AP PSYCH unit1-5

Wilhelm Wundt

a professor at the University of Leipzig, Germany. established the first psychological laboratory in 1879

G. Stanley Hall

Wundt's American student who went on to establish the first formal U.S psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University

Edward Bradford Titchener

wundt's student.
introduced structuralism

structuralism

aimed to discover the structural elements of the mind

structuralism

early school of thought promoted by Wundt's and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

William James

founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

Functionalism

early school of thought promoted by James and influenced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral processes function- how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish

Mary Whiton Calkins

first female president of the American Psychological Association (1905); a student of William James; denied the PhD she earned from Harvard because of her sex (later, posthumously, it was granted to her)

Margaret Floy Washburn

First female to be awarded a PhD in psychology; 2nd president of the APA (1921)

nature- nurture issue

the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture

natural selection

among the range of inherited trait variations , those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations

nature

influenced by genetic inheritance and other biological factors

nurture

influence of external factors after conception.
-the production of life exposure
- life experiences
-learning on an individual

levels of analysis

the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon

biopsychosocial approach

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

behavior or mental process

biological influences, psychological influences, social-cultural influences

biological influences

-natural selection of adaptive traits
-genetic predispositions responding to environment
-brain mechanisms
-hormonal influences

social-cultural influences

-presence of others
-cultural, societal, and family expectation
-peer and other group influences
-compelling models

psychological influences

-learned fears and other learned expectations
-emotional responses
-cognitive processing and perceptual interpretations

Psychology approaches

behavioral, biological, cognitive, evolutionary, humanistic, psychodynamic, social-cultural

Behavioral

how we learn observable responses

biological

how the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how genes combine with environment to influence individual differences

cognitive

how we encode, process, store and retrieve information

evolutionary

how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes

humanistic

How we meet our needs for love and acceptance and achieve self-fulfillment

Psychodynamic

how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

social-cultural

how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures

behavioral psychology

scientific study of observable behavior and its explanation by principles of learning

biological psychology

the scientific study how the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes

Cognitive Psychology

the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communication

evolutionary psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and mind, using principles of natural selection

psychodynamic psychology

a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders

social-cultural psychology

the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

psychometrics

the scientific study of the measurements of human abilities, attitudes and traits

hindsight bias

the tendency people have to assume that they knew the outcome of en event after the outcome has already been determined

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct and to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments

theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

operational definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study
- the exact description will allow anyone to replicate the research

case study

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group 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
- does not explain behavior; it describes it

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

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

population

all those in a group being studied, from which sample may be drawn

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 variables change together, and thus of how well either variable predicts the other

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two variables (from -1 to +1)

positive correlation

2 variables rise or fall together

negative correlation

one rises as the other falls

illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

experimental group

In an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

control group

In an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

double-blind

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.

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

confounding variable

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.

central tendency

mean, median, mode

mode

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

mean

the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores

median

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

measures of variation

range and standard deviation

range

the difference between the highest and lowest score in a distribution

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score
-gauges whether scores are packed together or dispersed, because it uses information from each score
-symmetrical, bell-shaped

inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

p-value

The probability level which forms basis for deciding if results are statistically significant (not due to chance). (0.05)

ethical principles

1) obtain potential participants informed consent
2) protect them from physical or emotional harm and discomfort
3) keep information about individual participants confidential
4) fully debrief people (explain the research afterward)

dendrites

a neurons bushy, branching extensions that receive messages/ info and conducts impulses toward the cell body

axon

neuron extension that passes messages through its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

axon potential

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

refractory period

a period of inactivity after a neuron has fired (resting pause)

reuptake

a neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron

presynaptic membrane

part of an axon that faces the receiving cell and sends a signal

postsynaptic membrane

membrane that receives the signal

nervous system

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

central nervous system

the brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

the sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

* responsible for gathering info and for transmitting CNS decisions to the rest of the body

sensory neurons (afferen)

carry messages/info from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord

motor neurons (efferent)

carry info/instructions from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands

interneurons

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

somatic nervous system

voluntary control of our skeletal muscles

autonomic nervous system

controls our grands and the muscles of our internal organs, influencing such functions as glandular activity, heartbeat and digestion

sympathetic nervous system

arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations

* accelerates heartbeat, raise blood pressure, etc
* making you alert and ready for action

parasympathetic nervous system

calms the body, conserving its energy

* decreases heartbeat, lolwing blood sugar

adrenal glands

glands on top of the kidneys and secretes hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine), which increases heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, providing us with the surge of energy, known as fight or flight response

pituitary gland

controlled by the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands

* endocrine most influential gland
* located in the brain

EEG

an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface. these waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp

CT scan

a series of x ray photographs taken from different angles, that can reveal brain damage

* also called CAT scan

PET scan

a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task

MRI

a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images of soft tissues

fMRI

technique for revealing flood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans.

* where the brain is especially active, blood goes
* watch increase oxygen-laden blood flow

brainstem

the oldest part and central core of the brain; beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the _ is responsible for automatic survival functions

medulla

the base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing

* the slight swelling
* pons- helps coordinate movement

thalamus

the brain’s sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

* receives information from all the senses except smell and routes it to the higher brain region that deals with seeing, hearing, tasting, and touching

reticular formation

a nerve network that travels through the brainstem and thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal

* side the brainstem, between ears
* severe damage can cause coma or a persistent vegetative state

the cerebellum

the “little brain” at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory

* helps judge time, modulate our emotions, and discriminate sounds and texture, coordinates voluntary movement (w pon)
* if damaged, difficulty walking, keeping your balance, or shaking hands, movement is jerky or exaggerated