PSYCH 101 Exam

inductive reasoning

uses specific and limited observations to draw general conclusions

deductive reasoning

uses a general principle or premise as grounds to draw specific conclusions

falsifiability

• ability to be shown as false

• e.g. “all swans are white” can be proven false with a black swan

pseudoscience

• a claim that is presented as scientific but does not adhere to the standards and methods of science

• e.g. astrology, numerology, conspiracy theories

introspection

a reflective looking inward; an examination of one’s own thoughts and feelings

empiricism

knowledge is based on one own’s (sensory) experiences

bio-psycho-social model

health and illness are determined by a dynamic interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors

W.E.I.R.D

Western

Educated

Industrialized

Rich

Democratic

• a specific demographic that dominates behavioral science research

ethics

protects clients from harm and uphold their privacy, dignity, and well-being

hypothesis vs theory

• hypothesis = tentative explanation that can be tested by further investigation

• theory = a well-supported explanation of observations

independent variable

• manipulated

• not influenced by other variables/results

• predictor

dependent variable

• measured

• affected by changes in IV

• outcome

operational definition

defining variables in terms of how we plan to measure them

null vs alternative hypothesis

• null = no significant relationship between the IV and DV (data does NOT support the hypothesis)

• alternative = there is a significant relationship between the IV and DV (data supports the hypothesis)

reliability vs validity

• reliability = measurement provides consistent results

• validity = measurement assesses what it’s supposed to measure

sample

subset of a population recruited to participate in research

simple random sampling

data collected from a random subset of a population to draw conclusions about the whole population.

descriptive design

snapshot of current patterns of behavior (e.g., case study)

correlational design

• investigating relationships between naturally occurring variables

• no manipulation of IV (due to practical/ethical reasons)

• can evaluate a larger range of variable

• time and efficiency

experimental design

• intended to see if one variable causes another

• must have at least one experimental group, control group, IV, ID, and random assignment

random assignment

• allows researchers to assume that all groups are comparable at the beginning of a study

• randomly placing participants into an experimental group or a control group

• prevents bias

case study

• intensive, in-depth study of a person or group

• often used to explore rare conditions or experiences

• not generalizable to other people or contexts

confound

• extraneous variables that vary along with the main variables of interest

• provide an alternative explanation for our results

natural experiment

• “Quasi-experimental” design that uses a naturally-occurring event to provide scientific information

• useful when random assignment is unfeasible or unethical

correlation coefficient (R)

• statistical measure of the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.

• ranges from -1 to 1.

cross-sectional vs longitudinal

• cross-sectional = multiple age groups examined at one time point

• goal: examine relationship between age and DV

• longitudinal = same group of participants examined over multiple time points

• goal: examine how participants change over time

heritability

• a measure of how well differences in people's genes account for differences in their traits (from 0 to 1)

• higher heritability = characteristic more influenced by genetics

• estimates phenotype, not genotype

twin studies

• monozygotic (MZ) twins = 100% of genetics in common

• dizygotic (DZ) twins = ~50% of genetics in common

• if MZ twins are more similar than DZ twins on a certain characteristic, then genetics plays a strong role

concordance rate

• degree of similarity among pairs of family members

• if concordance rate is higher for MZ than DZ twins, this suggests trait is partly genetic

epigenome

chemical compounds that tell the genome what to do

social determinants of health

• non-medical factors that influence a person’s health and wellbeing

• heavily influenced by race and class

• can influence gene expression

culture

• explicit & documented (e.g., what is taught in school, who can get married)

• implicit (e.g., unspoken norms for social interactions)

• structural (e.g., resources available, prejudice, oppression)

central nervous system

brain and spinal chord

peripheral nervous system

nerves extending from spinal chord

sympathetic vs. parasympathetic nervous system

• sympathetic = “fight or flight” response to stress/danger

• parasympathetic = relaxes body after periods of stress/danger

neurons

• cells of the brain and nervous system

• responsible for receiving sensory input from environment and relaying electrical signals to the body

dendrite

the structure on neurons that allow the cell to receive signals from other neurons

axon

long and single nerve-cell process that conducts impulses away from the cell body.

myelin sheath

allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along the nerve cells

synapse

junction between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite of another neuron

action potential

electric signals sent down the axon

neurotransmitters

chemical signals released by the action potentials that travel across synapses

brainstem

• connects brain to spinal cord

• regulates breathing, blood flow, heart rate, reflexes

cerebellum

coordination of muscle movements (e.g., posture, balance, and speech)

cerebrum

major lobes of the brain

occipital lobe

• located at the back of the cerebrum, is the house of the visual area of the brain

• ‘A’

temporal lobe

• underside, where sounds and smells are processed

• ‘B’

parietal lobe

• upper back, where touch and taste are processed

• ‘C’

frontal lobe

• forward; planning and organizing tasks, problem-solving and decision-making, working memory and attention, and impulse control

• ‘D'

limbic system

a collection of highly specialized neural structures that sit at the top of the brain stem, which are involved in regulating our emotions

white vs. grey matter

• white matter: bundles of myelinated axons

• grey matter: neuron cell bodies and dendrites

dual systems model

• limbic regions develop earlier than prefrontal regions

• explains higher risk taking/impulses in adolescence

wernicke’s area vs broca’s area

• wernicke’s area = responsible for language comprehension (understanding spoken and written language)

• broca’s area = responsible for language production (speaking and writing)

corpus callosum

bundle of fibers connecting two hemispheres of the brain

structural plasticity vs functional plasticity

• structural = physical changes in the brain structure (e.g. synaptogenesis and synaptic pruning)

• functional = brain’s ability to shift functions from damaged areas to healthy ones 

synaptogenesis

formation of synaptic connections

synaptic pruning

elimination of unused synaptic connections (“use it or lose it”)

sensitive period

window of time when the brain is most receptive to certain stimuli and experiences

experience-expectant processes vs experience-dependent processes

• experience-expectant:

  • brain functions expected to develop properly for normal functioning

  • “critical or sensitive periods” for development

  • e.g. vision, face processing, language development

• experience-dependent:

  • new synaptic connections formed based on unique interactions with environment

  • require learning & reinforcement

  • e.g. sports, playing an instrument

perceptual narrowing

developmental process during which the brain uses environmental experiences to shape perceptual abilities

sensation

receiving raw stimuli from the environment

transduction

conversion of one form of energy to another

perception

interpretation of experiences

absolute threshold

• minimum level of stimulation a person can detect 50% of the time

• measured with signal detection

bottom-up vs. top-down processing

• bottom-up processing = starting with the individual stimulus to build perception

• top-down processing = using prior knowledge and context to interpret new information

multi-modal perception

integrating information from multiple senses

subliminal messaging

• using hidden words or images to influence people’s thoughts and behaviors without their conscious awareness

• often used in advertising

Yerkes-Dodson Law

performance improves with increasing stress up to an optimal point, but then declines if stress becomes too high or is too low

allostatic load

“wear and tear” on the body as a result of repeated or chronic stress

trier social stress test

experimental procedure designed to induce psychological stress in laboratory settings