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Psychology

Scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Scienctific - psychology uses systematic methods to observe human behavior and draw conclusions

Behavior

Everything we do that can be directly observed (voluntary or involuntary)

Mental processes

The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly

Critical thinking

Process of thinking deeply and actively, asking questions, and evaluating the evidence

Empirical method

Gaining knowledge by observing events, collecting data, and reasoning logically

Sigmund Freud

Believed most of human behavior is caused by dark, unconscious impulses pressing for expression

Structuralism

Wilhelm Wundt’s approach to discovering the basic elements, or structures, of mental processes

• Breaking down into components

• Systematic introspection

Functionalism

William James’s approach to mental processes, emphasizing the functions and purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual’s adaptation to the environment

• Why is that person feeling that way? What is it for?

• Influenced by Darwinism

Biological approach

An approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system

Neuroscience

The scientific study of the structure, function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system, emphasizing that the brain and nervous system are central to understanding behavior, thought, and emotion

Behavioral approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants

• Led by Watson and Skinner

• Ex:) giving gold star every time student scores well

Psychodynamic approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives (such as the drive for sex) and society’s demands, and early childhood family experiences

• Founded by Freud

Humanistic approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing a person’s positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose any destiny

• Kind of opposite of psychodynamic

• Altruism, optimism

Cognitive approach

An approach to psychology emphasizing the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention, perceive, remember, think, and solve problems

Evolutionary approach

An approach to psychology centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors

Sociocultural approach

An approach to psychology that examines the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior

• Sometimes say that evo approach is overstated

Psychologist vs Psychiatrist

Clinical psychologist

• Got PhD

• Can’t prescribe meds

• Counseling psychologist is mainly for adjustment problems rather than disorders

Psychiatrist

• Went to med school

• Can prescribe meds

Biopsychological approach

A perspective on human behavior that asserts that biological, psychological, and social factors are all significant ingredients in producing behavior. All of these levels are important to understanding human behavior

Scientific method

Technique that generates empirical knowledge or systematically seeking answers to testable questions about mind and behavior.

1. Observation

2. Formulating hypothesis/prediction

3. Testing through empirical research

4. Drawing conclusions

5. Evaluating conclusions

Variable

Any factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing amounts or types or varies across individuals; anything that can change

Theory

A broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempts to explain observations and to make predictions about future observations

Hypothesis

A testable prediction that derives logically from a theory

Operational definition

A definition that provides an objective description of how a variable is going to be measured and observed in a particular study; how to measure a variable?

Descriptive research

Involves finding the basic dimensions of some variable

Ex:) Avg happiness in US?

Research methods include observation, surveys/interviews, and case studies

Case study / case history

An in-depth look at a single individual.

Correlational research

Research that examines the relationships between variables, whose purpose is to examine whether and how two variables change together

• Good for making predictions

• Not good for explaining why things happen

*Correlation ≠ causation

Third variable problem

The circumstance where a variable that has not been measured accounts for the relationship between two other variables. Third variables are also known as confounds

Longitudinal design

A special kind of systematic observation, used by correlational researchers, that involves obtaining measures of the variables of interest in multiple waves over time

Within-participant designs

Participants serve as their own control group

• Ensures control group and experimental group are as similar as possible

• Order of conditions might influence effects though

Quasi-experimental design

Does not include random assignment of participants to a condition (because its either impossible or unethical)

Ex:) Study soldiers who have seen combat vs not; participants weren’t assigned to these groups

Validity

The soundness of the conclusions that a researcher draws from an experiment. In the realm of testing, the extent to which a test measures what it is intended to measure.

External validiity

The degree to which an experimental design actually reflects the real-world issues it is supposed to address

Internal validity

The degree to which changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of the independent variable

Demand characteristics

Any aspects of a study that communicate to the participants how the experimenter wants them to behave

Experimenter bias

The influence of the experimenter’s expectations on the outcome of research

Research participant bias

In an experiment, the influence of participants’ expectations, and of their thoughts on how they should behave, on their behavior

Double-blind experiment

An experimental design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants are aware of which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group until the results are calculated

Random sampling vs random assignment

Random sampling is taking a random group from the population used for the experiment. Random assignment is how you assign the things in the sample to conditions.

Naturalistic observation

The observation of behavior in a real-world setting

Nervous system

The body’s electrochemical communication circuitry

• Super complex

Plasticity

The brain’s special capacity for change

Electrochemical transmission

Electrical impulses and chemical messengers power the whole thing. Impulse travels down a nerve cell (neuron) electrically, sends message to next cell chemically

Afferent nerves (sensory nerves)

Neurons that carry information about external environment to brain and spinal cord via sensory receptors

Efferent nerves (motor nerves)

Neurons that carry information out of brain and spinal cord to other areas of body

Divisions of the nervous system

• Central nervous system (CNS): brain + spinal cord

• Peripheral nervous system (PNS): nerves that connect the CNS to the rest of the body

  • Somatic NS: sensory nerves, motor nerves to control muscles

  • Autonomic NS: internal organs, monitoring such processes as breathing, heart rate, and digestion (involuntary)

    • Sympathetic NS: activates internal organs to cope with stress and arousal (fight or flight)

    • Parasympathetic NS: reverses effects of sympathetic NS (go back to normal)

Neurons

Nerve cells that handle info processing

Glial cells

Provide support, nutritional benefits, to keep neurons running smoothly (pit crew)

Mirror neurons

Activated when we perform an action AND when we watch someone perform the same task; involved in imitation

Neuron cell structure

• Cell body (soma): Contains nucleus, which directs the manufacture of substances that the neuron needs for growth and maintenance

• Dendrites: Treelike fibers projecting from a neuron, which receive information and orient it toward the neuron’s cell body

• Axon: Carries info away from cell body toward other cells.

• Myelin sheath: A layer of fat cells that encases and insulates most axons to maintain signal

Neural impulse

All-or-none Principle; once threshold crossed, depolarization happens and ion channels open

Synapse

Tiny space b/w neurons; the gaps between neurons are referred to as synaptic gaps

Structures at synapse:

• Synaptic vesicles: contain neurotransmitters

• Neurotransmitters: chemicals that contain the message released across the gap

• Receptor sites: receives neurotransmitters

Important types of neurotransmitters

• Acetylcholine: stimulates neuron firing, involved in action of muscles, learning, memory; imbalances linked to Alzheimer’s

• Dopamine: controls voluntary movement, affects sleep, mood, attention, learning, reinforcement; imbalances linked to Schizophrenia and Parkinson’s

• Serotonin: regulates sleep, mood, attention, learning; imbalances linked to depression, anxiety, eating disorders

• End;orphins: shield body from pain, increases pleasure

Drugs

Can mimic/increase neurotransmitter’s effects (agonist) or block neurotransmitter’s effects (antagonist)

Main divisions of the brain

Hindbrain

1. Medulla - controls automatic functions (vitals), reflexes like coughing, vomiting, sneezing

2. Pons - bridge connects cerebellum and brain stem; contains fibers involved in sleep and arousal

3. Cerebellum - “little brain”, controls complex motor movements

4. Brain stem - connects spinal cord, most primitive structure, includes much of hindbrain and some midbrain

Midbrain

Relays physiological messages from hindbrain to cognitive functions of forebrain (connects sensations to thoughts)

1. Substantia nigra - dopamine center

2. Reticular formation - network of neurons/nerves, source of general alertness and consciousness

Forebrain

1. Thalamus - relay station for all sensory messages (except smell)

2. Hypothalamus - regulates hunger, thirst, sexual behavior, emotional behavior, internal body temp, etc

3. Limbic system - accounts for emotional expression, memory, motivation

   1. Amygdala - intense emotional responses like fear; links emotion to memories

   2. Hippocampus - stores new memories, gives internal map (navigational skills)

4. Cerebral Cortex (gray matter) - Higher mental processes of language, memory, thinking; four different lobes

   1. Frontal lobes

      1. Motor area - controls voluntary movements

      2. Broca’s area - ability to speak language

      3. Frontal association areas - thinking, planning, impulse control (Ex: Phineas Gage personality changed after iron bar shot through head)

   2. Parietal lobes

      1. Somatosensory area - touch, pressure, pain sensors; awareness of body placement

   3. Temporal lobes

      1. Primary auditory cortex - hearing

      2. Wernicke’s area - ability to understand language

   4. Occipital lobes

      1. Primary visual cortex - sight

Cerebral hemispheres

• Controls movement and feelings on opposite sides of the body

• Receives visual info from opposite side of body

Corpus callosum

• Nerve fibers connecting two hemispheres

• Transfers info and syncs activity between hemispheres

• If damaged, we have a split brain patient

Hemisphere functions

Genes

Biochemical units of heredity; coded instructions to carry out genetic characteristics

*Most traits are influenced by multiple genes

Behavioral genetics

Attempts to determine how much of our behavior is genetic vs the environment

Heritability

Statistical measure of how much a trait is inherited and how much is because of other factors

Twins

Monozygotic - formed from one egge and one sperm that splits

Dizygotic - formed by two separate eggs and sperm (genetically like siblings)

Adoption studies

Compare correlations of traits of adopted children with their biological parents and their adopted parents

• If correlation higher with bio parents, suggests heritability

Nature vs nurture debate

Which one contributes MORE to a person?

Could be false dichotomy ^^^

Interactionist perspective: hard to quantify how much each contributes independent of the other; genetic influence on behavior can vary depending on the environment in which we are studying the behavior

Evolutionary model of human behavior

Behavioral impulses, personality traits, etc. can be passed down through genes, and the impulses, traits, etc that aid in survival and reproduction will be passed down more often

• We may have traits that don’t help us anymore

• Survival/reproduction may not be your main goal anymore

• Some traits have tradeoffs (Ex: better for attracting mates, but less survival advantage)

Sensation

The process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neural energy.

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense

Bottom-up processing

The operation in sensation and perception in which sensory receptors register information about the external environment and send it up to the brain for interpretation

Start with environment

Top-down processing

The operation in sensation and perception, launched by cognitive processing at the brain’s higher levels, that allows the organism to sense what is happening and to apply that framework to information from the world

Start with brain

Sensory receptors

Specialized cells that detect stimulus information and transmit it to sensory (afferent) nerves and the brain

Absolute threshold

The minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect

Difference threshold

The degree of difference that must exist between two stimuli before the difference is detected

Weber’s Law

The principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount) to be perceived as different

Subliminal perception

The detection of information below the level of conscious awareness

Signal detection theory

An approach to perception that focuses on decision making about stimuli in the presence of uncertainty

Light properties

Color/hue

• Given by wavelength (physical distance from one energy cycle to the next)

Brightness

• Influenced by amplitude

• Amount of light on an object; intensity of light

Purity

• Complexity of light (pure vs paler colors)

• Determined by mix of wavelengths present

• Influences saturation or richness of perceived colors

Eye structure

Sclera - white outer part, helps maintain eye shape and protect from injury

Iris - colored part

Pupil - appears black, opening center of iris

Cornea - outermost structure, clear membrane at very front of eye, along with lens helps focus light

Lens - transparent, disk-like structure filled with gelatin-like material, along with cornea helps focus light; focusing happens when muscles contract making lens thicker and rounder (accommodation)

Retina - multilayered light-sensitive surface in eye that records EM energy and converts it to neural impulses for processing in the brain

Rods - receptor cells in retina that are sensitive to light but not very useful for color vision; found in periphery; outnumber cones by a lot

Cones - receptor cells in retina that allow for color perception; located in the fovea; images focused onto fovea are clearest

Fovea - central spot in retina where cones are concentrated

Optic nerve - structure at back of eye, made up of axons of the ganglion cells, that carries visual information to the brain for further processing; no cones or nerves here (blind spot!)

Perceptual set

A predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way

Sensory adapatation

A change in the responsiveness of the sensory system based on the average level of surrounding stimulation

Visual cortex

Located in the occipital lobe, the part of the cerebral cortex involved in vision

Feature detectors

Neurons in the brain’s visual system that respond to particular features of a stimulus

Parallel processing

The simultaneous distribution of information across different neural pathways

Binding

In the sense of vision, the bringing together and integration of what is processed by different neural pathways or cells

Trichromatic theory

Color perception is produced by three types of cone receptors in the retina that are particularly sensitive to different, but overlapping, ranges of wavelengths

Opponent-process theory

Cells in the visual system respond to complementary pairs of red-green and blue-yellow colors; a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green, whereas another cell might be excited by yellow and inhibited by blue

Figure-ground relationship

Principle by which we organize the perceptual field into stimuli that stand out (figure) and those that are left over (ground)

Gestalt psychology

A school of thought interested in how people naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns

Gestalt means “configuration” or “form”

• Proximity

• Closure

• SImilarity

Depth perception

The ability to perceive objects three dimensionally

Binocular cues

Depth cues that depend on the combination of the images in the left and right eyes and on the way the two eyes work together; based on the angle of eyes and light hitting retina

Ex:) Disparity between images of two eyes used to determine depth or distance of an object

Convergence

A binocular cue to depth and distance in which the muscle movements in an individual’s two eyes provide information about how deep and/or far away something is

Monocular cues

Powerful depth cues available from the image in one eye, either the right or the left

Ex:) Familiar size + relative size, height in FOV, linear perspective, overlap, shading, texture gradient

Motion perception

Primates have parasol ganglion cells (neurons) that are sensitive to motion in our retinas. Feedback from our body also tells us that there is motion

Apparent movement

The perception that a stationary object is moving (like when watching a movie)

Perceptual constancy

The recognition that objects are constant and unchanging even though sensory input about them is changing

Size constancy - recognition that object remains same size even though retinal image changes (e.g. being far from the object)

Shape constancy - recognition that object remains same shape even though its orientation changes

Color constancy - recognition that object retains same color even though different amounts of light fall on it

Optical illusion

Created by using the cues we rely on to trick our visual sytem

Sound waves

Pitch is perception of frequency

Loudness is the perception of amplitude

Timbre is the tone saturation, or the perceptual quality, of a sound

Outer ear

The outermost part of the ear, consisting of the pinna and the external auditory canal

Middle ear

The part of the ear that channels and amplifies sound through the eardrum, hammer, anvil, and stirrup to the inner ear.

Eardrum / tympanic membrane - separates outer ear from middle ear and vibrates in response to sound; first structure that sound touches in middle ear

Hammer, anvil, stirrup (ossicles) - chain of small bones, when vibrate they transmit sound waves to fluid-filled inner ear

Inner ear

The part of the ear that includes the oval window, cochlea, and basilar membrane and whose function is to convert sound waves into neural impulses and send them to the brain

Oval window - connected to stirrup, membrane-covered opening that leads from middle to inner ear

Cochlea - tubular, fluid-filled structure coiled up like a snail

Basilar membrane - lines inner wall of cochlea and runs its entire length, lined with hair cells

Hair cells - sensory receptors of the ear, tufts of fine bristles (cilia sprout from them

Tectorial membrane - jellylike flap above the hair cells that takes movement of hair cells and generates impulses for brain

Place theory

Theory on how the inner ear registers the frequency of sound, stating that each frequency produces vibrations at a particular spot on the basilar membrane

Frequency theory

Theory on how the inner ear registers the frequency of sound, stating that the perception of a sound’s frequency depends on how often the auditory nerve fires