Elementary Psychology Exam 1 Review

Foundations of Psychology

proposed by Edwin Boring, philosophy and physiology

philosophy

study of thoughts (socrates, aristotle, locke, hume)

Physiology

study of the body (Helmholtz, Darwin, Muller)

Freud's influence

the unconsciousness- behaviors are often motivated by forces outside of conscious awareness

behaviorism

psychology should only be based on observable behavior, not thoughts or memory

Behaviorists

thorndike, watson, skinner

Thorndike

behaviors increase in frequency when rewarded

John Watson

"radical behavorism" no thoughts or feelings

reactions to Freud

People thought that it was a good treatment but not good science because his theories were not falsifiable or make a prediction

The cognitive revolution

Psychology can study hidden mental processes such as memory, attention, feelings, etc

Falsifiability

Any scientific experiment should have the possibility of going against the hypothesis

what scientific theories should do

make predictions, be as explicit as possible, be deterministic, be public, be communal

dependence

one variable depends on the other

independence

no relationship between variables

dependent variable

The response measured

independent variable

variable that is manipulated

causes

differences between independent variables

effect

differences between dependent variables

nuisance variables

variables that get in the way of an experiment, typically in experimental research. Doesn't necessarily affect results, just makes it "messy"

confounds

other factors in a person's life that may affect results. Usually in a correlational experiment

operational definition

when you get the same result after asking or testing the hypothesis in a different way

validity

the quality of operational definitions

reliability

how consistent the results of a measure are

experimental research

variables are manipulated

correlational research

the study of the naturally occurring relationships among variables

Psi phenomena

predicting the future, reading minds (not proven to be true)

structured empiricism

you should only answer the question you originally asked

verification

The results should be replicable

testable hypothesis

A prediction that has been formulated specifically enough so that it is clear what observations would confirm the prediction and what observations would challenge it.

cautionary points

anecdotes don't make scientific points, bold claims aren't necessarily true, just because something is unexplained doesn't mean that an explanation doesn't exist

Structuralism

an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

3 dimensions of the brain

hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain

Hindbrain

medulla, pons, cerebellum

Midbrain

thalamus

Forebrain

basal ganglia, limbic system, cortex

limbic system

associated with emotions and drives.

basal ganglia

movement

cerebral cortex

the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

How many hemispheres are in the cerebral cortex?

2, left and right

left hemisphere of brain

The left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for control of the right side of the body, and is the more academic and logical side of the brain.

right hemisphere of brain

The right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for control of the left side of the body, and is the more artistic and creative side of the brain.

4 lobes of the brain

frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal

occipital lobe

vision

temporal lobe

high level vision, hearing, language comprehension

frontal lobe

Language production, Decision making, Personality

parietal lobe

Spatial processing, Attention, Somatosensory cortex

somatosensory cortex

ordered map of skin surface in parietal cortex

Maps in the cortex

adjacent points remain adjacent, some regions have more cortex devoted to them

plasticity in the cortex

malleable based on experience

structuralism

Wundt, break conscious down into things that we can study

Introspection

examination of one's own thoughts and feelings

functionalism

James. how strengths and abilities serve a purpose in society

Divisions of the Nervous System

central nervous system and peripheral nervous system

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

A division of the nervous system consisting of all nerves that are not part of the brain or spinal cord.

Soma

genetic information, maintains the neuron's structure, and provides energy to drive activities. cell body

Dendrites

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.

axon hillock

Cone shaped region of an axon where it joins the cell body.

axon terminal

The endpoint of a neuron where neurotransmitters are stored

myelin sheath

covers the axon of some neurons and helps speed neural impulses

Synapse

Gap between neurons

electrical communication

ions flow within neurons

chemical communication (neurons)

via neurotransmitter release from the presynaptic cell and the binding of these neurotransmitters to the postsynaptic cell

role of sodium

Na+ rushing in increases the voltage of the neuron (more likely to have action potential)

role of chloride ions in action potential

can hyperpolarize or depolarize a neuron

hyperpolarize

make more negative (less likely to fire)

depolarize

make more positive (more likely to fire)

role of potassium

K+ rushing out lowers action potential returning the neuron back to normal

role of negatively charged proteins

neutralize excess positively charged proteins

resting potential of a neuron

-70mV

sequence of events for action potential

resting potential, rise of action potential, fall of action potential, return to resting potential

action potentials are

all or nothing

synaptic transmission

communication between neurons

sequence of events for synaptic transmission

action potential reaches axon terminal, vesicles release neurotransmitter, neurotransmitter binds with receptors, receptors open ion gates

lock and key model

there is a specific receptor that the neurotransmitter must bind with and that binding produces an electrical charge that will either hyperpolarize or depolarize the neuron

glutamate

excitatory neurotransmitter associated with learning and memory

GABA

inhibitory neurotransmitters, hyperpolarizes neurons, involved in anxiety

serotonin

involved in sleep and depression, concentrated in the hypothalamus and cortex

Dopamine

concentrated in basal ganglia and frontal lobe, rewarded behaviors can increase dopamine levels

Schizophrenia

too much dopamine

Parkinson's disease

lack of dopamine

single dissociation

a situation in which a patient is impaired on a particular task (task A) but relatively spared on another task (task B)

double dissociation

A situation in which a single dissociation can be demonstrated in one person, and the opposite type of single dissociation can be demonstrated in another person (i.e., Person 1: function A is present; function B is damaged; Person 2: function A is damaged; function B is present).

psychopharmacology

the study of the effects of drugs on mind and behavior

single cell recording

put electrode in brain and listen to the changes of voltage

event-related potential (ERP)

Electrical changes in the brain that correspond to the brain's response to a specific event; measured with EEG.

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

the use of strong magnets to cause neurons to fire as a way to study brain regions

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

changes in blow flow while performing a task

Single-cell recordings vs. Event-related potentials

single-cell recordings put an electrode into an axon of the brain to listen to changes in voltages. ERPs use a magnetic force to fire neurons.

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

Homeostasis

relatively constant internal physical and chemical conditions that organisms maintain

basic model of thermoregulation

if we are cold, we will make changes to warm us up

Set point of thermoregulation

hypothalamus

role of hypothalamus

involved in many motivated behaviors. (4F's fighting, fleeing, feeding, and ****ing). regulates homeostasis

Magoun et al (1938) hot cat experiment

warmed up a cat's hypothalamus and the cat acted like it was hot in the room

cold rat experiment

rats in a cold environment will learn that pulling the lever will lead to a warmer environment. They will pull the lever when they are cold and want to get warmer

dual-center theory

the hypothalamus has 2 centers: the hunger and satiety "full" center

lateral hypothalamus

The part of the hypothalamus that produces hunger signals

ventromedial hypothalamus

depresses hunger

Limitations of the dual-center theory

the rat will eventually go back to a maintained weight