Psychology 2000 LSU Exam 1

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Wilheim Wundt

father of psychology, first attempt to bring objectivity/measurements in psychology, physical world connection to our mental experiences

Edward Titchener

student of Wundt, founder of structuralism

structuralism

study consciousness by trying to understand its smallest, most basic elements

William James

founder of functionalism

Functionalism

study consciousness & how the mind allows people to work, play, adapt, to new circumstances.."

Max Wertheimer

founder of Gestalt Psychology

Gestalt Psychology

how we experience the world , "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts"

Sigmund Freud

worked with patients whose complaints had no identifiable physical cause, focused on the role of the unconscious,focus on early childhood developments

Psychoanalysis

psychology based on Freud's ideas

John B. Watson

conducted the Little Albert Study

John Watson

founder of behaviorism

Behaviorism

study of observable behaviors and actions

Psychodynamic

Modern version of psychoanalysis, development of a sense of self

Behavioral Perspective

How to manipulate voluntary behaviors by changing the consequences of behavior

Human perspective

Emphasis on conscious and immediate experiences and the empowerment of the individual to become self-actualize

Humanists

held the view that people have free will: the freedom to choose/shape their own destiny

Cognitive perspective

How people think, remember, and store information

Cognitive neuroscience

brain and cognitive processing. Can do this by MRI

too much dopamine

What is the cause of Parkinson's disease?

too little dopamine

What is the cause of Schizophrenia?

autonomic and somatic

What are the subdivisions of the PNS?

sulcus

depression or groove in the surface of the cerebral cortex; fissure

gyrus

A _______ refers to a bulge of tissue located between the adjacent grooves in the surface of the human cortex.

ventricle

Where is cerebrospinal fluid formed?

parietal, occipital, temporal, and frontal

What are the 4 lobes of the cortex?

split-brain research

surgical cutting of the corpus callosum to study the effects of disconnecting the right and left brain hemispheres, specifically the independent functioning of the 2 hemispheres

lesion studies

Methodology used to examine the effects of brain damage

Broca's aphasia

When a person can form words in there heads, but get them out of their mouths. They know they are having a problem speaking.

Wernicke's aphasia

When a person's sentences do not make sense. They do not know that their words do not make sense

Broca's area

What is the area of the brain involving speech?

Wernicke's area

What is the are of the brain involving understanding language and hearing?

genetic influences, hereditary factors, and personality factors

What are some of the possible causes of ADHD/ADD that the book talks about?

Left Hemisphere

What hemisphere controls spoken and written language, mathematical calculations, reading, logical thought processes, and analysis of detail?

Right Hemisphere

What hemisphere controls nonverbal actions, visual-spatial perception, music and artistic processing, emotional thought and recognition, pattern recognition, and facial recognition?

MRI

Uses a giant magnet to align atoms in your brain

fMRI

image brain function through tracking changes in blood oxygen levels; increase in oxygen levels associated with increased functioning

EEG

Brain waves are studied by placing electrodes on the scalp. When neurons fire, they produce electrical fields, and researchers can record electrical activity in response to certain stimuli.

PET

involves injection of a radioactive tracer that binds to glucose, records activity of cells that use radioactive glucose

CT

based on X-ray technology; good for imaging brain structure, especially when there is metal in the body

fMRI, PET, EEG

What are the 3 ways that we can image the brain?

CT & MRI

What are the 2 ways that we can map the structure of the brain?

glia

backup dancers to neurons

support structure, deliver nutrients, and produce myelin

What are the 3 functions of the glia cells?

Sociocultural perspective

perspective that focuses on the relationship b/t social behavior and culture

Biopsychological perspective

perspective that attributes human and animal behavior to biological events occurring in the body

Evolutionary Perspective

perspective that focuses on the biological bases for universal mental characteristics that all humans share

Psychologist

doctoral degree and specialized training in one or more subfield of psychology. Some do basic research; others do applied research; some do both

Psychiatry

Go to medical school and then specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. Often used medication as treatment

Confirmation bias

Tendency to notice, seek out, and interpret information in a way to consistent with your own prior beliefs

Naturalistic observation

watching animals of humans behave in there normal environment

Laboratory observation

looking in a controlled environment. Advantages: control over environment. Allows use of specialized equipment. Limitations: artificial situation that may result in artificial behavior

Observer bias

tendency of observers to see what they expect to see

Case study

study of one individual in great detail. Advantage: tremendous amount of detail. Limitations: finding may not generalize to others

Surveys

Advantage's: data from large numbers of people, study covert behaviors. Limitations: people are not always accurate, small variations in wording used or order of question can affect outcomes. Researchers have to ensure representative sample if interest in generalizing finding to a certain population

Population

entire group of people or animals the researchers is interested in

Correlations

a measure of the relationship between two variables. If variables are causally related, a ____________ wont tell you which variable is the cause and which is the effect

Variable

anything that can change or vary

Positive correlation

variables are related in the same direction

Negative correlation

variables are related in opposite direction

Independent

What is manipulated by the experimenter?

Dependent

this represents the measurable response or behavior of the subject in the experiment

Experiment group

subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable

Control group

subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment

Random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by ____________ ______________ minimizes pre-existing differences between the two groups

Experimenter effect

experimenter's expectations can unintentionally influences the results of the study

Central nervous system

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

Peripheral nerves

Nervous system

Network of specialized cells that carry information throughout the body

Neurons

Basic cell that sends and receives messages throughout the body

Glia

90% of the cells in our nervous system are ____________

Dendrites

receive messages fro other cells

Axon

passes messages away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands

Axon Terminal

form junction with other cells

Cell body

Soma

Action potential

Neural transmission, all or nothing

The number of actions potentials

How does the strength of the message get coded?

Synapse

is the tiny gap between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Neurotransmitter

chemicals released from the sending neuron, travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby influencing it

Serotonin, Acetylcholine, & Dopamine

Name the Neurotransmitters that we talked about in class.

Reabsorbed into the sending neurons through the process of reuptake, diffuse, or are broken down by enzymes

Neurotransmitters in the synapse are either

Agonists

increases original message that NT was supposed to send

Antagonists

blocks original message that NT was supposed to send

Spinal cord

reflex arc neurons

Somatic nervous system

Part of the PNS, we are aware of this process, Sensations, Voluntary muscle movement

Autonomic nervous System

Part of the PNS that controls the involuntary muscles, organs, and glands

Sympathetic NS

arouses- fight of flight

Parasympathetic NS

calms- rest and digest

Endocrine system

the body's slow chemical communications system. Communication is carried out by hormones

Pituitary

master gland, responsible for growth and control of other glands

thyroid gland

gland for metabolism

Parathyroid gland

gland for calcium regulation

Adrenal glans

gland that triggers flight or fight response engaged under stress or danger

Pancreas

regulates blood sugar

Testes and ovaries

secrete sex hormones for males and females respectively

Pons, Medulla, Reticular formations

Brain stem broken into

Pons

sends messages between the cerebellum and cortex; sleep, dreaming

Medulla

Heartbeat, breathing, swallowing

Reticular formations

arousal, attentions, alertness

Midbrain

is the segment of the brainstem that lies between the hindbrain and the forebrain. It integrates sensory processes, such as vision and hearing