Chapter One

What does Psychology mean

“study of the mind” uses philosophy and physiology

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of psychology

Wilhelm Wundts school of thought

structuralism

Which School of thought uses introspection

structuralism

Functionalism

Studies the function of consciousness

Behaviorism

John B Watson, only things observable should be studied

Gestalt Psychology

the whole is different then the sum of its parts

Gestalt Psychology

the whole is different then the sum of its parts

Behaviorism 1950s

BF Skinner, organisms tend to repeat things with positive outcomes

Humanism

Carl Rodger’s and Abraham Maslow, emphasizes the unique qualities of humans (like freedom and potential to grow)

Sociocultural Perspective

Focuses on the impact of ethnicity gender income levels and culture on behavior and mental processes

Clinical Psychology

Concerned w the diagnose and treatment of psychological illnesses

Counseling Psychology

Concern and treatment usually towards adjustment problems

Educational Psychology

improve curriculum design

School Psychology

Achievement and learning disability testing

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

study people at work to recommend how to improve things

Women In Psychology

Mary Calkins, 1st women president of the APA and studied under William James

African Americans in psychology

Kenneth Clark, first black psychologist to become APA president

Two types of cells in nervous system

Glia and Neurons

Glia

Support Neurons provide insulation and remove waste products

Dendrite

Receives the info from other cells

Cell Body

“Soma” contains nucleus of cell

Axon

long structure that takes info from the soma and sends it to other neurons out the terminal buttons

Myelin Sheath

Speeds up neural transmission

Synapse

The junction where info is sent from neuron to neuron

Endorphins

Resemble opiates, relieve pain

Acetylcholine

only transmitter at synapses that communicates directly with voluntary muscles

Monoamines

Regulate everyday behavior

Forebrain

Emotions and complex thought

Midbrain

sensory functions

Hindbrain

vital functions

occipital lobe

important for vision

parietal lobe

sense of touch

temporal lobe

auditory processing

frontal lobe

movement of muscles, decision making, emotional state

Cerebrum

Responsible for thinking, sensing, learning emotion consciousness and voluntary movement

Thalamus

Relay center for cortex

Hypothalamus

Responsible for regulating basic biological needs

Cerebellum

coordinates fine muscle movement and balance

Pons

sleep and arousal

Medulla

in charge of vital unconscious functions

Limbic System

“pleasure center” contains the structures hippocampus, amygdala, and septum

Hippocampus

important in memory

Amygdala

learning fear responses

septum

rage

Left hemisphere of brain

important for verbal tasks

Brocas area

in the left frontal lobe in charge of speech production

Wernickes area

In the left temporal lobe, important for language comprehension

Right Hemisphere of brain

in charge of nonverbal processing

Visual Agnosia

condition wherein one’s visual sensation is intact, but the process of visual perception is impaired

wavelength

affects perception of color

amplitude

affects perception of brightness

cataract

clouded lens

Rods

important in night vision and peripheral vision

Cones

important in day vision and color vision

fovea

center of retina only has a large amount of cones

3 properties of light

wavelength amplitude and purity

wavelength

related to hue

amplitude

related to brightness

purity

related to saturation

Trichromatic theory of color vision

the human eye has three types of receptors with differing sensitivities to different light wavelengths so three colors create others

closure

completing figures that have gaps in them

proximity

grouping elements together that are close together in distance

Similarity

grouping together similar elements

Continuity

seeing elements in ways that produce smooth continuation

simplicity

organizing elements in simplest way possible