Psychology Part 1

Psych W23

theory

explanation for a broad range of observations

biopsychosocial model

means of explaining behaviour due to biological, psychological and social relations

empiricism belief

knowledge comes through experience

determinism belief

everything happens because of something

humorism belief

four humours influenced personality (black bile, yellow bile, blood, phlegm)

psychophysics

relation between physical world and interpretation of humans

phrenology theory

brain consists of 27 organs corresponding to mental traits detected by examining the surface of the skull

what did Freud use hypnosis for?

to treat patients of hysterical paralysis

psychoanalysis

approach explaining how behaviour and personality are affected by unconscious memories

what was Galton’s goal with eugenics

to create a better, more successful human race by attempting to purify genes (obviously very problematic)

what did Wundt do for psychology

established psychology as an independent scientific field

what was James’ contribution to psychology

he wrote the first scientific textbook about psychology and he highlighted the importance of the brain’s consciousness

evolutionary approach

interprets modern behaviour due to influence from ancestors

social psychology

study of influence of other people on our behaviour

personality psychology

study of how personality characteristics can influence how we think and act

Gestalt psych

emphasizing psychologists need to focus on the whole perception rather than its parts

cognitive psych

processes like memory, thinking and language

humanistic psych

understand meaning of personal experience

Hebb

examines how cells in the brain over the course of learning, “cells that fire together, wire together”

Penfield

examined and treated seizures

fMRI technology

allows us to detect activity throughout entire brain and depict this on images

cognitive neuro science

understanding neural mechanisms for cognitive behaviour such as memory, emotion and decision-making

cognitive neuro science is a combination of what two fields

psych and biopsychology

social neuroscience

study of social behaviours ranging from racism to relationships

what technology do they use in social neuroscience

they use fMRI in experiments

positive psychology

help people see the good in their lives by promoting self-awareness and improving relationships

applied psych

solves practical problems that take place in schools, workplaces and military

industrial/organizational psych

scientifically based solution to human problems, ensures work environment is fair to all employees

human factor psychologists

helps ensure the transitions between technologies are efficient and smart

objectivity

consistent across instruments and observers

subjectivity

biased judgments due to personal feelings or experiences

what are the 5 tenets of Quality Scientific research

1. based on measurements that are objective, valid and reliable
2. can be generalized
3. can be replicated
4. uses techniques that reduce bias
5. made public

validity

degree to which a procedure measures what it claims to measure

reliability

when a measure provides consistent and stable answers across multiple observations and points in time

test-retest reliability

examines whether scores on a given measure of behaviour are consistent across test scores

generalizability

degree to which one set of results can be applied to other situations, individuals or events

ecological validity

results of study can be applied to natural environment (meaning that results of the study will still be accurate when people are not being watched)

what is Researcher Bias

unintentionally introduced by researcher

what is Subject Bias

participants try to figure out the study and act accordingly

single-blind study

participants don’t know the purpose of the study

double-blind study

neither party knows which treatment is being used on the individual

what are 5 characteristics of poor research

untestable hypothesis, relies on anecdotes, biased selection of data, appeal to authority, appeals to common sense

descriptive research

qualitative research vs quantitative research

naturalistic observations

subject doesn’t know about observations

surveys and questionnaires

self-reporting techniques

Phineas Gage

had a rod impaled through his brain, damage to frontal lobe caused him to become much more impulsive, inconsiderate, indecisive and impatient

correlation research

measuring degree of association between two variables

true or false: correlation is NOT causation

true

what does a coefficient of 0 mean

no relation

what does a coefficient of 1 mean

strong positive correlation

what does a coefficient of -1 mean

strong negative correlation

third variable problem

a third, unmeasured variable is responsible for correlation

independent variable

is manipulated

dependent variable

is recorded

Quasi experimential record

technique where groups are selected based on characteristics

informed consent

volunteer must know the purpose, tasks and risks involved in the study and give consent

debriefing

researchers explain true nature of study and especially the nature of any reason for deception

full consent involves what 4 things

freedom to choose, equal opportunities, right to withdraw, right to withhold responses

behavioural genomics

the ways in which specific genes are related to behaviour

how many genes are in the human genome

over 20 000

how identical are monozygotic twins

99\.9% identical

how identical are dizygotic twins

50% identical

longitudinal studies

studies that follow the same individual for years

what do twin studies usually calculate

heriditability

what does it mean if a trait has a heritability score of 0

genes do not contribute to individual differences in a trait

what does it mean if a trait has a heritability score of 1

genes account for all individuals in a trait

what are some things that can affect gene expression

diet, sleep, stress

epigenetics

study of changes in gene expression that occur as a result of experience and not the genetic code

what are the two things that make human brains unique from other species

larger frontal lobe (critical thinking), brains with more folds (store more information)

evolutionary psychology

explanations of humans based on the function they served in species development

hunter-gatherer theory

links performance of specific tasks to roles played by different genders over history

why are males generally better at mental rotation tasks

higher testosterone

neurons

one of the major cell types found in the nervous system

what is the purpose of neurons

send and receive messages throughout the body

name 5 parts of neurons

dendrites, nucleus, axon terminal, axon, myelin sheath, node of Ranvier, Schwann cells, cell body

what are sensory neurons and what pathway do they take

receive info from bodily senses and bring to brain via spinal cord (body to brain)

what are motor neurons and what pathway do they take

carry messages away from brain and spinal cord towards muscles in order to move (brain to body)

can nerves regenerate

yes

neurogenesis

forming new pathways in the brain

how do psychadelics like LSD affect your brain

they increase neuroplasticity

name 2 functions of glial cells

store myelin, mount immune responses in brain, remove waste, synchronize neurons

what happens to a unmyelinated axon

neural impulses decay quickly

what happens in MS disease

immune system attacks myelin

what happens when neurons are stimulated

ion channels open and positive ions go into the cell

refractory period

brief period where a neuron cannot fire

presynaptic cell

neuron that releases its neurotransmitter into the synapse

post synaptic cell

neuron after it receives neurotransmitters

synapse

area of neuron axon terminals and a different neuron’s dendrites

excitatory

increased likelihood of action potential

inhibitory

decreased likelihood of action potential

what is the CNS composed of

brain and spinal cord

what is the PNS composed of

bodily nerves that aren’t brain and spinal cord

what is the somatic nervous system composed of

the senses

what is the autonomic nervous system composed of

activity of organs and glands

sympathetic nervous system

prepares the body for action (fight or flight)

parasympathetic nervous system

“back to baseline”, returns body to non-emergency state

Huntington’s disease symptoms

uncontrollable movements of body, head and face

Tourette’s disease symptoms

repetitive facial and muscle movements, eye-blinking, snorting, sniffling

nucleus accumbens

pleasurable experiences

limbic system

network involved in emotion and memory