PSY100 - Midterm Exam Review

uoft

Structuralism contributor

Wilhelm Wundt & Edward Tichner

Wilhelm Wundt

Founded experimental psychology and created thought meter and voluntarism, and mental process hierarchy

Voluntarism

an approach that emphasizes the role of will and choice in determine thoughts, perceptions and behaviors

Structuralism

involves breaking down the mind into small sections, such as sensations, images, and feelings.

Edward Tichner

wundet’s student, believed in structuralism

Functionalism contributor

William James

William James

coined stream of consciousness, ideas people experience when awake + functionalism

Functionalism

views behavior as purposeful and contributing to survival.

Behaviourism contributor

John Waston, Edward Thorndike, B.F Skinner

Behaviorism

measurement of observable behaviors

John B. Watson

Tied psychology to the study of observable behaviors (brain images / reaction times) - little albert

Edward Thorndike

Law of effect: behavior with more pleasant outcomes are more likely to reoccur

B.F Skinner

extended thorndike’s idea in experimentation of how frequent behaviours performed with the Skinner box (reward/punishment)

Humanism Contributor

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

Humanism

people as inherently good and motivated to learn and improve.

Max Wertheimer

founded gestalt psychology and focused on the whole of behaviour

Gestalt Psychology

looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole focusing on principles such as proximity, similarity, continuity, closure, and simplicity.

demand characteristics

hints that influence particpants bejaviours

social desirable bias

survery responders answeing to beviewed favourably

hawthorne effect

change in subjects behaviour simply but the awareness of being observed

better than average effect

most people perceive themselves as bette than average

Objectivity

Conclusions based on facts without influence from emotion or biases.

Subjectivity

Conclusions that reflect personal point of view.

Theory

A set of facts and relationships that can explain and predict phenomena.

scientific method

a systematic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena, used to achieve the goals of description, prediction, and explanation

Scientific Theories must Consist of?

Testable, Falsifiable, Parsimonious 

What are the examples of psychological theories?

intergroup contact, social comparison, social learning

Hypothesis

A proposed explanation for a situation, often taking the form "if A happens, then B will result."

Variable

a characteristic or condition that changes or has different values for different individuals

Independent Variable

manipulated in an experiment to see its impact on the dependent variable.

Dependent Variable

measured to see how it is affected by the independent variable.

What are the Definitions of Variables?

Conceptual (textbook definition) and Operational (definition of constructs)

Constructs

Internal attributes or characteristics that cannot be directly observed but are useful for describing and explaining behavior

Population

The group that researchers want to generalize their findings to.

Sample

The group of individuals from the population who are part of a study.

Descriptive Methods

concerned with a single variable of interest and may lead to claims regarding the frequency of a behavior.

Naturalistic observation

Passive observation

Observers do not change or alter ongoing behaviour

Participant observation

Active observation

Researcher actively involved in the situation

Labratory observation

Systematic observation

are made within a laboratory setting

what are the problems of descriptive methods?

Reactivity → demand characteristics 

Observer/experimenter bias

Self-report bias → social desirable bias and better than average effect

Correlational Methods

associations between two or more variables; without manipulation

single group of participants

does not allow us to make causal claims

Correlation coefficient

shows the strength and the direction of the relationship between two variables (ranges from -1.00 to +1.00)

what are the problems with correlational methods?

Directionality → unsure which variable is influencing the other

Third variable problem → unsure whether another variable is also affecting the other two to change

Experimental Methods

examine cause and effect relationships between two variables

Experiments

Tightly controlled, Involve manipulating an independent variable to determine its impact on dependent variable

causal claims

only be made after a justified experiment

random assignment

an equal chance of being placed in any group in an experiment

random sample

 equal chance of being chosen to participate 

confound

 anything that may unintentionally vary along with the independent variable

quasi experiement

no random assignment is possible

cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

longitudinal study

search in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

descriptive statistics

organized data into meaningful patterns and summaries

normal distrubution/curve

a symmetrical probability function

Standard deviation

measure of how tightly cluster around the mean and group of scores 

inferential statistics

extends conclusions from a sample to a population

Statistical significance

deciding whether an observed result is due to chance 

WEIRD Samples

the science over-relies on these types of participants: Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic

validity

accuracy in results (must be reliable to be valid)

construct validity

how accurate are my operationalization?

external validity

extent to which we can generalize findings to real-world settings

internal validity

extent to which the study established a cause and effect relationship between variables

reliablity

consistency (doesn’t have to be valid)

interrater reliability

different judges agree in their assessment decisions

test/retest reliability

administering the same test twice over a period of time to a group of individuals

Epigenetics

changes in the gene expression that are due to non-genetic behaviour

Hereditary vs Heritability

genetic transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring

estimate of genetic proportion of variation in some specific trait (in a population, not individual)

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord, which are responsible for processing and coordinating information.

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

The network of nerves that connects the CNS to the rest of the body.

neuron

basic units of the nervous system; operate through electrical impulses

axon

where action potiental travels down; transmit info to other neurons

dendrite

receives information from neurons

myelin sheath

insulator for axons; allow rapid transmission of signals

cell body

large central mass of neurons; contains nucleus

nodes of raniver

gaps in axon

action potential labelling

1 - resting potential
2 - depolarization
3 - repolarization
4 - resting potential

action potential

neural impulse that travels along the axon causes release of chemicals from terminal buttons

resting potential

polarized state; negative INSID the cell. more sodium (Na+) OUTSIDE and more potassium (K+) INSIDE. (-70mV)

synapse

area between two neurons

receptor

part of a nerve that recieves and reads neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters

chemical signals that transmit signals to one neuron to another

motor neurons

send signals from the CNS to the skeletal muscles 

sensory neuron

send information from sensory system, processes input from environment and senses

SAME

Sensory = Afferent, Motor = Efferent

Agonists

Drugs that enhance the actions of endogenous neurotransmitters by binding receptors and producing a response that mimics the effects.

Reuptake

neurotransmitters are recycled back into the neuron by transporters and stored for later use.

Antagonist

Drugs that inhibit the actions of endogenous neurotransmitters by blocking release of neurotransmitters, destroying neurotransmitters in the synapse, or mimicking a neurotransmitter to block neurotransmitter binding.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to be changed or reorganized as a result of experience, drugs, or injury.

glutamate

primary excitatory transmitter

GABA

primary inhibitory neurotransmitter

Serotonin

mood, impulsiveness, hunger, sleep

Dopamine

reward and motivation, voluntary movement

Acetylcholine

movement, memory, cognition, sleep

Epinephrine

(adrenaline) energy

Norepinephrine

arousal, alertness

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

Brainstem

Controls life-sustaining functions of the autonomic nervous system; breathing, digestion, and heartbeat.

Cerebellum

coordinated movement and balance.

Hypothalamus

The brain's master regulatory structure that connects the nervous system to the endocrine system and controls functions related to homeostasis.

Thalamus

Acts as a relay station and handles all incoming sensory information except smell.