PSYCH 1113 exam 1 Oklahoma state

Psychology

stems from the greek word psyche, which means "soul" + logos, which means "to study"

the scientific study of mind and behavior

the systematic look and scientific study of behavior and mental processes that underlie and influence behavior

the mind

refers to our private inner experience- the flow of consciousness that you get from your perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings

behavior

refers to the observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals- the things we do in the world, either by ourselves or with others

4 big goals of psychology

to describe
to explain
to predict
to control

Goals of psychology cont.

descriptions and explanations are necessary for understanding, justifying, and defining behavior

predictions and the ability to exert control is necessary for future prevention or modification of behavior

Altruism vs. selfishness

are humans capable of acting in ways that do not benefit themselves in any way (altruism) or do we always act with ulterior motives (selfishness)

Plato

socrates student
one of the first to struggle with the fundamental question of how the mind works.

argued for nativism (the philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate/ inborn

Aristotle

plato's student

empiricism posits that all knowledge is acquired through experience (nature vs. nurture)

believed the child's mind was a blank slate

philosophical empiricism

posits that all knowledge can only be gained from physical sensory experience

Descartes

said there was a dualism (how mental activity can be reconciled and coordinated with physical behavior) between mind and body, which are completely different yet interact in some way

was largely alone in this view

" I think, therefor I am"

phrenology

theory that mental abilities are characteristics are localized in specific regions of the brain and can be inferred by feeling bumps on the head

Flourens and Barca

proved Descartes' theory wrong because they connected the bind to the brain through surgical methods

Broca's area

the left, frontal part of the brain

William James

"it seems to me that perhaps the time has come for psychology to begin to be a science"

physiology

the study of biological processes, especially in the human body

William Wundt

the 'father' of psychology

believed scientific psychology should focus on analyzing consciousness: a person's subjective experience of the world and the mind

structuralism

Wundt created it

attempting to analyze the mind's most basic elements, involves breaking consciousness down into elemental sensations and feelings

(same way that chemists study matter by breaking it down into basic elements)

Introspection

Wundt created it

the subjective observation of one's own experiences

emphasized relationship between elements of consciousness

did NOT study behavior, only the mental process

functionalism

(William James)

the study of the purpose mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt their environment (what the mind does and how behavior helps us function)

based on Darwin's theory of natural selection

focuses on the function of the mental process rather than how to break those down because James believed that they could not be broken down

principles of psychology

written by William James

skeptic of introspective method

William James

natural selection

features of an organism that help it survive and reproduce are more likely than other features to be passed on to subsequent generations

(giraffe with long necks, peppered moths)

recapitulation theory

as children develop they pass through stages that repeat the evolutionary history of the human race

Jean Charcot & Pierre Janet

french physicians who suggested that the brain can create many conscious selves that are not aware of each other's existence

hysteria

a temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions (became blind, paralyzed, lost memories) that could be restored by hypnosis

psychoanalytic theory

understanding human behavior via the unconscious mental processes in shaping feelings, thoughts, and behaviors (frued)

Freud, Charcot, and Breuer all worked together on this theory

unconscious

the part of the mind that operates outside of the conscious awareness but influences conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions

Psychoanalysis

a therapeutic approach that focuses on bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders

(dream interpretation)

Humanistic psychology

approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings

carl rogers- unconditional positive regard

focused on people's aspirations

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

physiological-> safety-> belonging and love-> esteem->self-actualization

John Watson

rejected the focus on the emphasis of the mind; focused on observable behavior

what people do rather than what people experience

heavily influenced by Pavlov

little albert

B.F. Skinner

used behaviorism to explore how animals learned to act in situations

Skinner Box

used the principle of reinforcement

it was a condition chamber

operant conditioning

reinforcement, in which the learner also "operates" on the enviornemnt using a "skinner box"

the principle of reinforcement

the consequences of a behavior that determine whether it will be more likely that the behavior will occur again

Gesalt Psychology

emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of its parts

(illusions)

Jean Piaget

cognitive development

gave kids a small and big piece of clay and told them to make it into the same size

younger children lack a particular cognitive ability

cognitive psychology

the study of mental processes, including perception, though, memory, and reasoning

looked at the brain like a computer. the brain was the hardware (actual brain structures. grey matter, brain step, temporal lobes,etc.) and the mind was the software (intelligence, memory, abstract mind)

evolutionary psychology

explains mind and behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by natural selection

(jealousy, attraction, facial expression)

can test by offspring

social psychology

a subfield of psychology that studies the cause and consequences of interpersonal behavior

cultural psychology

the study of how culture reflects and shapes the psychological processes of their members

culture, absolutism, relativism

Structuralism

the analysis of the most basic elements that constitute the mind

recapitulation theory

as children develop, they pass through stages that repeat the evolutionary history of the human race

Scientific method

a procedure used for finding truth by using empirical evidence

theory, hypothesis, empirical method (a set of rules and techniques for observation)

rule of parsimony

the simplest theory that explains all the evidence

observation

using one's senses to learn about the properties of an event or an object

unstable

does not account for all properties

measurement

technique that scientists use to overcome the problems of observation

define and detect data

measurement's 2 step process

1. define the property we want to measure
2. find a way to detect it

operational defintion

a description of a property in concrete, measurable terms. observational and measurable criteria for measurement

validity

measure is accurate indicator of attribute/ variable of interest

shown through reliability and power

convergent validity

correlates with other measures that measure construct

discriminant validity

doesn't correlate with other measures that it shouldn't correlate with. ex: empathy shouldn't correlate with sociopathic tendencies

Reliability

tendency for an instrument to produce the same measurement whenever it us used to measure the same thing

can be reliable, but not valid

power

an instruments ability to detect differences or changes in property (measuring what you're actually supposed to measure)

natural observation

a technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments (double blind experiment)

variables

properties whose values can vary across individuals or over time

frequency distribution

(describing data)

a graphic representation of measurements arranged by the number of times each measurement was made

how many times does the score occur in the data set

Normal distribution

(describing data)

a mathematical defined distribution in which the frequency of measurements is the highest in the middle and decreases symmetrically in both directions

symmetrical distribution in which most measurements occur in the middle

mean, median, mode are all the same. "bell curve"

central tendency

mean, median, mode

Variability

Range and Standard deviation (how similar or different scores are)

correlation

does NOT imply causation

independent variable

the variable that is manipulated in an experiment

dependent variable

variable that is measured in the study

internal validity

an attribute of an experiment that allows it to establish the causal relationships

external validity

an attribute of an experiment in which variables have been defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way

case method

a procedure for gathering scientific information by studying a single individual

Ethics

first, do not harm

neurons

cells in the nervous system that communicate with one another to perform information processing tasks

cell body, dendrites, axons

cell body

aka "soma"
the part of the neuron that coordinates information-processing tasks and keeps the cell alive

contains a nucleus

houses the chromosomes and contain DNA

dendrite

the part of the neuron that receives information from other neurons and relays it to the cell body

axon

the part of the neuron that transmits information to other neurons, muscles, or glands

each neuron has a single axon than can sometimes be very long

myelin sheath

an insulating layer of fatty material that covers axon

has glial cells (support cells found in the nervous system)

digest dead parts of the neuron

provide physical/ nutritional support

form myelin to help transmit information

synapse

the junction or region between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another

sensory neurons

neurons that receive information from the external world and convey this information to the brain via the spinal cord

light, sound, taste, touch, smell

motor neurons

neurons that carry signals from the spinal cord to the muscles to produce movement

have long axons

interneurons

neurons that connect sensory neurons, motor neurons, and other neurons

work together to form simple tasks (recognizing a familiar face)

resting potential

the difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of a neuron's cell membrane

action potential

an electric signal that is conducted along a neuron's axon to a synapse

refractory period

the time following an action potential during which a new action potential cannot be initiated

neurotransmitter

chemicals transmit information across the synapse to a receiving neuron's dendrite

dopamine

pleasure, reward

serotonin

mood

adrenaline

flight, fight, freeze

synaptic transmission

action potential travels down the axon-> stimulates the release of neurotransmitters-> neurotransmitters are released into the synapse, where new action potential is initiated-> neurotransmitters are cleared out by the synapse by -> reuptake into the sending neuron-> being broken down by enzymes in the synapse-> binding the auto receptors on the sending neuron

Acetylocholine (Ach)

enables muscle action, learning, and memory

norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal

agonists

drugs that increase the action of a neurotransmitter (amphetamines, cocaine)

antagonists

drugs that block the function of a neurotransmitter (heroin, beta-blockers)

neurosystem

an interacting network of neurons that converts electrochemical information throughout the body

central nervous system (CNS)

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral system (PNS)

automatic division-> sympathetic (fight or flight) or parasympathetic (helps body return to normal state)

somatic divison

brain

hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain

hindbrain

"brain stem"- area of the brain that coordinates the info coming in and out of the spinal cord

medulla

(hindbrain)

an extension of the spinal cord into the skull that coordinates heart beat, circulation, and respiration

reticular formation- which regulates sleep, wakefulness, and levels of arousal

cerebellum

"little brain"- a large structure of the hindbrain that controls the fine motor skills (writing, buttoning buttons) which are different from fine motor skills (walking, kicking)

pons

"bridge"- a brain structure that relays info from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain. acts as a "relay station" between the cerebellum and other structures of the brain (knob on the medulla)

midbrain

contains structures that help an organism orient you toward or away from pleasurable or threatening stimuli in the environment and control its movements

tactum

part of the midbrain that orients an organism in the environment

receives information from the eyes, ears, and skin and moved the organism in a coordinated way towards the stimulus

tegmetum

a part of the midbrain that is involved in movement and arousal

the forebrain

the highest level of the brain, literally and figuratively