psy 2012

Definition of Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Psychology's Subfields

*CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Assess and treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders.

*COGNITIVE AND PERCEPTUAL PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Study human perception, thinking, and memory.

*COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Provide counseling services to individuals, groups, and organizations (schools, hospitals) to help people cope with problems.

*DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Study psychological development at various life stages.

*EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Study how teaching and learning take place.

*ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Study how people work best with machines.

*EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Gather data on how humans and animals respond to their environment through research that involves manipulating variables in a laboratory setting.

*FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Apply psychological principles to legal issues.

*HEALTH PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Examine how various factors affect health and illness, as well as effective ways to control pain or change habits.

*INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Apply psychological research and principles to the workplace to improve productivity and quality of work life.

*NEUROPSYCHOLOGISTS*

Explore relationships between brain systems and behavior, including issues of memory, brain injuries, diseases, and brain function.

*SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Work with schools to counsel students and consult with parents and staff.

*SPORT PSYCHOLOGISTS*

Work with athletes on issues of anxiety, fear of failure, focus, motivation, and competition.

What is psychology's biggest question?

Nature-Nurture issue

Basic vs. Applied research areas

*Basic* - Research for the sake of gaining scientific knowledge.

*Applied* - Research aimed at answering real-world, practical problems.

Scientific method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

Theory vs. Hypothesis

A hypothesis is either a suggested explanation for an observable phenomenon or a reasoned prediction of a possible causal correlation among multiple phenomena.

In science, a theory is a tested, well-substantiated, unifying explanation for a set of verified, proven factors.

Descriptive studies

A research method that involves observing and noting the behavior of people or other animals to provide a systematic and objective analysis of the behavior

Case study

An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Surveys

Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Correlational research

The study of the naturally occurring relationships among variables

Correlation Coefficient

A representation of the direction of the relationship and its strength.

Positive Correlation Coefficient

The direction of the relationship and its strength both increase in the same direction.

Negative Correlation Coefficient

The direction of the relationship and its strength have an inverse relationship, one goes up as the other decreases.

Experimental research

Gathering primary data by selecting matched groups of subjects, giving them different treatments, controlling related factors, and checking for differences in group responses

Parts of the neuron and what they do

*Neuron* - Receives and sends messages within that system.

Parts of the neuron:

*Dendrites* - receive messages from other cells.

*Axons* - attached to the soma, and its job is to carry messages out to other cells.

*Axon terminals* - Responsible for communicating with other nerve cells, they are swellings or little knobs located at the end of axon branches.

*Soma (cell body)* - carries out the basic life processes of neurons.

How do neurons communicate?

Neurotransmitters cross the synapse and bind with receptors on the postsynaptic dendrite.

Divisions of the Nervous System

Central Nervous System (CNS) and Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Parts of the brain (including function and what happens if those part are damaged)

Children's physical and cognitive development

Attachment theory

The idea that early attachments with parents and other caregivers can shape relationships for a person's whole life

Piaget's Theory

Theory stating that children actively construct their understanding of the world and go through four stages of cognitive development.

Physical and social development in adolescence

What is learning?

The process of acquiring through experience new information or behaviors

Generalization

Responding similarly to a range of similar stimuli

Discrimination

The learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occurred

Classical conditioning

A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Operant conditioning

A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

Observational learning

Learning by observing others

Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation

*Intrinsic motivation* - your tendency to work on a task for your own satisfaction, rather than for rewards such as money or praise.

*Extrinsic motivation* - motivated by external factors, to do things for tangible rewards or pressures, rather than for the fun of it.

Sensory memory

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Short-term memory

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

Long-term memory

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Working memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.

Encoding

The processing of information into the memory system

Storage

The process of retaining encoded information over time

Retrieval

The process of getting info out of memory storage

Repression

The basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

What is motivation?

A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior

Drives and Incentives

A physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need

Optimum arousal

Individuals will seek a level of arousal that is comfortable; explains curiosity and play behaviors

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

(level 1) Physiological Needs, (level 2) Safety and Security, (level 3) Relationships, Love and Affection, (level 4) Self Esteem, (level 5) Self Actualization

What is personality?

An individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting

Psychoanalytic perspective

Stresses the influence of unconscious forces on human behavior

Ego

The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.

Superego

The mental system that reflects the internalization of cultural rules, mainly learned as parents exercise their authority

Consciousness

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment

Unconscious

A reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories.

Information processing of which we are unaware.

Preconscious

The level of consciousness in which thoughts and feelings are not conscious but are readily retrievable to consciousness

Humanistic Perspective

The psychological view that assumes the existence of the self and emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and the freedom to make choices

Maslow

Humanist psychologist who developed a pyramid representing hierarchy of human needs.

Trait perspective

An individual's unique constellation of durable dispositions and consistent ways of behaving (traits) constitutes his or her personality

What are traits?

Specific characteristics that vary from one individual to another

Factor analysis

A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.

The big 5

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism

Social-cognitive theory of personality

Behaviors affected by emotions and expectations about the future; events in the environment affect expectations and emotions

What is social psychology?

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Attribution theory

The theory that we explain someone's behavior by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition

Conformity

Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard.

Obedience

A form of compliance that occurs when people follow direct commands, usually from someone in a position of authority

Stereotyping

Judging someone on the basis of one's perception of the group to which that person belongs

Prejudice

A negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority.

Discrimination

Behaving differently, usually unfairly, toward the members of a group.

Anxiety disorders

A class of disorders marked by feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety.