BehSchi GR 1

Describe what's involved in critical thinking.

Examining our own assumptions, appraising the source, discerning hidden biases, and assessing conclusions are essential parts of critical thinking.

What event defined the start of scientific psychology?

Scientific psychology began in Germany in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory.

Why did introspection fail as a method for understanding how the mind works?

People's self-reports varied, depending on the experience and the person's intelligence and verbal ability.

The school of _____ used introspection to define the mind's makeup; _____ focused on how mental processes enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Structuralism; functionalism.

From the 1920's until the 1960's, the two major forces in psychology were _____________ and _______________ psychology.

Behaviorism; Freudian.

How did the cognitive revolution affect the field of psychology?

It recaptured the field's early interest in mental processes and made them legitimate topics for scientific study.

What is natural selection?

Natural selection is the process by which nature selects from chance variations the traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

What is contemporary psychology's position on the nature-nurture issue?

Psychological events often stem from the interaction of nature and nurture, rather than from either of them acting alone.

What advantage do we gain by using the biopsychosocial approach in studying psychological events?

By incorporating three different levels of analysis, the biopsychosocial approach can provide a more complete view than any one perspective could offer.

The - perspective in psychology focuses on how behavior and thought differ from situation to situation and from culture to culture, while the _____ perspective emphasizes observation of how we respond to and learn in different situations.

Social-cultural; behavioral.

Clinical psychology

Studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders but usually does not provide medical therapy.

Psychiatry

Is a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders.

Community psychology

Works to create social and physical environments that are healthy for all.

Why, after friends start dating, do we often feel that we knew they were meant to be together?

We often suffer from hindsight bias - after we've learned a situation's outcome, that outcome seems familiar and therefore obvious.

What does a good theory do?

A good theory organizes observed facts and implies hypotheses that offer testable predictions and, sometimes, practical applications. It also often stimulates further research.

Why is replication important?

When other investigators are able to replicate an experiment with the same (or stronger) results, scientists can confirm the result and become more confident of its reliability.

We cannot assume that case studies always reveal general principles that apply to all of us. Why not?

Case studies involve only one individual or group, so we can't know for sure whether the principles observed would apply to a larger population.

What are advantages and disadvantages of naturalistic observation?

Naturalistic observation does not explain behavior, and it does not control for all the factors that may influence behavior. Nevertheless, the descriptions it provides can be revealing, expanding our understanding and paving the way for future studies.

What is an unrepresentative sample, and how do researchers avoid it?

An unrepresentative sample is a group that does not represent the population being studied. Random sampling helps researchers form a representative sample, because each member of the population has an equal chance of being included.

The more husbands viewed internet pornography, the worse their marital relationships. ____________________.

Negative correlation.

The more time teen girls spend absorbed with online social media, the more at risk they are for depression and suicidal thoughts. ____________________.

Positive correlation.

Length of marriage positively correlates with hair loss in men. Does this mean that marriage causes men to lose their hair (or that balding men make better husbands)?

In this case, as in many others, a third factor can explain the correlation: Golden anniversaries and baldness both accompany aging.

What measures do researchers use to prevent the placebo effect from confusing their results?

Research designed to prevent the placebo effect randomly assigns participants to an experimental group or to a control group. A double-blind procedure prevents people's beliefs and hopes from affecting the results.

By using random assignment, researchers are able to control for __________ __________, which are other factors besides the independent variable(s) that may influence research results.

Confounding variables.

Double-blind procedure

Controls for the placebo effect; neither researchers nor participants know who receives the real treatment.

Random assignment

Helps minimize preexisting differences between experimental and control groups.

Random sampling

Helps researchers generalize from a small set of survey responses to a larger population.

Why, when testing a new drug to control blood pressure, would we learn more about its effectiveness from giving it to half the participants in a group of 1000 than to all 1000 participants?

We learn more about the drug's effectiveness when we can compare the results of those who tool the drug with the results of those who did not.

How are animal and human research participants protected?

Animal protection legislation, laboratory regulation and inspection, and local and university ethics committees attempt to safeguard animal welfare. International psychological organizations urge researchers involving human participants to obtain informed consent, protect them from greater-than-usual harm and discomfort, treat their personal information confidentially, and debrief them fully at the end of the experiment.

The __________ __________ describes the enhanced memory that results from repeated retrieval rather than from simple rereading of new information.

Testing effect.

What does the acronym SQ3R stand for?

Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review.

What do phrenology and biological psychology have in common?

They share a focus on the links of the brain and behavior.

How does learning a new skill affect the structure of our brain?

Thanks to its neuroplasticity, our brain changes in response to the experiences we have. Learning and practicing a new skill, such as playing an instrument, can promote the development of new neural pathways and cause lasting changes in brain organization.

When a neuron fires an action potential, the information travels through the axon, the dendrites, and the cell body, but not in that order. Place these three structures in the correct order.

Dendrites, cell body, axon.

How does our nervous system allow us to experience the difference between a slap and a tap on the back?

Stronger stimuli (the slap) cause more neurons to fire and to fire more frequently than with weaker stimuli (the tap).

What happens in the synaptic gap?

Neurons send neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) across this tiny space between one neuron's terminal branch and the next neuron's dendrite or cell body.

What is reuptake? What two other things can happen to excess neurotransmitters after a neuron reacts?

Reuptake occurs when excess neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the sending neuron. Neurotransmitters can also drift away or be broken down by enzymes.

Curare poisoning paralyzes animals by blocking ACh receptors involved in muscle movements. Morphine mimics endorphin actions. Which is an agonist, and which is an antagonist?

Morphine is an agonist; curare is an antagonist.

Serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins are all chemical messengers called ____________________.

Neurotransmitters.

Motor neurons

Carry outgoing messages from the CNS to muscles and glands.

Sensory neurons

Carry incoming messages from sensory receptors to the CNS.

Interneurons

Communicate within the CNS and process information between incoming and outgoing messages.

How was the ANS (Alert Notification System) involved in Hawaiians' terrified responses (to a missile warning), and calming their bodies once they realized it was a false alarm?

The sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system would have directed arousal, and the parasympathetic division would have directed calming.

Why is the pituitary gland called the master gland?

Responding to signals from the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland releases hormones that trigger other endocrine glands to secrete hormones, which in turn influence brain and behavior.

How are the nervous and endocrine systems alike, and how do they differ?

Both of these communication systems produce chemical molecules that act on the body's receptors to influence our behavior and emotions. The endocrine system, which secretes hormones into the bloodstream, delivers its messages much more slowly than the speedy nervous system, and the effects of the endocrine system's messages tend to linger much longer than those of the nervous system.

The __________ is a crossover point where nerves from the left side of the brain are mostly linked to the right side of the body, and vice versa.

Brainstem.

In what brain region would damage be most likely to (a) disrupt your ability to jump rope? (b) disrupt your ability to hear? (c) leave you in a coma? (d) cut off the very breath and heartbeat of life?

(a) cerebellum, (b) thalamus, (c) reticular formation, (d) medulla.

Electrical stimulation of a cat's amygdala provokes angry reactions. Which autonomic nervous system division is activated by such stimulation?

The sympathetic nervous system.

What are the three key structures of the limbic system, and what functions do they serve?

(a) The amygdala is involved in aggression and fear responses. (b) The hypothalamus is involved in bodily maintenance, pleasurable rewards, and control of the hormonal systems. (c) The hippocampus processes memories of facts and events.

Which part of the human brain distinguishes us from most other animals?

The cerebral cortex.

Our brain's __________ cortex registers and processes body touch and movement sensations. The __________ cortex controls our voluntary movements.

Somatosensory; motor.

Why are association areas important?

Association areas are involved in higher mental functions - interpreting, integrating, and acting on information processed in other areas.

Those working in the interdisciplinary field called __________ __________ study the brain activity associated with the mental processes of thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Cognitive neuroscience.

Explain an attentional principle that magicians may use to fool us.

Our selective attention allows us to focus on only a limited portion of our surroundings. Inattentional blindness explains why we don't perceive some things when we are distracted. Change blindness, for example, happens when we fail to notice a relatively unimportant change in our environment.

What are the mind's two tracks, and what is dual processing?

Our mind simultaneously processes information on a conscious track and an unconscious track, and through this dual processing we organize and interpret information.

Why would communal sleeping provide added protection for those whose safety depends on vigilance, such as refugees in Paris?

With each refugee cycling through the sleep stages independently, at any given time at least one likely will be in an easily awakened stage.

What are the sleep stages, and in what order do we normally travel through those stages?

REM, N1, N2, N3; normally we move through N1, then N1, then N3, then back up through N2 before we experience REM sleep.

N1

Fleeting images

N3

Minimal awareness

REM

Story-like dream

The ____________________ nucleus helps monitor the brain's release of melatonin, which affects our __________ rhythm.

Suprachiasmatic; circadian.

What are the five proposed reasons for our need for sleep?

(1) Sleep has survival value. (2) Sleep helps us restore the immune system. (3) During sleep we consolidate memories. (4) Sleep fuels creativity. (5) Sleep plays a role in the growth process.

A well-rested person would be more likely to have ____________________ (trouble concentrating/quick reaction times) and a sleep-deprived person would be more likely to ____________________ (gain weight/fight off a cold).

Quick reaction times; gain weight.

What five theories propose explanations for why we dream?

(1) Freud's wish-fulfillment (dreams as a psychic safety value), (2) information-processing (dreams sort the day's events and consolidate memories), (3) physiological function (dreams pave neural pathways), (4) activation-synthesis (REM sleep triggers random neural activity that the mind weaves into stories), and (5) cognitive development (dreams reflect the dreamer's developmental stage).

What is the rough distinction between sensation and perception?

Sensation is the bottom-up process by which your sensory receptors and your nervous system receive and represent stimuli. Perception is the top-down process by which your brain creates meaning by organizing and interpreting what your senses detect.

Using sound as your example, explain how these concepts differ: absolute threshold, subliminal stimulation, and difference threshold.

Absolute threshold is the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular sound 50 percent of the time. Subliminal stimulation happens when, without your awareness, your sensory system processes a sound that is below your absolute threshold. A difference threshold is the minimum difference needed to distinguish between two stimuli 50 percent of the time.

Why is it that after wearing shoes for a while, you cease to notice them?

The shoes provide constant stimulation. Thanks to sensory adaptation, we tend to focus primarily on changing stimuli.

Does perceptual set involve bottom-up or top-down processing? Why?

Perceptual set involves top-down processing, because it draws on your experiences, assumptions, and expectations when interpreting stimuli.

Some nocturnal animals, such as toads, mice, rats, and bats, have impressive night vision thanks to having many more __________ (rods/cones) than __________ (rods/cones) in their retinas. These creatures probably have very poor __________ (color/black-and-white) vision.

Rods; cones; color.

Cats are able to open their __________ much wider than we can, which allows more light into their eyes so they can see better at night.

Pupils.

The amplitude of a sound wave determines our perception of __________ (loudness/pitch).

Loudness.

The longer the sound waves are, the __________ (lower/higher) their frequency and the __________ (higher/lower) their pitch.

Lower; lower.

How does our system for sensing smell differ from our sensory systems for touch and taste?

We have four basic touch senses and five basic taste sensations. But we have no specific smell receptors. Instead, different combinations of odor receptors send messages to the brain, enabling us to recognize some 1 trillion different smells.