Studied by 38 PeoplePsychology
Tags & Description
Psychology
Study of behavior and mental processes/soul
Psychologists
Describe, predict, and explain behavior
Father of psychology
Wilhelm Wundt
Beginning of psychology
1879, when Wundt began studying the building blocks of the mind
Structuralism
Approach associated with Wundt that used introspection: describing what you’re experiencing
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
Father of American psychology
William James Laboratory: 1879
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
5 perspectives of psychology today
-Neuroscience -Psychodynamic -Behavioral -Cognitive -Humanistic
Neuroscience
views behavior from perspective of biological functioning
Psychodynamic
believes behavior is motivated by inner unconscious forces over which a person has little control
Behavioral
focuses on observable behavior based on environment
Cognitive
examines how people understand and think about the world
Humanistic
contends that people can control their behavior and that they naturally try to reach their full potential
Scientific method
approach through which psychologists systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest
4 parts of Scientific Method
-Identify questions of interest -Formulate an explanation -Carry out research -Communicate the findings
5 types of descriptive research
-Archival research -Naturalistic observation -Survey research -Case study -Correlational research
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
Control group
Group participating in an experiment that receives no treatment
Importance of experiments to be replicated
So that confidence can be increased in prior findings
Behavioral neuroscientist/bio-psychologist
Psychologists who specialize in considering the ways in which biological structures and functions of the body affect behavior
Neurons
Nerve cells that are basic elements of the nervous system and control behavior
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
Synapse
Space between two neurons where the axon of a sending neuron communicates with the dendrites of a receiving neuron by using chemical messages
Neurotransmitters
Chemicals that carry messages across the synapse to the dendrite (and sometimes the cell body) of a receiver neuron
2 types of chemicals delivered by neurotransmitters
Excitatory and Inhibitory messages
Excitatory message
makes it more likely that a receiving neuron will fire and an action potential will travel down its axon
Inhibitory message
prevents or decreases the likelihood that a receiving neuron will fire
5 major neurotransmitters
-Acetylcholine -Glutamate -GABA -Dopamine -Serotonin
Acetylcholine function
muscle movement, cognitive functioning
Glutamate function
memory
GABA function
eating, aggression, sleeping
Dopamine function
movement control, pleasure and reward, attention
Serotonin function
sleeping, eating, mood, pain, depression
Number of connections in the brain
10 quadrillion
Endocrine system
Sends messages throughout the body via bloodstream
Brain and spinal cord
Makes up central nervous system
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
2 major divisions of peripheral nervous system
Somatic and autonomic
Somatic
specializes in the control of voluntary movements and the communication of info to and from the sense organs
Autonomic
controls involuntary movement of the heart, glands, lungs, and other organs
Autonomic division of the peripheral nervous system consists of
Sympathetic division and Parasympathetic division
Sympathetic division
acts to prepare the body for action in stressful situations, engaging all the organism’s resources to respond to a threat
Parasympathetic division
acts to calm the body after an emergency has ended
Master gland of the endocrine system
Pituitary gland
Pituitary gland
secretes hormones that control growth and other parts of the endocrine system
Prefrontal cortex
responsible for cognitive control functions and changes most during adolescence
Education through adolescence
Growing environment shapes brain and promotes learning and creativity
Homeostasis
A steady internal environment maintained by the hypothalamus