight or flight

Parasympathetic division (autonomic division)

Calms down the body after an emergency has ended

What is the central nervous system (CNS) composed of

Brain and spinal cord

Heritability

The degree to which a characteristic is related to inherited genetic factors.

Twin studies

Studies conducted on identical/fraternal twins to study the influence of genetic vs environmental factors.

Sensation

Refers to the activation of the sense organs (a physical response)

Perception

Refers to how stimuli are interpreted (a psychological response)

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

Rods

Thin, cylindrical receptor cells in the retina that are sensitive to light

Cones

Receptor cells in the retina that are responsible for sharp focus and color perception in bright light

Gestalt laws of organization

A series of principles that describe how we organize bits and pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior that is brought about by experience.

Habituation

The decrease in response to a stimulus that occurs after repeated presentations of the same stimulus.

Classical conditioning

A type of learning in which a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally brings about that response.

Neutral stimulus

A stimulus that, before conditioning, does not naturally bring about the response in which we are interested.

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally brings about a particular response without having been learned. (ex: meat is the UCS b/c it made the dogs salivate instinctually)

Unconditioned response (UCR)

A natural, innate response that occurs automatically and needs no training. Instinct

Conditioned stimulus (CS) 

Classical conditioning transforms the neutral stimulus into this after it is paired with an unconditioned stimulus. The transformed NS now brings about a response formerly caused by the UCS. (ex: the dogs salivate at the bell now instead of the meat)

Conditioned response (CR).

A response that, after conditioning, follows a previously neutral stimulus (e.g., salivation at the ringing of a bell).

Extinction

Occurs when a previously conditioned response decreases in frequency and eventually disappears.

Stimulus generalization

A process in which after a stimulus has been conditioned to produce a particular response, other stimuli that are similar to the original stimulus produce the same response.

\
Ex: Little Albert who was conditioned to fear white rats also began to fear other furry white creatures.

Stimulus discrimination

Occurs if two stimuli are sufficiently distinct from each other such that one evokes a conditioned response but the other does not.

Operant conditioning

Learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened, depending on the response's favorable or unfavorable consequences.

Negative reinforcement

The more I do something, the more something I don't care for goes away.

Positive punishment

Adding something to suppress behavior (Yelling at someone for hitting you)

Negative punishment

Taking something you like away to suppress a behavior. (Silent treatment in a relationship.

Positive reinforcement

Giving you something you like to reinforce a behavior.

B.F Skinner & Thorndike's Law of Effect

Responses that lead to satisfying consequences are more likely to be repeated

Albert Bandura

Theorized that observation and modeling play a crucial role in how we learn.

Memory

The process by which we encode, store, and retrieve information

**Sensory memory**

Refers to the initial, momentary storage of information that lasts only for an instant.

Iconic memory

Reflects information from the visual system.

Echoic memory

Stores auditory information coming from the ears. Fades in 2 or 3 seconds

Chunk

A group of separate pieces of information stored as a single unit in short-term memory

Rehersal

The repetition of info that has entered short-term memory. It allows material to be transferred from short-term to long-term.

Central executive processor

Part of the working memory, it determines what we pay attention to and what we ignore.

Episodic buffer

Part of the working memory, it contains info that represents events and occurrences, the things that happen to us.

Heuristic

A thinking strategy that may lead us to a solution or a decision but sometimes leads to errors. They are essentially shortcuts that might provide a solution.

Availability heuristic

We judge the likelihood of an event occurring on the basis of how easily we can bring to mind examples of the event.

Familiarity heuristic

Leads us to prefer familiar objects, people, and things over those that are unfamiliar or strange to us

Intelligence

The capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with challenges.

G-factor

The single, general factor that produced intelligence. Believed that there was an underlying form of intelligence

Fluid intelligence

Reflects the ability to think logically, reason abstractly, solve problems, and find patterns.

Crystalized Intelligence

Accumulation of information, knowledge, and skills that people have learned through experience and education. Stored in long-term memory.

Practical intelligence

Intelligence related to overall success in living, learned mainly through observation of others' behavior.

Emotional intelligence

The set of skills that underlie the accurate assessment, evaluation, expression, and regulation of emotions.

Analytical intelligence

Focuses on abstract, but traditional types of problems measured on IQ tests

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV) / Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-V (WISC-V)

IQ test made by David Wechsler that measured verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed.

Reliability

Refers to the consistency of a test in measuring what it is trying to measure. Every time we administer a test, the test-taker will achieve the same or nearly similar results.

Validity

Occurs when a test actually measures what it's intended to measure. Accuracy of the test.

5 solutions to the 6+4 = 4 puzzle

0 + 4 = 4

8 - 4 = 4

5 + 4 = 9

6-4 ≠ 2

6 + 4 > 4

**What is the single most preventable form of mental handicap?**

Fetal alcohol syndrome

What does Dr. Hinitz say is at the core of every relational experience?

An awareness of acceptance or rejection.

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

Emotions

Feelings that generally have both physiological and cognitive elements that influence behavior.

3 Functions of emotions

1. Preparing us for action
2. Shaping our future behavior
3. Helping us interact more effectively with others

Maslow's Hierarchy

Suggested that before more sophisticated, higher-order needs can be met, certain primary needs must be satisfied.

(SELSP)

Learned helplessness

Occurs when people conclude that unpleasant or aversive stimuli cannot be controlled.

\
ex: Someone believes they’re not good at math so they might not try anymore in the subject.

What example did Dr. Hinitz use to describe empathy?

Salad forks and tuning forks. Empathy is people being attuned to you.

Masters and Johnson and sexual response cycle

Sexual responses follow a regular pattern consisting of four phases:

Excitement, plateau, orgasm, resolution

Excitement phase

An arousing stimulus begins a sequence that prepares the genitals for sexual intercourse. Can last for a few minutes to over an hour.

Plateau phase

The body's preparation for orgasm.

Orgasm

An intense, highly pleasurable experience wherein breathing and heart rates reach their maximum.

Resolution stage

The body returns to its resting state, reversing the changes brought by arousal.

Androgen

Male hormone

Estrogen

Female hormone

Determinism

The notion that behavior is largely produced by factors beyond people’s willful control

Id

The instinctual and unorganized part of personality

Ego

The rational and logical part of personality. Attempts to balance the desires of the id and the realities of the objective, outside world.

Superego

The part of the personality that harshly judges the morality of our behavior. It represents the rights and wrongs of society and includes the conscious.

Personality

Is the pattern of enduring characteristics that produce consistency and individuality in a given person.

What does Dr. Hinitz say is the groundwork of all psychology?

Attachment

When does attachment begin?

When the baby is still in the uterus

Teratogen

An environmental agent that can hurt the child

Rates of depression go up when

Sunlight contact isn’t met