Psych Midterm

Definition of Psychology

Scientific study of mind and behavior

Scientific Method

propose a tentative explanation, called a hypothesis, to explain the phenomenon / series of steps to come to conclusion

Freud’s Basic Theory

You can access the unconscious through dreams, and childhood experiences

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

basic needs met = good person. (1. Self-Actualization, 2. Esteem, 3. Social, 4. Security, 5. Physiological)

Skinner’s Box

Operant Conditioning Chamber (trained animals to pull lever for food, or electrocute when distracted)

Roger’s Unconditional Positive Regard

Therapist accepts their client for who they are, no matter what he or she might say. (Part of 3 features to maximize the effectiveness client centered therapy also including genuineness, and empathy)

Biopsychology

how biology influences our behavior

Evolutionary Psychology

the affects of our evolution by natural selection and genetics on behaviors

Sensation and Perception

both physiological aspects of sensory systems as well as in the psychological experience of sensory info

Cognitive Psychology

cognitions or thoughts and their relationship to our experiences and our actions

Developmental Psychology

scientific study of development across a lifespan

Personality Psychology

patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique

Social Psychology

how we interact with and relate to others

Industrial-Organizational Psychology (I-O Psychology)

issues related to personal management, organizational structure, and workplace environment

Health Psychology

how health is affected by the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors

Sport and Exercise Psychology

psychological aspects of sport performance, including motivation and performance anxiety, and the effects of sports on mental and emotional wellbeing

Clinical Psychology

diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior

Forensic Psychology

deals questions of psychology as they arise in the context of the justice system

Clinical / Case Study

often used with rare inidiciduals

Pros: focus on small number of people and can gain precious amount of insight

Cons: focusing on specific people can make it difficult to generalize observations to population

Naturalistic

observe behaviors in a natural context

Pros: validity/accuracy of info collected unobtrusively in natural setting

Cons: often difficult to set up / control. Researcher must hide well; people behave differently when they know they’re being watched. Observer bias. Can’t explain cause of behavior, just what occurs

Survey

sample is subset of individuals selected from population; researchers study sample and seek to generalize findings

Pros: generally completed in short time, easy to collect data form large amount of people.

Cons: people can lie / be inaccurate

Archival

use existing records to answer questions, no audience interaction

pros: ess investment of time and money to collect data

cons: no control of info originall collected / can’t ask further info

Longitudinal

see how people change over time

pros: confident findings that can be generalized t larger population because of enormous number of subjects

cons: participants must be willing to continue participation; people move, marry, change names, get ill and die

Cross-Sectional

compares multiple segments of population simultaneously

pros: requires short term investment

cons: different ages can have other differences that affect what researchers are measuring

Correlation coefficient

a number from -1 to +1 that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between variables, usually represented by the letter r.

The closer the number is to 1 (be it negative or positive), the more strongly related the variables are, and the more predictable changes in one variable will be as the other variable changes. The closer the number is to zero, the weaker the relationship.

Single-Blind Study

one group is unaware as to which group they are in (experiment or control) while the researcher who developed the experiment knows which participants are in each group.

Double-Blind Study

Both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments

Placebo Effect

when people's expectations or beliefs influence or determine their experience in a given situation.

Informed Consent

provides written description of what participants can expect during the experiment, including potential risks and implications of the research

Debriefing

upon conclusion of the study, complete, honest information about the purpose of the experiment, how the data collected will be used, the reasons why deception was necessary, and information about how to obtain additional information about the study.

Chromosomes

Long strands of DNA. 23 chromosomes to create zygote (life) with 46 chromosomes

Genotype

ALL gene info carried

Phenotype

physical characteristics

Neurons

cells in the nervous system that act as interconnected information processors (sending and receiving information within the nervous system)

Soma

cell body

Dendrite

branch-like extension of the soma that receives incoming signals from other neurons

Axon

major extension of the soma

Myelin Sheath

fatty substance that insulates axons

Central Nervous System

Brain and Spinal Cord

Peripheral Nervous System

Autonomic Nervous System (controls internal organs / glands automatically), and Somatic Nervous System (voluntary movement of skeletal muscles and carries sensory information.

Sympathetic Nervous System

prepares the body for stress-related activities, ex. fight or flight

Parasympathetic Nervous System

returning body to routine, day-to-day operations

Adrenaline

produced in stressful situations. Increases heart rate and blood flow, leading to physical boost and heightened awareness (fight or flight)

Gaba

calms firing nerves in the central nervous system. High levels improve focus, low levels cause anxiety. Also contributes to motor control and vision (Calming)

Noradrenaline

affects attention and responding actions in the brain. Contracts blood vessels, increasing blood flow (concentration)

Acetylcholine

involved in thought, learning, and memory. Activates muscle action in the body. Also associated with attention and awakening (learning)

Dopamine

feelings of pleasure, also addiction, movement, and motivation. People repeat behaviors that lead to dopamine release (pleasure)

Glutamate

most common neurontransmitter. Involved in learning an memory, regulates development and creation of nerve contacts (memory)

Serotonin

contributes to wellbeing and happiness. Helps sleep cycle and digestive system regulation. Affected by exercise and light exposure (mood)

Endorphins

released during exercise, excitement, and sex, producing wellbeing and euphoria, reducing pain. (euphoria)

Cerebral Cortex

surface of the brain

Corpus Callosum

Thick band of neural fibers that allow the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate

Frontal Lobe

involved in reasoning, motor control, emotion, and language.

Contains: Motor Cortex (planning / coordinating movements), Prefrontal Cortex (higher-level cognitive functioning), and Broca’s Area (essential for language production)

Parietal Lobe

processing info from body’s senses.

Contains: Somatosensory Cortex (essential for processing sensory info)

Temporal Lobe

associated with hearing, memory, emotion, some aspects of language.

Contains: Auditory Cortex (main area responsible for processing auditory info), and Wernicke’s Area (important for speech comprehension)

Occipital Lobe

located at very back of the brain

Contains: Primary Visual Cortex (interprets incoming visual info)

Lateralization

evidence of specialization of function in each hemisphere, mainly regarding language function.

Left=Logic, Right=Creativity

Consciousness

Our awareness of internal and external stimuli

Sleep

low levels of physical activity and reduced sensory awareness

Circadian Rhythm

biological rhythm that takes place over a period of 24 hours

Melatonin

important regulator of sleep-wake cycle.

REM

(Rapid Eye Movement) brainwaves similar to brainwaves during wakefulness

NREM Stage 1

Transition phase where we drift off.

Associated with Alpha and Theta waves

NREM Stage 2

Fall Asleep / deep relaxation

Theta Waves dominate brain activity, but are interrupted by brief high bursts of energy (sleep spindles). K-complex may appear (high amplitude pattern of activity)

NREM Stage 3

deep sleep

Delta Waves

Insomnia

consistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep, is the most common of the sleep disorders.

Sleepwalking (somnambulism)

the sleeper engages in relatively complex behaviors ranging from wandering about to driving an automobile.

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD)

occurs when the muscle paralysis associated with the REM sleep phase does not occur. Individuals who suffer from RBD have high levels of physical activity during REM sleep, especially during disturbing dreams. These behaviors vary widely, but they can include kicking, punching, scratching, yelling, and behaving like an animal that has been frightened or attacked.

Night Terrors

a sense of panic in the sufferer and are often accompanied by screams and attempts to escape from the immediate environment

Narcolepsy

cannot resist falling asleep at inopportune times. These sleep episodes are often associated with cataplexy, which is a lack of muscle tone or muscle weakness, and in some cases involves complete paralysis of the voluntary muscles.

Manifest Content

actual content / storyline of a dream

Latent Content

hidden meaning of a dream

Collective Unconscious

theoretical repository of info Jung believed to be shared by everyone.

Depressants (Alcohol)

low doses increase relaxation, decrease inhibitions. High doses can induce sleep, cause motor disturbance, memory loss, decreased respiratory function, and death

Stimulants (ADHD meds)

Increased alertness, mild euphoria, decreased appetite in low doses. High doses increase agitation, paranoia, can cause hallucinations. Some can cause heightened sensitivity to physical stimuli. High doses of MDMA can cause brain toxicity and death

Opioids

Pain relief, euphoria, sleepiness. High doses can cause death due to respiratory depression.

Hallucinogens

Mild to intense perceptual changes with high variability in effects based on strain, method of ingestion, and individual differences

Sensation

what happens when sensory info is detected by a sensory receptor

Perception

way that sensory info is interpreted and consciously experienced

Absolute Threshold

the minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time.

Subliminal Messages

messages presented below threshold for conscious awareness

Electromagnetic Spectrum

encompasses all of the electromagnetic radiation that occurs in our environment and includes gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared light, microwaves, and radio waves.

Audio Spectrum Range

between 20 and 20000 Hz

Depth Persception

Our ability to perceive spatial relationships in three-dimensional (3-D) space. (height, width, and depth)

Cones

specialized types of photoreceptors that work

best in bright light conditions. Involved in our ability to see

color

Rods

specialized photoreceptors that work well in low light conditions, and while they lack the spatial resolution and color function of the cones, they are involved in our vision in dimly lit environments as well as in our perception of movement on the periphery of our visual field.

Localization

The ability to locate sound in our environments is an important part of hearing.

Figure-Ground Relationship

we tend to segment our visual world into figure and ground. Figure is the object or person that is the focus of the visual field, while the ground is the background.

Proximity

things that are close to one another tend to be grouped together

Continuity

we are more likely to perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines.

Closure

we organize our perceptions into complete objects rather than as a series of parts.

Similarity

things that are alike tend to be grouped together.

Learning

relatively permanent change in behavior / knowledge that results from experience

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

a stimulus/Event that elicits a reflexive response in an organism. In this case food.

Unconditioned response (UCR)

a natural (reflexive) reaction to a given stimulus. In this case salivation.

Neutral stimulus (NS)

which is a stimulus that does not naturally elicit a response. (For example, a bell)

Conditioned stimulus (CS)

which is a stimulus that elicits a response after repeatedly being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned response (CR).

The behavior caused by the conditioned stimulus

Little Albert

Using classical conditioning, Little Albert was exposed to and conditioned to fear certain things

Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

organisms learn to associate a behavior and its consequence (reinforcements and punishments)