psychology

psychology

the study of mind and behavior

behavior

actions that can be directly measured/observed

mind/mental process

thoughts, feelings, motives that cannot be observed

Wilhem Wundt

1st psych lab in germany, studied introspection: peoples awareness of immediate experience

E.B. Titchener

student of Wundt, founded structuralism: broke down the mind into structures of mental process, what of the mind

William James

1st U.S. psychologist, founded functionalism: interaction between the mind and the environment, why of the mind

Studied psychology using the multicultural approach

francis cecil sumner, george sanchez, and the clarks

Mary Calkins

1st female psychologist, harvard denied degree

Margaret F. Washburn

1st woman to earn a Ph.D in psychology

psychology approaches (7)

psychoanalytic, biological, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, evolutionary, multicultural/cross cultural

psychoanalytic approach

focuses on the unconscious mind (wishes/desires/motivations that we didn’t know were there), conflict between instincts and societies demands, early childhood experiences; sigmund freud founded psychoanalysis, early interactions with parents and unfulfilled wishes lead to our personality

biological approach

focuses on the nervous system and the structures of the mind, thoughts and behavior have a physical basis in our body, stimulus to response

behavioral approach

focuses on observable/measurable behavior, stimulus=environment, response=behavior, reinforced with rewards or punishments

humanistic approach

feel good approach, focuses on the positive qualities of people and believe humans are born good

cognitive approach

focuses on information processing/how people process information (memory, learning, reading, social cues)

evolutionary approach

focuses on ideas such as “survival of the fittest”, adaptation, and genetics; behaviors that increase reproductive success

multicultural/cross-cultural approach

focuses on differences between cultures and how cultural and social influences affect our behavior

eclectic approach

selects and uses components in each approach

social cognitive theory

albert bandura; stimulus, organism, response

positive approaches to psychology

valuable experiences, positive individual traits, positive values

spears 2007 article

decrease in behaviorism, increase in cognitive neuroscience, no approach is dominant

two major organizations

American Psychological Association 1892 (APA), American Association for Psychological Science 1988 (AAPS)

hindsight bias

i knew it all along

false consensus effect

overestimating

overconfidence

think we know more than we do

theory

a set of well dell developed ideas that explain and predict observations

hypothesis

testable prediction made by a theory

5 steps of the scientific methods

1. observe phenomenon, 2. generate data, 3. collect data, 4. analyze data, 5. summarize data and evaluate the theory

variable

anything that can change

operational variable

(list, very specific, measurable) description of variable

types of descriptive research

observational, surveys, case study, archival

observational

observing/recording behavior

surveys

list of questions

case study

in depth look at one person; phineas gage

archival

using existing records to answer questions

experimental research

independent variable, dependent variable, experimental group, control group, random assignment

independent variable

the cause, manipulated and influenced factor

dependent variable

factor that is measured, can changed based on the IV

experimental group

group who receives the IV

control group

group that does not receive the IV

random assignment

assigning groups by chance

experimenter bias

researchers expectations influence the outcome of a study

participant bias

participants behavior changes because they know they are in a study

double blind experiment

no one knows what group the participants are in

ethnic gloss

researcher assumes all people in the group are the same

Central Nervous System

brain and spinal cord, 99% of nerve cells, reflexes- automatic response to stimuli

peripheral nervous system

network of sensory nerves, connects CNS to body, afferent nerves: sensory, carry Info to the brain, efferent nerves: motor, carry info away from the brain

somatic nervous system

controls skeletal muscles, voluntary activities

autonomic nervous system

organs and glands, controls autonomic functions, dual system: sympathetic (arouses the body), parasympathetic (calms the body)

neurons

building block of the nervous system

types of neurons

sensory (carry info may from the CNS), motor (carry Info away from the CNS, interneurons (do both)

glial cells

function like glue, keep neurons running smoothly, provide nutrients, clean up, supportive role to neurons

parts of neurons

soma, dendrite, axon, terminal buttons, synaptic vesicles, myelin sheath

soma

cell body

dendrite

receives info from other neurons (multiple)

axon

carries info away from neuron (only one)

terminal buttons

end of a axon, house synaptic vesicles (multiple)

synaptic vesicles

hold neurotransmitters

myelin sheath

layer of fatty tissue that insulates axons and speeds up impulses / nodes of ranvier

multiple sclerosis

disease where the myelin sheath degenerates, slows down communications to the muscles and eventually leads to loss of muscle control

ions

electrically charges particles, can be positive or negative

ion channel

membrane proteins that allow ions to pass through channel

resting potential

neuron resting, negative inside/ positive outside

threshold

neurons need a strong enough impulse to overcome it

depolarization

neuron becomes more positive, sodium/potassium

actions potential

signal that travels down a neuron when threshold is exceeded, strength does not affect speed

synapse steps

1. electrical impulse converted to chemical energy 2. neurotransmitters released 3. neurotransmitters cross synapse 4. neurotransmitters bind to and stimulate the next neuron

reuptake

reabsorption by a neuron of a neurotransmitter following the transmission of a nerve impulse across the synapse

synapse

junctions between two neurons

synaptic cleft

tiny gap in synapse junction

all or none principle

Neuron either FIRES or it DOESN’T

types of neurotransmitters

**Acetylcholine, Beta-Endorphin, Dopamine, GABA, Glutamate, Norepinephrine, Serotonin**

acetylcholine

muscle action, learning, memory

beta-endorphin

pain, pleasure

dopamine

movement, mood, sleep, learning

GABA

brain function, sleep, low level = anxiety

glutamate

learning and memory

norepinephrine

heart, intestines, alertness; too little = depression, too much = manic state

seretonin

sleep, mood, arousal; depression

cerebral cortex

control center, surface of the brain, divided into two hemispheres

lateralization

specialization of function (right)

longitudinal fissure

left of the brain

corpus callous

connects the two hemispheres

four lobes

frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal

frontal lobe (prefrontal cortex, motor complex, broca’s area)

reasoning, motor control, emotion, language

parietal (somatosensory cortex)

senses, attention span

occipital (visual cortex)

vision

temporal (auditory cortex, wernicke’s area)

hearing, memory, language processing

forebrain

thamalus, limbic system: amygdala, hippocampus, hypothamulus

thamalus

directs messages to sensory receiving areas in the cortez

amygdala

2 almonds, emotional awareness

hippocampus

stores memory, learning

hypothalamus

hunger, thirst, temp, sexual behavior/ helps endocrine system

midbrain

Reticular formation, substantia nigra, vetral tegmental areas

reticular formation

alertness, arousal, attention, some reflexes

**Substansia Nigra & Ventral tegmental areas**

produce dopamine, involved in movement, mood, rewards, and addiction

hindbrain

medulla, cerebellum, pons, brain stem

medulla

Begins where the spinal cord enters the skull. Helps with breathing and posture 

cerebellum

coordinates voluntary movement & muscles 

pons

Involved in sleep and arousal