Intro to Psychology Midterm

Psychology

scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Mind/Body Relationship

Stress & the physical body, happiness & the physical body, somatization (conversion) disorders & the physical body

Nature vs. Nurture

Nature-Genetics, Biological VS Nurture-Environment, Experiences

What is a theory?

A theory allows you to propose reasons for relationships, derive explanations, and make predictions

Scientific Method

1.) Formulate research question 2.) state hypothesis 3.) test hypothesis 4.) draw conclusions based on findings 5.) publish research 6.) replicate study

Hypothesis

Educated guess

Dependent Variable

Measured (Item of Interest)

Independent Variable

Manipulated

Parts of Neuron

-Cell body
-Dendrites
-axon (doesn't touch dendrites)
-axon terminals

Myelin Sheath

Increases neural impulse (not all neurons have them--neural impulse goes slower)

Synapse

Where "action" happens

Neurontransmitters

Chemical substances that communicate form one neuron to another

Dopamine

Pleasure, voluntary movement, learning, memory

Norepinephrine

Excitatory neurotransmitter- accelerates heart rate, affects eating, linked to activity levels, learning, and remembering (FIGHT or FLIGHT RESPONSE)

Serotonin

Emotional arousal and sleep

Endorphins

Occur naturally within the brain and bloodstream. Inhibit pain--may be connected to indifference to pain (stronger than morphine)

(Frontal Lobe)

Problem solving (primarily) 4 Lobes of Cerebral Cortex

(Parietal Lobe)

Spatial abilities (primarily)4 Lobes of Cerebral Cortex

(Temporal Lobe)

Understanding language (primarily), hearing, smell 4 Lobes of Cerebral Cortex

(Occipital Lobe)

Eyes, visual information

Primary Motor Cortex

Voluntary movement of body (primarily)

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Sensory messages

Cerebellum

Balance

Left Hemisphere

Controls right side of body
-has Broca's and Wernicke's Area

Broca's

Speech (boca)

Wernicke's

Understanding language (words) (temporal area)

Hemispheric Specialization

Cerebrum has two separate cerebral hemispheres (connected by corpus callosum)

Control of Body (Left--->Right)

Left hemisphere controls right side of body
Right hemisphere controls left side of body

Corpus Callosum

Connects two hemispheres and allows them to communicate

Darwin's Theory of Evolution

-competition for same resources
-those better adapted to environment survived
-natural selection--- adaptive genetic variations aid in survival and those that were able to reproduce
-mutations---sudden changes in genes

Genes

Basic unit of heredity

Chromosomes

Structure w/in cell nucleus that carry genes
---humans have 46 chromosomes (23 pairs)

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

Substance that forms chromosomes
-double helix
-Nucleotides--- adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine`

Twin Studies (Nature vs Nurture)

Genotype--individual's genetic makeup (nature)
Phenotype--actual appearance, based on genotype, and environmental influences (nature and nurture)---Something has to trigger outward appearance

Fraternal Twins

dizygotic--two eggs

Identical Twins

monozygotic--one egg, one sperm

Sensation

Stimulation of sensory receptors and transmission of sensory information to the central nervous system (information outside going inside)

Perception

Process by which sensations are organized and interpreted to form an inner representation of the world

White Light

all colors together

Black

absence of light

Rods and Cones

transduce light (sensory information--> electrical signal)

Cones

Provide color vision---most densely packed in center of retina (fovea)
--Focused on center

Rods

Provide vision in black and white---more sensitive to dim light than cones
--More focused towards peripheral

Fovea

When you focus, info goes into here (center of activity ((clearest, most concentrated area of vision)) )

Blind Spot

No rods and cones

Dark Adaption

Adjusting to lower lighting
-cones reach max adaptation in about 10 minutes
-rods adapt up to 45 minutes

Light Adaption

Process occurs within a minute

Afterimage

Persistant sensations of color are followed by perception of the complementary color when the first color is removed

Visual Perception

Process used to organize sensory impressions caused by the light that strikes our eyes

Sensation is...

Mechanical Process

Perception is...

Active Process---involved experience, expectations, and motivations (we affect our reality through perception)

Depth Percetion

---Monocular (one eye) cues: overlapping, shadows, texture gradient, motion parallax
---Binocular (two eyes) cues: retinal disparity, convergence

Ear

shaped and structured to capture sound waves, vibrate w/ them, and transmit auditory info to the brain

Pitch

Frequency (number of cycles per second):expressed in hertz (Hz)

Loudness

Volume: height (amplitude) of sound waves, expressed in decibels (dB)
---bigger height, higher amp (volume) `

Smell

Odors trigger receptor neurons in olfactory nerve (chemicals must trigger receptors)
-odors are sample molecules of substances in the air
-sensory information about odors is sent to the brain through the olfactory nerve
-odor contributes to flavor in foods
-smells is the closet sense tied to memory

Taste

Sensed through taste cells- receptor neurons on taste buds

Taste Aversions

Tastes of particular foods/drinks can be associated to something negative

4 Primary Taste Qualities

sweet, sour, salty, bitter

Umami

Savory

Flavor

Depends on odor, texture, temperature, and taste

Skin Senses

Pressure, temperature, and pain receptors

Pressure Receptors

Fire when skin surface is touched (active touching)

Sensitivity

some areas of the body are more sensitive than others--nerve endings are more densely packed; more sensory cortex is devoted to perception of sensations in those areas

Temperature Receptors

Located just beneath the skin

Nociceptors

Simulated pain
-face and hands have most densely packed pain receptors
-pain is usually the sharpest where nerve endings are densely packed
-pain can be felt deep within the body
-no nerve endings for pain in the brain

Unconsciousness

not being awake or aware

Altered States

Between consciousness and unconsciousness

Circadian Rhythm

24 hour biological clock that goes in sync with rotation of the earth

REM

Rapid eye movement, where most dreams occur

Stages of Sleep

1-4 (you can skip stages)

Lucid Dreaming

Being aware of dreaming and controlling your dream

Classical Conditioning

Associations (phobias are an example of this)

Operant Conditioning

Consequences (reinforcement and punishment)

Positive Reinforcement

Something good is given or happens
-behavior increases

Negative Reinforcement

Something is taken away
-behavior increases

Punishment

Decrease behavior
-too much can lead to resistance
-not the same as negative reinforcement
---something good is taken away and the behavior decreases
-needs to be swift, sufficient, and certain
-best used when things are dangerous and need to be corrected quickly

Reinforcement

Increases behavior

Observational Learning

-acquire skills by observing others (Bandura Experiment)
-model-->person who engages in response that is imitated
-kids/people can elaborate on their observational learning

Chunking

grouping things in categories to improve memory
-can help overcome short-term memory

Sensory Memory

briefly holds an exact image of a sensory experience until it can be processed

Short Term Memory

-7 +/- rule
-holds information until it can be stored
-information fades in seconds (1/2 second for visual information, 2 seconds for auditory)
-this limited capacity can be overcome (chunking)
-WORKING MEMORY

Long Term Memory

-information is store more or less permanently
-composed of everything we "know"
-PERMANENT

(PROCEDURAL)

Motor movement and skills 3 Types of LTM

(EPISODIC)

Experiences defined in terms of time and space 3 Types of LTM

(SEMANTIC)

meaning (knowledge w/o reference to time and space) ((like book knowledge) 3 Types of LTM

Emotional Memories

anything emotional will be remembered

Serial Position Effect

better able to remember beginning and end vs. middle

Retrograde Amnesia

unable to remember events that occur prior to physical trauma
-they cannot remember their past prior to the amnesia
-they can create new memories
-caused by brain damage, seizures, or highly stressful events

Anterograde Amnesia

unable to remember events that occur after physical trauma
-they remember their past clearly
-they cannot create new memories or remember recent events/information
caused by brain surgery, brain tumors, lack of oxygen to the brain, damage to a blood vessel in the brain, senility, and severe nutritional deficiencies

Infantile Amnesia

-people cannot recall episodes that happened prior to age of 2. Recall cloudy through age 5
-freud--> repression
-cognitive explanations--> no interest in remembering the past
-specific episodes vs. networks of memories
-unreliable use of symbolic language

Sympathetic

Arouses the body. FIGHT OR FLIGHT
-Jumping out of air plane. The FALL is this.

Parasympathetic

Calms after arousal
-Jumping out of airplane. The CALM is this.

Autonomic

regulates internal environment. carries information from the central nervous system to organs, blood vessels, and glands.

Somatic

carries information to the central nervous system form the senses, and from the CNS to the skeletal muscles.

Wilhelm Wundt

Sought to measure "atoms of the mind"
1st Psychology Lab
(1879)

Edward Bradford Titchener

Introspection of one's own mind
Structuralism

William James

Functionalism - how organisms adapt, survive,
flourish
Adaptive Thinking
(1890)

Mary Whiton Calkins

First APA President
Memory Research

Margaret Floy Washburn

First female PhD
synthesized animal behavior
(1908)