Psych Exam 1

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Psychology

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56 Terms

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Psychology
Study of behavior and mental processes/soul
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Psychologists
Describe, predict, and explain behavior
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Father of psychology
Wilhelm Wundt
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Beginning of psychology
1879, when Wundt began studying the building blocks of the mind
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Structuralism
Approach associated with Wundt that used introspection: describing what you’re experiencing
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Functionalism
Idea that mental processes were useful as functional activities to living creatures in their attempt to maintain and adapt themselves to the world of nature, founded by William James
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Father of American psychology
William James
Laboratory: 1879
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Gestalt psychology
Approach to psychology that focuses on the organization of perception and thinking in a whole sense rather than elements of perception, founded by Herman Ebbinghaus and Max Wertheimer
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5 perspectives of psychology today
-Neuroscience
-Psychodynamic
-Behavioral
-Cognitive
-Humanistic
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Neuroscience
views behavior from perspective of biological functioning
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Psychodynamic
believes behavior is motivated by inner unconscious forces over which a person has little control
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Behavioral
focuses on observable behavior based on environment
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Cognitive
examines how people understand and think about the world
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Humanistic
contends that people can control their behavior and that they naturally try to reach their full potential
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Scientific method
approach through which psychologists systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest
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4 parts of Scientific Method
-Identify questions of interest
-Formulate an explanation
-Carry out research
-Communicate the findings
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5 types of descriptive research
-Archival research
-Naturalistic observation
-Survey research
-Case study
-Correlational research
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Experimental research
Investigation of the relationship between two or more variables by producing a change in one variable in a situation and observing the effects on the second variable
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Control group
Group participating in an experiment that receives no treatment
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Importance of experiments to be replicated
So that confidence can be increased in prior findings
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Behavioral neuroscientist/bio-psychologist
Psychologists who specialize in considering the ways in which biological structures and functions of the body affect behavior
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Neurons
Nerve cells that are basic elements of the nervous system and control behavior
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Mirror neurons
Type of brain cell that responds equally when we perform an action and when we witness someone else perform the same action. Important for reading actions, intentions and emotions of other people
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Synapse
Space between two neurons where the axon of a sending neuron communicates with the dendrites of a receiving neuron by using chemical messages
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Neurotransmitters
Chemicals that carry messages across the synapse to the dendrite (and sometimes the cell body) of a receiver neuron
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2 types of chemicals delivered by neurotransmitters
Excitatory and Inhibitory messages
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Excitatory message
makes it more likely that a receiving neuron will fire and an action potential will travel down its axon
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Inhibitory message
prevents or decreases the likelihood that a receiving neuron will fire
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5 major neurotransmitters
-Acetylcholine
-Glutamate
-GABA
-Dopamine
-Serotonin
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Acetylcholine function
muscle movement, cognitive functioning
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Glutamate function
memory
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GABA function
eating, aggression, sleeping
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Dopamine function
movement control, pleasure and reward, attention
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Serotonin function
sleeping, eating, mood, pain, depression
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Number of connections in the brain
10 quadrillion
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Endocrine system
Sends messages throughout the body via bloodstream
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Brain and spinal cord
Makes up central nervous system
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Peripheral nervous system
Made up of neurons with long axons and dendrites, it branches out from the spinal cord and reaches extremities of the body
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2 major divisions of peripheral nervous system
Somatic and autonomic
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Somatic
specializes in the control of voluntary movements and the communication of info to and from the sense organs
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Autonomic
controls involuntary movement of the heart, glands, lungs, and other organs
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Autonomic division of the peripheral nervous system consists of
Sympathetic division and Parasympathetic division
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Sympathetic division
acts to prepare the body for action in stressful situations, engaging all the organism’s resources to respond to a threat
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Parasympathetic division
acts to calm the body after an emergency has ended
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Master gland of the endocrine system
Pituitary gland
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Pituitary gland
secretes hormones that control growth and other parts of the endocrine system
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Prefrontal cortex
responsible for cognitive control functions and changes most during adolescence
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Education through adolescence
Growing environment shapes brain and promotes learning and creativity
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Homeostasis
A steady internal environment maintained by the hypothalamus
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% of brain that is used
100%
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Limbic system
part of the brain controls eating, aggression, and reproduction
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Amygdala
accounts for aggression
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Neuroplasticity
Changes in the brain that occur throughout the lifespan relating to addition of new neurons
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Neurogenesis
Creation of new neurons in certain areas of the brain during adulthood, important for learning and memory
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Biofeedback
Procedure in which a person learns to control internal physiological processes through conscious thought
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Father of Lobotomy
Walter Freeman
Lobotomies started 1930s ended 1960s