psy

psychology

the scientific study of mind and behavior

psychology as a science

the science that studies behavior and the physiological; cognitive processes that underline it

psychology as a profession

the profession that applies accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems

Wilhelm Wundt

• established first laboratory for study of psychology in 1879 in University of Leipzig, Germany

• developed structuralism

Hermann Ebbinghaus

• made the first experiment describing memory processes

William james

• wrote “the principles of Psychology” textbooks

• developed functionalism

• introduced primary and secondary memory

primary memory

everything that you are thinking of right now and held in your conscious thought

secondary memory

memory that has to be retrieved and accessed from long term memory

john b watson

• study of consciousness abandoned

• nurture not nature ( how they were raised, environment, experience)

Sigmund Freud

• studied unconscious mind

• founded psychoanalytic school of thought

• unconscious conflict to sexuality plays central role in behavior

Humanism

the belief that humans, as individuals, are unique beings and should be recognized and treated as such

Cognitivism

• focusses on how information is received, organized, stored and retrieved by the mind

Little albert experiment

• done by behaviorist John B Watson, inspired by Ivan Pavlov’s dog experiment

• Classical conditioned into being scared of mice

  presented with white mice while a steel bar was struck with a hammer. After a few sessions he became scared of the mice without the noise

dualism

the view that mind and body are fundamentally different things

materialism

the view that all mental phenomena are reducible to physical phenomena

realism

perceptions of the physical world are produced entirely by information from sensory organs

idealism

perceptions of the physical world are the brains interpretation of information from sensory organs

empiricism

all knowledge is acquired through experience

nativism

some knowledge is innate rather than acquired

structuralism

attempted to isolate and analyze the minds basic elements

introspection

observation of ones own conscious

functionalism

function/ purpose of consciousness

natural selection

specific attributes that become more prevalent in pop. over time

hysteria

loss of function that has no obvious physical origin

unconscious

the part of the mind that contains information of whish people are not aware

psychoanalytic theory

emphasizes the influence of the unconscious on feelings, thoughts, and behaviors

psychoanalysis

therapy that aims to give people insight into the contents of their unconscious minds

behaviorism

restricts scientific inquiry to observable behavior

principle of reinforcement

any behavior that is rewarded will be repeated and any behavior that isnt wont

inattentional blindness

easy to miss important things when attention is diverted

Variables

properties that can take on different values

Operational definitions

• temporary, working conception of variables

• aggression

Reliability & validity

R: consistency

V: what its suppose to measure is measured

Population

group of interest

Sample

subset of population

Demand Characteristics

those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think someone else wants or expects

Double Blind

researcher nor participant know how the participant are expected to behave

Rosenthal & Fode study

• some students asked to measure speed rat learned to navigate maze

• some were told rat was slow learner, others were told the bred was fast learner

• students who thought they were measuring slow learner reported rat took longer to navigate ( AND VISE VERSA)

  RESULTS

• expectation can influence observation and reality

• The student’s expectations influenced their rats behavior and their observation of it

Positive correlation

Negative correlation

Correlation and causation

Experiment

manipulation of one variable under controlled conditions so that resulting changes in another variable can be observed

Independent variable

variable manipulated

• varies within experiment

• determined by experimenter

• Ex: presence/absence of aggressive behavior in film

Dependent variable

variable possibly affected by manipulation

• measurement made by experimenter

• Ex: count number of punches to doll

Experimental and control groups

E: subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable

C: similar subjects who do not receive the special treatment

Research ethics

• beneficence

• respect for persons

• justice

• Federal law

  • ensures both human and animal subjects are treated with dignity

Deception

Animal research

• all procedures must be supervised by psychologist trained in research method and experienced in care of laboratory animals. Ensures appropriate comfort, health, and humane treatment.

• make effort to minimize discomfort, infection, illness, and pain of animals

• psychologists may use procedure that inflict pain only when there is no alternative and when procedure is justified by scientific, educational, or applied value of the study

Informed consent

verbal agreement to participant in a study made by an adult who has been informed of all the risks that participation may entail

Debriefing

verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study

Parts of a neuron

• Soma: Cell body

• Dendrites: receive stimulation

• Axon: Transmits information to other neurons

• Myelin Sheath: speeds up transmission

• Glial cells: structural support & insulation

• Synapse: point at which neurons interconnect ( there is a gap)

Action potential

a shift in electrical charge that travels along the axon of neurons

( think of hand wave that happens at sport games)

Neurotransmitters

• Acetylcholine

  • activates muscles

  • attention, memory, learning

  • associated with alzhemers’s

• Dopamine

  • regulates pleasure- seeking

  • high levels associated with schizophrenia

  • low levels associated with parkinson’s

• Endorphins

  • Pain & emotions (dulls experience of pain)

  • endogenous morphine

Lobes and main functions

• occipital: vision

• Parietal: somatosensory

• temporal: auditory ( hearing and language)

• Frontal: movement, executive control system

Brain lateralization

Corpus collosum & split brain function

Brain imaging