AP Psych Test Study Guide

Psychology

The Scientific Study of Behavior and mental processes

Structuralism

an early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Tichener, used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind

Introspection

The process of looking inward in an attempt to directly observe one's own psychological process

Wilheim Wundt

Established Frist Psych Lab (Considered father of Psych)

Measured how long it took for people to press a key after hearing a ball hit a platform

• responded 1/20 second when asked to press as soon as they heard the sound

• 2/10 sec when asked to press when they consciously aware of perceiving the sound

Early Influences

• Socrates/pluto concluded mind is separated from the body (knowledge is inherited)

• Aristiole-Knowldges is not preexisint/comes from experiences

• John Locke- Mind is a blank state/helped form empiricism

• Descartes- Beleived that certain knowledge is inherited

Edward Titchener

Founded structuralism and advocated for introspection as a research method

Functionalism

The process of thought promoted by James and infleunced by Darwin; explored how mental and behavioral process function- how they enable the organism, adapt, survive and flourish

William James

Pioneered Functiaonalsim and authored "The Principles of Pschology"

• assumed thinking, like selling developed because it was adaptive

• studied down to earth emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and moment to moment streams of consciousness

Behaviorism Psychology

Emphases observable behaviors and the effects of environmental stimuli, influenced by Ivan Pavlov, John B Watson, And B.F Skinner

• how we learn observable responses

John B Watson

Founder of Behaviorism, famous for His "little Albert" experiment - studied behaviors

B.F SKinner

Known for work on operant condiitoing and reinforcement - Skinners Box

Psychodynamic Perspective

Focuses on unconscious process and childhood expereiences pioneered by Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud

Developed psychoanalytic theory, emphasizing unconscious process and the role of childhood experiences

Gestalt psychology

Emphasizes the organization of perception and thinking

Humanistic psychology

Focuses on the growth potential of healthy individuals and the importance of meeting psychological needs, represented by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

Cognitive psychology

Examines mental processes such as perception, memory and problem solving (encode, process, store and retrieve info)

Biological perspective

Explores the biological basis of behavior and mental processes

Evolutionary perspective

Examine how natural selection has shaped behavior

• Nurture works on what nature provides

sociocultural perspective

considers the influence of cultural and social factors on behaviors

eclectic perspeeictve

drawing from multiple perspectives to understand behavior and mental processes

• individually each perspective does not capture the whole picture

Abraham Maslow

Proposed the hierarchy of needs and contributed to humanistic psychology

carl Rogers

Known for his client-centered therapy and emphasis on self-actualization

Ivan Pavlov

Conducted groundbreaking research on classical conditioning with dogs

Jean Piaget

Known for his influential theory of cognitive development in children

Scientific Method

A systematic approach to research that involves observation, hypothesis, formation, experimentation and analysis of data

Theory and Hypothesis

Theories are broad explanations and frameworks that organize observations and predict behaviors or events

Hypothesis: specific testable predictions derived from theories

Research Methods

Descriptive, correlational and experimental methods

Descriptive Method

Observing and describing behavior, including naturalistic observation(natural environments), case studies(one individual or group) and surveys

Correlational Methods

Examining the relationship between tow variables, including direction and strength of correlation

Experimental methods

Manipulating variables to observe their effects on behaviors, including independent variable & dependent variables, experimental/control groups and random assignment

Variables

Factors that can change in an experiment, including dependent, independent and confounding variables(other factors that can influence results)

Sampling Methods

techniques for selecting participants in a study, including random sampling, stratified sampling and convenience sampling

Ethical guidlines

principles governing the ethical treatment of human and animal research participants, including informed consent, confidentiality, and protection from harm

Empircal Evidence

information gained from direct observations or experimentation

Replication

Repeating a research study to confirm its findings

meta-analysis

a statistical technique from combining and analyzing data from multiple studies on the same topic

Placebo effect

Improvement in symptoms or behavior due to the belief that one is receiving treatment

double blind procedure

research methods in which both the researcher and participants are unaware of who received the treatment and who received the placebo

statistical significance

the likelihood that ta result occurred by chance is typically indicated by a p-value of less then 0.05

synapse:

The junction between two neurons where neurotransmitters are released

Neuron Structure/Function

transfer of info between neurons- neurotransmission

Action Potential

electrical impulse that travels down the axon of a neuron

• Requires a combined received chemical signal to exceed minimal threshold

neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that transmit signals across synapses

Myelin Sheath

fatty tissue layer segmentally encasing the axons of some neurons; increases transmission speed and provides insulation

Axon

attached to soma, neuron extension that passes messages though its branches to other neurons or to muscles or glands

Dendrites

bushy, branching extensions that receive and integrate messages, conducting impulses toward the cell body

cell body (soma)

the part of the neuron that contains the nucleus, the cells life support center

Parts of the Brain and What it controls

Terminal Branches

The ends of axon containing terminal buttons which hold synaptic vesicles that store neurotransmitters

Resting Potential

Before the begigning of action potential, the outside of an axon’s membrane has mostly provivitvly chraged sodium (Na+) ions and the interir contrinas negatively crhaged proteins and a small coumt of postively chraged potassium (K+) ions

• makes a slightly negative chrage

Neuron Communication

Sending neuron releases neurotransmitters across a synapse to the receiving neuron

Synapse/Receptor sites

Junction between the axon top of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron

Acetylcholine (ACh)— Neurotransmitter

Enables muscle action learning and memory

• Alzheimer- ACh-producing neurons deteriorate

Dopamine- Neurotransmitter

influences movement, learning, attention and emotion

• oversupply linked to schizophrenia

• under supply linked to tremors and decreased mobility in Parkinson’s disease

Serotonin- Neurotransmitter

affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

• malfunction: undersupply linked to depression

  • drugs that raise serotonin help treat depression

Norepinephrine- neurotransmitter

Helps control alertness and arousal

• undersupply can depress mood

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) -Neurotransmitter

major inhibitory neurotransmitter

• undersupply linked to seizures, tremors and insomnia

glutamate- neurotransmitter

a major excitability neurotransmitter; involved in memory

• oversupply can overstimulate the brain producing migraines of seizures (which is why some avoid MSG, monosodium glutamate in food)

endorphins- neurotransmitter

neurotransmitters that influence the perception of pain or pleasure

• oversupply with opiate drugs can suppress the body’s natural endorphin supply

Central Nervous system (CNS)

Made of the brain and spinal cord- decision maker, responsible for coordinating incoming sensory messages and outgoing motor messages

• Brain: composed of the cortex and subcortical structures- carries out multiple functions

  • nerves arranged into neural networks

• Spinal cord: 2-way connection between PNS and brain

  • oversees sensory and motor pathways of reflexes

Nervous System

Made of the Peripheral Nervous system and Central nervous system

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Made up of sensory and motor neurons

• connects the body to the CNS by gathering info from the senses and pass on messages from the CNS

Two parts of the peripheral nervous system

Somatic & Autonomic

Somatic

Controls the body skeletal muscles (skeletal nervous system)

Autonomic

controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (like the heart)

operates automatically

Sensory neurons

control afferent nerve fibers/ carry info form the sense organs to the CNS

Motor Neruons

control efferent neurons/ carry messages from the CNS to the muscles and glands

Autonomic Breaks into two

Sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system

Sympathetic nervous system

arouses the body; mobilizing its energy

• flight, fright or freeze

  • gas pedal of a car par

• Accelerates heartbeat, raises blood pressure, slows digestion, raises blood sugar and coools the body

parasympathetic nervous system

calms the body, conserving its energy

• rest or digest

  • brake pedal of a car

• decelerates heartbeat, lowers blood pressure, stimulates digestion, processes waste and calms the body

Endocrine system

the body'‘s “slow” chemical communication system

• glands and hormones involved in regulating bodily function and influencing behaviors

• glands secrete hormones

• hormones move through bloodstream

  • hormone secretion is slower (email)

Glands

Adrenal glands: releases epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline and noradrenaline)

Pituitary gland: oxytocin; stimulates the uterine contractions of childbirth and milk secretion/pair bonding, group cohesion and trust

EEG

Recording of the waves of electrical activity across the brain’s surface measured by electrodes placed on the scalp

MEG

a brain imaging technique that measures magnetic fields from the brains natural electrical activity

CT/CAT

x-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer to show a slice of the brains structure; shows structural damage

PET

visual display of the brain activity that detects where a radioactive glucose goes while th brain performs a given task- shows activity

MRI

uses magnetic feilds and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of brain anatomy- more detailed then CT scan

fMRI

measures blood flow and brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans to show brain function or as well as structure- shows damage

Brain stem

Medulla: controls heartbeat/breathing

Pons: controls sleep and helps coordinate movements

Reticular Formation: nerve networks- help control arousal and filter incoming sensory stimuli

Thalamus; relay station for incoming and outgoing sensory info (except smell)

Cerebellum

• processing sensory input,

• coordinating movement and balance,

• nonverbal learning

Limbic Structure

• Amygdala: (lima-bean-sized neural clusters)/ linked to emotion, fear, and aggression

• Hypothalamus: directs eating, drinking, and body temperature/helps govern endocrine system via the pituitary gland

• Hippocampus:help process for storage explicit memories of facts and events

Cerebral Cortex

intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells; covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center

• it is divided into our regions called lobes

What makes up the cerebral cortez

• frontal lobe:

• parietal lobe

• temporal lobe:

• occipital lobe:

Frontal Lobe

involved in speaking, mototr movements, judgement and decisiion-making

Partial lobes

receives and processes sensory input for touch and body position

Temporal lobes

each lobe receives auditory information, primarily from opposite ear

occipital lobes

each lobe receives visual information, primarily form opposite visual field

Motor Cortex & Somatosensory cortex

motor: controls voluntary movements

somatosensory: registers information from the skin sense and body movement

Auditory cortex

receives information from the ears

Visual Cortex

Receives information from the eyes

Broca’s Areas

language center located in the left frontal lobe

• involved in expressive language

Wernicke’s area

language center located in the left temporal lobe

• involved in receptive language

plasticity

brain ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience

• Young girl brain has been removed, due to the cross-wiring of the brain she shouldn’t be able to move the left side of her body

  • yet her left hemisphere compensated by putting other areas to work

Neurogensis

although the brain often attempts self-repair by reorganizing existing tissue, it sometimes attempts to mend itself through neurogenesis- producing new neurons

Right hemisphere

• controls the left side of the body

• perceptual tasks

• making inferences

• modulating speech

• visual perception

• recognition of emotion

• controlling the left side of the body

Left hemisphere

• controls right side of the body

• speaking and language

• math calculations

• making literal interpretations

• controlling the right side of the body

Localization of function

The idea that specific brain regions are responsible for specific functions or behaviors

Perception

the process of interpreting sensory information

sensation

the process of detecting sensory stimuli

Absolute threshold

minimum stimulation needed o detect a stimulus