Elementary Psych

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233 Terms

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psychological science

the scientific study of mind and behavior

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characteristics of psychological science

critical, summative, aims to be non-biased

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scientific approach: functionalism

william james; studies how mental abilities allow people to adapt to their environments

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scientific approach: structuralism

Wilhelm Wundt; analyzes the mind by breaking it down into its basic components

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clinical approach

sigmund freud; therapeutic interventions for psychological disorders in medical settings (psychotherapy, psychiatry, clinical practice)

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empirical evidence

based on astute observation and accurate measurement

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evidence

the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid

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pop psychology

based mostly on unsupported claims, beliefs, assumptions, and popular opinion

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WEIRD samples

research participants from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic backgrounds

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evolutionary, cultural

understanding broad patterns of behavior

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cognitive, emotional

understanding thoughts and feelings

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biological-neuroscience

understanding roles of body and brain

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developmental, personality, social, clinical

understanding stable and changing patterns of behavior

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common themes across perspectives (1)

nature and nurture interact to predict behavior

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common themes across perspectives (2)

psychology seeks to identify universal aspects of behavior as well as variation

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common themes across perspectives (3)

behavior is shaped by conscious understanding and by unconscious processes

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common themes across perspectives (4)

we gain insights by understanding both normal functioning and dysfunctions (disruptions to normal functioning)

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common themes across perspectives (5)

applying psychology can change our lives in positive ways

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evolutionary psychology

adaptive function of behavior from evolutionary perspective

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cultural psychology

how culture shapes psychological processes

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cognitive psychology

mental processes-perception, thought, learning, memory, language creativity (computer metaphor)

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emotional psychology

how emotions influence decision making, behavior, and social relationships

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biological-neuroscience perspective

biological bases of thought, action, and behavior; hormones, neural activity, brain areas involved in certain behaviors/abilities

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developmental psychology

how people change in behavior, cognition, emotion, etc over the lifespan

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personality

traits that affect behavior

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social

situations that affect behavior

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clinical psychology

causes and treatment of psychological disorder; multiple approaches to understand etiology (origin) of disorders

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positive psychology

based on studies of learned helplessness (Seligman); studies factors that makes people happy, keeps them happy, and helps them manage stress

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metacognition

an awareness and understanding of your own thought processes

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empirical method

set of rules and techniques used for observation

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theory

hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomena

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hypothesis

falsifiable prediction made by a theory

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the scientific method

1. choose a question to answer 2. formulate a hypothesis that relates to a question 3. develop methods to test hypothesis 4. draw a conclusion based on results 5. rinse and repeat

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variable

something of interest that caries from person to person or situation to situation

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descriptive research

a type of study in which researchers measure on variable at a time

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descriptive research examples

surveys/self report, naturalistic observations, case studies

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correlational research

nothing is manipulated; compare variables to see if they are related (correlated) to one another

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direction of causation problem

cannot tell which variable is the cause and which in the effect

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third variable problem

correlation may arise from both being influenced by some third variable

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experimental research

manipulate one variable and assess effect (independent and dependent variable)

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construct validity (any)

how well a test/assessment measures what it claims to measure (reliability is key)

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external validity (descriptive)

how well do results generalize beyond the study sample

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internal validity (experiments)

how well does a study to rule out alternative explanations for a relationship between two variables

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frequency distributions

a bar graph in which the possible scores on a variable are listed on the x-axis and the total number of people who had each score is plotted on the y-axis

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frequency distributions (measures of variability)

range, standard deviation

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null hypothesis

the assumption that there is no relationship between the variable in the population

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reject the null

if the sample's result would have occurred less than 5% of the time if the null was true (p < 0.05)

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meta-analysis

pools results across studies that have the same variables

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meta-analysis advantages

larger sample (replication) to assess strength of a relationship

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the nuremberg code: research ethics

principles for human experimentation

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apa code of ethics

informed consent, freedom from coercion, protection from harm, risk benefit analysis, deception, debriefing, confidentiality

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nervous system

autonomic nervous system (involuntary) --> SNS (fight or flight) and PNS (returns body to resting state)

somatic nervous system (voluntary): controls conscious movements - skeletal muscles

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endocrine system

a network of glands that produces and releases hormones into the bloodstream to regulate the body's activities

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pituitary gland

master gland

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adrenal gland

fight or flight

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thyroid gland

metabolism

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parathyroid gland

calcium levels

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sex glands

ovaries, testes

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cerebral cortex

higher mental functions (what makes us human)

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cerebral cortex: frontal lobe

complex thought, planning control of movement, map of the body's muscles

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cerebral cortex: temporal lobe

hearing, object memory

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cerebral cortex: parietal lobe

touch, spatial awareness, map of the body's skin surface

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cerebral cortex: insular lobe

taste, awareness of internal organs

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cerebral cortex: occipital lobe

vision

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cerebral cortex: neocortex

outermost layer - folds and wrinkles (supports complex functioning)

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cerebral cortex: primary motor cortex

frontal lobe; voluntary movements

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cerebral cortex: primary somatosensory cortex

parietal lobe; sense of touch

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homunculus

a maplike representation of regions of the body in the brain

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cerebral cortex: association cortex

integrates information coming in from the senses with existing knowledge

helps produce a meaningful experience of he world

directly related to the function of the adjacent primary sensory cortex

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limbic system

group of forebrain structures involved in motivation, emotion, learning, and memory

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limbic system: hypothalamus

regulates body temp, hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior; also a subcortical structure

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limbic system: hippocampus

critical for creating new memories and integrating them into a network of knowledge so that they can be stored indefinitely in other parts of the cerebral cortex

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limbic system: amygdala

plays a central role in many emotional processes, particularly the formation of emotional memories

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subcortical brain: basal ganglia

evolutionarily older subcortical motor system

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subcortical brain: thalamus

relay center for senses (except olfaction)

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hindbrain: brainstem

connects to spinal cord; responsible for basic life functions

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brainstem: pons

controls breathing and relays sensations to subcortex and cortex

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brainstem: medulla oblongata

controls autonomic functions

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brainstem: reticular formation

regulates sleep and arousal

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cerebellum

supports a variety of functions (coordination, precision, balance, accurate timing)

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executive functions

cognitive processes that allow us to plan, focus attention, and organize multiple tasks to complete our goals (prefrontal cortex)

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right and left hemisphere (contralateral control)

same structures; lateralization (ex. left hemisphere - language)

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corpus callosum

bridge of fibers that connects the 2 halves

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split brain procedure

severs the corpus callosum used to treat severe cases of epilepsy By disconnecting the two hemispheres, it reduces the frequency and severity of seizures.

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brain networks

the collections of brain regions that are connected and work together to support brain functions

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brain connectome project

an attempt to map all the neural connections in the brain

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CAT/CT scan

combines a series of x ray images

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MRI

uses magnetic fields and radio wave to create images of the brain

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DTI

variation of MRI; allows researchers to assess the size and direction of the connections between brain regions

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phrenology (1800s)

pseudoscience - bumps on the skull indicate specific mental abilities and personality traits

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localization

certain parts of the brain are dedicated to performing certain functions

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neuropsychology

examining brain function though brain damage

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lesion

an abnormal tissue resulting from disease, trauma, or surgical intervention (helped reveal contralateral control)

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dissociation

a specific brain area is involved in a particular function but not in others (double dissociation is the gold standard in lesion studies)

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wernicke's area

comprehension of speech

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broca's area

speech production

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single cell recording

a measurement of the electrical activity of a single neuron

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EEG

the recording of electrical waves from many thousands of neurons

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MEG

the recording of the magnetic fields produced by the brain's electrical currents

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event related potential (erp)

a synchronized electrical response to an event

avg EEG data

helps visualize cognitive processes