Learn: PSY100, Term Test 1, Paul Whissell, UofT.

What is psychology?

Scientific study of thought feelings, and behaviour. Is a science and operates as such.

Stimuli

Objects or events that trigger a response within the brain, the meaning can vary between people. Also context-dependent

Using psychology, we can

Identify, predict and treat maladaptive behaviors, facilitate behaviors and explain and sometimes predict population events.

Structures of analysis

Biological, Psychological, Social/behavioural/cultural.

Biological level of analysis

How biological factors like hunger can affect behaviors and feelings. Focus on molecules and Brain strucutre.

Psychological level of analysis

Involves thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Perceptions and mindsets about the world etc...

Social level of analysis

How one's social environment affects their behaviour. Societal and cultural impacts.

Social facilitation of eating, if we see friends eating around us, we are likely to join them.

Confirmation bias

Overvaluing info that agrees with our beliefs and undervaluing info that does not.

Common and difficult to avoid

Illusion of causality

Inferring a cause-and-effect relationship from correlations or coincidental patterns. Sometimes our associations are wrong.

Example: I see someone coughing, therefore, they must have a cold.

Apophenia

The tendency to perceive meaningful patterns that aren't really there.

Example: The "face" on the moon is not really a face, but something that looks like a face.

Spurious or random relationships

Correlations that occur by chance.

Margarine consumption and divorce in the US are correlated on a graph, but that does not mean that the relationship is valid.

Argument from antiquity fallacy

error of assuming that a belief must be valid just because it's been around for a long time

appeal to authority fallacy

error of accepting a claim merely because an authority figure endorses it

appeal to ignorance fallacy

error of assuming that a claim must be true because no one has shown it to be false

Bandwagon fallacy

error of assuming that a claim is correct just because many people believe it. Everyone else can't be wrong!

The Clustering Illusion

The tendency to perceive patterns where no pattern exists.

Example: You may think you see a trend or pattern in the stock market, but the market is completely random.

either/or fallacy

oversimplifying an issue by offering only two choices

not me fallacy

the error of believing that we're immune from errors in thinking that afflict other people.

Couldn't be me!

Strucuralism

(Wundt, Titchener)

Focused on breaking down experiences into basic elements. Primarily used introspection.

Introspection proved unreliable and was abandoned.

mental chronometry

determining the amount of time needed to carry out a cognitive task

Functionalism

(William James)

Explain how behaviors served adaptive functions that increased fitness. Why are certain emotional states useful? Related to the evolutionary theory proposed by Darwin. What's the point of fear, or disgust?

Inspired theories like evolutionary psychology.

Gestalt Psychology

(Wertheimer, Kohler, Koffka)

Emphasized that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," particularly in visual perception.

Stimuli are recognized on the part of other Stimuli

Psychoanalysis

(Freud, Jung)

Explored the unconscious mind through dream analysis and free association, emphasizing childhood experiences.

Popularized and revolutionized mental health care.

Behaviorism

(Watson, Skinner)

Focused on observable behaviour, believing mental processes were not easily studied.

The measurement of behaviour and what stimuli cause it. Overevaluates environmental influences.

Cognitivism

(Piaget, Ebbinghaus, Neisser)

In direct contrast to behaviorism, which studied mental processes like perception, thinking, memory and judgment, the black box that behaviorism had. What happens between stimuli and behaviour?

Social/Cultural psychology

(Lewin, Festinger, Schachter)

Study how social situations and culture influence decision making. How does your culture influence your view on various things.

The Bystander effect

If there are a lot of people around, the chances of someone helping in an emergency are lower.

There would be more risk in a crowd than if you were alone; you do what everyone else is doing. You say hopefully someone else willl help.

Terror management theory

proposes that we manage the fear of death by looking for systems with meaning.

For example religion

Why do we cling to beliefs?

Changing our beliefs can be costly, especially beliefs that contribute to a state we wish to maintain.

These beliefs are not always informed by evidence

Cephalic phase

The sight, smell or thought of food can trigger a physiological cascade which prepares us for eating

Meta-analysis

a procedure for statistically combining the results of many different research studies.

Macbeth study done 14 times, Meta-analysis weighs the average of the effects of the study.

Varibale

It is an attribute that assumes different values across people, places and timepoints. Thoughts, feelings and behaviors are all variables.

Some examples include: Patterns of sleep, relationship preferences, testosterone level, neurological differences

Conceptual variable

An abstract concept that cannot be directly measured. We cannot prove that these variables are real but we pretend they are because it is useful to do so.

Example: intelligence, aggression.

Operational definition

A specific, measurable procedure used to define a conceptual variable. This choice is a compromise between validity cost and convenience.

Example: IQ test, number of aggressive acts for aggression.

Reliability

consistency of measurement.

test-test reliability

Everytime we do the test, we get a similar result.

inter-rater reliability

No matter who is scoring the test, we get a similar result.

Construct validity

The degree to which a construct measures what it claims to be measuring. Requires reliability, and our test correlates with what it claims to be measuring. It has to do what you had hoped the test would do.

Biases

Positive impression management, people may lie to make themselves look better or exaggerate positive traits.

People may say they have terrible anxiety but they are really at a moderate level

Distribution

A graph showing the frequency of different values for a variable in a population.

Mean

The average value.

The most useful measurement in psychology. Most psychological research involves analyzing the means. However, the mean is sensitive to extreme scores (outliers,) particularly if the sample is small.

Median

Middle value in a data set.

We just look at the score of the middle of the higher and lower parts. Not influenced by outliers

Example:

seeing the average salaries we are not looking a the highest or lowest paid, but the number in the middle of the graph.

Modes

The most frequent value.

Standard deviation (SD)

Measure of data dispersion around the mean.

High SD means little spread around the mean, Low SD means little spread.

Outliers

are generally a score that must be at least 2 absolute Sd units away from the mean. We find the outliers through the SDs. Outliers lead to nonrepresentative means and limit the usefulness of means.

Range

The distance between the highest and lowest score. The highest score is what the range goes up to.

Normal distribution

A symmetric, bell-shaped curve that represents the pattern in which many characteristics are dispersed in the population.

Mean, Median and Mode are equal

skewed distribution

an asymmetrical distribution where the mean, median, and mode are not equal.

Hypothesis

Hypothesis is a proposed explanation of a phenomenon based on evidence that serves as a starting point for an investigation. Hypotheses are generally specific and directional.

Must be clear, simple and testable.

Descriptive research

General assessment of variables through systemic observation. It is not possible to infer causation with these methods, as the researcher is not doing a manipulation.

Case study

An intensive examination of one individual. Can give insight into rare phenomena, providing proof of existence. Can inspire new hypotheses.

Example: Phinese Gage, H.M.

Survey

Assess many variables in a large population via questionnaire or interviews. Can be highly generalizable

Valuable in social psychology

Naturalistic observation

Observing behaviour in its natural setting without intervention.

A limited range of variables can be assessed, poorly controlled.

Correlational analysis

Data analysis method, NOT a research method.

Measures the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables. Correlation does not imply causation.

Example: Bad grades and drinking alcohol are correlated; analyze that.

Non-linearity

Curvilinear relationships cannot be accurately described by the correlation equation.

arousal and performance as an example.

Third factor effects

Just because two things are correlated does not mean they are causal. Maybe a third effect involved

For example, ice cream consumption and criminal activity are correlated. The third factor between these things is temperature, which is the correlation you should be interested in.

Experimental research

Manipulates at least one variable (independent variable, IV) to observe its effect on another variable (dependent variable, DV) while controlling other factors. Allows for causal inferences.

Example: Does stress (IV) affect grades? (DV)

Random assignment

Done in experimental researches

Participants are randomly assigned to experimental groups to ensure groups are similar on average.

Quasi-Experiment

An experiment in which investigators make use of control and experimental groups that already exist in the world at large. Also called a mixed design.

Sampling bias

The sample used in a study is not representative of the population of interest

If you study 50 math students, it would be foolish to generalize that to all university students, this can be said about many different themes or subjects.

WEIRD problem is apart of this

WEIRD problem

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic

Confounding variables

Uncontrolled variables that influence the dependent variable make it impossible to determine if the IV or the confound caused the effect.

Researcher fails to control variable, limits use of study

demand characteristics

Participants alter their behaviour based on cues they perceive about the experiment's hypothesis.

Observer affect

Participants alter their behaviour because they know they are being observed.

Placebo effect

An effect that occurs because participants believe they are receiving a treatment, even if it has no active ingredients. Controlled for using placebo groups and blinding.

Experimenter effect

Researchers unconsciously influence the results through their expectations. Controlled for using double-blinding.

Nervous system

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

Composed of central and Peripheral nervous systems.

Ethical guidelines

Informed consent, Freedom to leave at any point, protection of participants, confidentiality, debriefing.

Null Hypothesis (H0)

The statistical hypothesis tested by the statistical procedure; usually a hypothesis of no difference or no relationship

Alternative Hypothesis (Ha)

states that there is a statistically significant difference between the groups; the alternative hypothesis is what the researcher hopes to prove or accept

p-value

is a probability that a result is due to an effect or chance. Our tests tell us which explanation is most likely.

The lower the P value, the lower the probability that differences are due to chance.

The p threshold is usually 0.05. P value is compared to a threshold value set in advance. If the p-value is less than the threshold, there is statistical significance. P-value is adjusted based on the risks or unique concerns of the study.

Hyper fixation on p is an issue. In pursuit of a certain p-value, many engaged in practices now termed p-hacking. They would reorganize studies, like removing groups

Effect strength

Some effects are statistically significant and strong. Other effects are statistically significant but weak. The magnitude of the effect is the effect size.

Most effects in psychology are small.

Replication crisis

describes things thought to be true that were done in invalid studies, when many of those ideas or things were unable to be repeated. The causes of this are questionable research procedures, poor measurement practices and publication bias.

Unrepeatable effects should not inform major decisions.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

consists of the brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

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

Neruons

Specialized cells that transmit electrochemical signals.

Dendrites

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

Axon

the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibres, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Myelin sheath

A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.

Axon terminals

small fibres branching out from an axon. Release neurotransmitters

Synapse

The gap between neurons where neurotransmitters are released.

Neurotrasnmitters

Chemical messengers that transmit signals across the synapse.

Agonist

A substance that binds to a receptor and produces a response.

Antagonist

A substance that binds to a receptor but does not produce a response, blocking the action of agonists.

Glia

Support cells in the nervous system

The Brain

The thing in yo skull ya dummy. The brain is organized into lobes and subcortical structures.

Gyri

ridges of the brain

Sulci (sulcus)

~shallow grooves separating the gyri

~ Divides the cerebral hemispheres into lobes

The cortex

The outer layer of the brain is like the bark of a tree. It is a thin grey-brown layer, densely packed with cells. The outer layer of the brain is about 2-4mm thick. The folds allow you to fit more brain in a skull, like folding clothes in a suit case. Folds allow more neurons.

Frontal lobe

Executive functions, planning, voluntary movement, social behaviour, and impulse control. Contains the primary motor cortex.

Phinease Gage had a rod put through this part that affected his behaviour.

Parietal lobe

Processes sensory information (touch, temperature, pain), and spatial awareness, and integrates sensory input. Contains the somatosensory cortex.

Involved in language and spatial relationships as well.

orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)

is positioned near the orbital bone around the eyes, usually damaged and is associated with behavior, impulse control or taste and smell.

Temporal lobe

Associated with many key functions, including hearing, language, spirituality, religiosity, and memory. Primary auditory areas are found here. Participates with facial recognition.

Abnormal temporal lobe activity is associated with religiosity or intense spiritual/mystical experiences.

Occipital lobe

Processes visual information from the eyes.

The limbic system

The neural system located below the cerebral hemispheres, associated with emotions and drives

some parts include: Amygdala, the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, the cingulate gyrus, thalamus, and basal ganglia.

Amygdala

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

Hippocampus

centrally involved in memory consolidation, spatially-guided behavior and emotion, (anxiety). Termed as the "gateway to declarative memory"

Hypothalamus

Regulates basic drives (hunger, thirst, sex), body temperature, and the endocrine system (via the HPA axis).

Stress + the HPA axis, stress causes HPA activation. Seeing a bear may make you run faster and farther for longer you thought you could. (Professor Whissell Bear example)

Thalamus

relays messages between lower brain centers and cerebral cortex

Basal ganglia

Involved in motor control, learning, and habit formation.

a set of subcortical structures that directs intentional movements