Elementary Psych

psychological science

the scientific study of mind and behavior

characteristics of psychological science

critical, summative, aims to be non-biased

scientific approach: functionalism

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

scientific approach: structuralism

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

clinical approach

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

empirical evidence

based on astute observation and accurate measurement

evidence

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

pop psychology

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

WEIRD samples

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

evolutionary, cultural

understanding broad patterns of behavior

cognitive, emotional

understanding thoughts and feelings

biological-neuroscience

understanding roles of body and brain

developmental, personality, social, clinical

understanding stable and changing patterns of behavior

common themes across perspectives (1)

nature and nurture interact to predict behavior

common themes across perspectives (2)

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

common themes across perspectives (3)

behavior is shaped by conscious understanding and by unconscious processes

common themes across perspectives (4)

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

common themes across perspectives (5)

applying psychology can change our lives in positive ways

evolutionary psychology

adaptive function of behavior from evolutionary perspective

cultural psychology

how culture shapes psychological processes

cognitive psychology

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

emotional psychology

how emotions influence decision making, behavior, and social relationships

biological-neuroscience perspective

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

developmental psychology

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

personality

traits that affect behavior

social

situations that affect behavior

clinical psychology

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

positive psychology

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

metacognition

an awareness and understanding of your own thought processes

empirical method

set of rules and techniques used for observation

theory

hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomena

hypothesis

falsifiable prediction made by a theory

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

variable

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

descriptive research

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

descriptive research examples

surveys/self report, naturalistic observations, case studies

correlational research

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

direction of causation problem

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

third variable problem

correlation may arise from both being influenced by some third variable

experimental research

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

construct validity (any)

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

external validity (descriptive)

how well do results generalize beyond the study sample

internal validity (experiments)

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

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

frequency distributions (measures of variability)

range, standard deviation

null hypothesis

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

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)

meta-analysis

pools results across studies that have the same variables

meta-analysis advantages

larger sample (replication) to assess strength of a relationship

the nuremberg code: research ethics

principles for human experimentation

apa code of ethics

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

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

endocrine system

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

pituitary gland

master gland

adrenal gland

fight or flight

thyroid gland

metabolism

parathyroid gland

calcium levels

sex glands

ovaries, testes

cerebral cortex

higher mental functions (what makes us human)

cerebral cortex: frontal lobe

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

cerebral cortex: temporal lobe

hearing, object memory

cerebral cortex: parietal lobe

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

cerebral cortex: insular lobe

taste, awareness of internal organs

cerebral cortex: occipital lobe

vision

cerebral cortex: neocortex

outermost layer - folds and wrinkles (supports complex functioning)

cerebral cortex: primary motor cortex

frontal lobe; voluntary movements

cerebral cortex: primary somatosensory cortex

parietal lobe; sense of touch

homunculus

a maplike representation of regions of the body in the brain

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

limbic system

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

limbic system: hypothalamus

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

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

limbic system: amygdala

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

subcortical brain: basal ganglia

evolutionarily older subcortical motor system

subcortical brain: thalamus

relay center for senses (except olfaction)

hindbrain: brainstem

connects to spinal cord; responsible for basic life functions

brainstem: pons

controls breathing and relays sensations to subcortex and cortex

brainstem: medulla oblongata

controls autonomic functions

brainstem: reticular formation

regulates sleep and arousal

cerebellum

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

executive functions

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

right and left hemisphere (contralateral control)

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

corpus callosum

bridge of fibers that connects the 2 halves

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.

brain networks

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

brain connectome project

an attempt to map all the neural connections in the brain

CAT/CT scan

combines a series of x ray images

MRI

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

DTI

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

phrenology (1800s)

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

localization

certain parts of the brain are dedicated to performing certain functions

neuropsychology

examining brain function though brain damage

lesion

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

dissociation

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

wernicke's area

comprehension of speech

broca's area

speech production

single cell recording

a measurement of the electrical activity of a single neuron

EEG

the recording of electrical waves from many thousands of neurons

MEG

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

event related potential (erp)

a synchronized electrical response to an event

avg EEG data

helps visualize cognitive processes