PSYCH 1101 Exam 1

psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Scientific Method

Observation, Hypothesis, Experimental Testing, Analyze Data, Report Conclusions

Arisotle

His scientific questions and discoveries demonstrated that the scientific method could be applied to behavioral and mental processes

René Descartes

Believed the non-material mind and material body are separate entities interacting on the body to produce behavior (dualism)

Wilhelm Wundt

• Founder of Psychology

• Operated the first Psychology Lab at the University of Leipzig in Germany.

Edward Titchener

Student of Wundt, established Structuralism

Structuralism

This approach emphasized that complex conscious experiences can be broken down into basic components

William James

Opposed Titchener, established Functionalism

Functionalism

This approach emphasized the importance of how behavior functions to allow animals (including people) to adapt to their environment

Mary Whiton Calkins

Completed all PhD requirements but was not awarded with a degree because she was a woman. Later, was the first female American Psychological Association president

Margaret Floy Washburn

First female to complete PhD requirements and be awarded the degree, second female APA president

Charles Henry Turner

First African American to conduct psychological research, discovered that insects can hear and learn from experience.

Ivan Pavlov

Established Classical Conditioning

B.F. Skinner

Established behaviorism

Behaviorism

This approach claimed that Psychology should be an objective science that studies behaviors without referencing inner mental processes

Sigmund Freud

Established psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis

This approach emphasizes the ways in which our unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect our behavior

Abraham Maslov and Carl Rogers

Established Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic Psychology

This approach focused on humans’ growth potential, their need for love and acceptance, and the environments that nurture or limit personal growth

Cognitive Psych.

study of mental processes

Developmental Psych.

studies psychological changes across the life span

Personality Psych.

How patterns of thoughts and behaviors make someone unique

Social Psych.

The study of how we think about, influence, and relate with each other

Clinical Psych.

Focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

Systemic Empiricism

systematically make observations and evaluate evidence to test ideas and answer questions, most likely to produce valid knowledge

Experimental Research

Manipulates variable and can make casual inference

Correlation Research

Measures variables of interest without manipulating them

Ex: Surveys, observational studies, case studies

Population

the entire group of interest

Sample

A small selected group from the population

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable in the experiment that is being manipulated

Dependant Variable (DV)

The variable in the experiment that is being measured

Statistical Tests

After data has been collected, researchers may want to compare the
outcome between the IV levels to determine whether a hypothesis is
supported or not

Ex: T-Test, ANOVA, Pearsons Correlation

T-Test

compares the averages between only 2 groups

ANOVA

compares the averages between 2 or more groups

Pearsons Correlation

measures strength and direction of the association between 2 variables

Survey

Administer lists of questions

Advantage: Efficient distribution (e.g., online via email) and large
sample size gathered quickly

Disadvantage: Responses can be inaccurate, and other factors may
not be controlled for

Observational Studies

Observing behavior as it is occurring naturally in the world

Advantage: Results generalize to real world

Disadvantage: Lack of control; requires a lot of time and potentially money

Case Studies

Focuses on One or A Few people only

Advantage: Depth of information

Disadvantage: Difficult to generalize

Positive Direction Association

as one variable increases, the other variable increases (uphill
direction)

Negative Direction Association

as one variable increases, the other variable decreases (downhill
direction)

Not at all

there is no apparent relationship (no clear increase or decrease in
either variable – no direction!)

Strong Strength Association

Knowing how one variable changes tells you A LOT about the other
variable

Weak Strength Association

Knowing how one variable changes tells you VERY LITTLE about the
other variable

The Correlation Coefficient

a number (“r”) that we get from a Pearson’s Correlation test. This number can fall anywhere between -1 and 1 and tells us the Strength and Direction of the association

APA’s 5 Ethical Principals

1) Beneficence and Non-Maleficence

2) Fidelity and Responsibility

3) Integrity

4) Justice

5) Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity

Biological Psychology

The branch of psychology that studies the relationship between biology
and behavioral and mental processes

Neuroscience

The scientific study of the Nervous System

Phrenology

Suggested that bumps on the skull overlie enlarged brain regions which were matched to specific behaviors

psuedoscience

a set of practices and/or beliefs that seem factual but actually fail when applied to the scientific method

Neurons

Cells of the nervous system that receive and transmit information

Glial Cells

Cells that support neurons

Dendrites

Receive information

Axons

Transmits (carries) the information

Myelin Sheath

Speeds up the transmission inside the axon

Axon Terminals

Send the information to the next neuron

Neuron membrane

seperates the fluid INside and OUTside the neuron, inner and outer fluid contain ions

Ions

Atoms with either and negative or positive charge

Atoms are made of:

Protons (positive charge, sit in nucleus)

Neutrons (neutral charge, sit in nucleus)

Electrons (negative charge, orbit nucleus)

Sometimes Atoms can give up or
gain electrons

This will turn the Atom into an Ion

An Atom that gives up an electron will
become a?

positively charged ion

An Atom that gains an electron will
become a?

negatively charged ion

Resting Membrane Potential

When a neuron is in a restful state but prepared to activate and transmit information

During Rest:

1. Na+ and Cl- are more concentrated in the outside fluid

2. K+ and A- are more concentrated inside the neuron

At Rest the channels that fit Na+ are always closed, the channels that K+ fit, are always open

Activation

neurons get stimulated by other neurons and become active, the membrane will open its Sodium Channels to the outer fluid

Polarized

the neuron is at rest

Initiation Phase

of an Action Potential

As Na+ enters the cell, the inside charge slightly increases. In other words, the inside charge becomes more and more positive.

Action Potential is initiated when?

the threshold charge (-55mV) is reached

Depolarization (Rising Phase)

•Upon reaching threshold, all remaining Na+ gates in the area open

•Na+ floods the inside of the neuron causing the charge to shoot up and making the inside more positive

•Inside charge is now +40mV

Repolarization (Falling Phase)

•Upon reaching an inside charge of +40mV, the membrane closes its Na+ gates

•K+ gates then open, allowing K+ ions to leave the cell

•This causes the inside charge to drop again

Hyperpolarization (Resetting Phase)

•Too much K+ leaves the cell, resulting in a much lower charge than needed (-75mV)

•The sodium potassium pump then restores the initial ion balance

•Neuron returns to resting state (-70mV)

Sodium-Potassium Pumps

restore order and help bring the cell back to rest

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that bind to receptors on the postsynaptic neuron

Synaptic Cleft (Synapse)

the small space between two communicating neurons

GABA

Inhibitory messages, anxiety disorders

Glutamate

Excitatory messages, seizures

Nervous System

The body’s complex and organized communication network consisting of all the nerve cells

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Brain and Spinal Cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

All the nerves in the rest of the body

Autonomic Nervous System

Controls internal organ functions

Sympathetic Nervous System

Fight or Flight – high arousal

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Rest and Digest – low arousal

Somatic Nervous System

Controls Sensory Systems and Voluntary Motor Movements

Contralaterally

The left hemisphere controls the right
side of the body and vice versa

Major Divisions of the Brain

Cortex

Subcortex

Midbrain

Hindbrain

Frontal Lobe

Higher-Level Cognition (attention, decision making, impulse control, personality), Voluntary Movement (speech)

Parietal Lobe

somatosensation and spatial navigation

Temporal Lobe

hearing, speech comprehension, and complex visual processing (e.g., faces)

Occipital Lobe

visual processing

Thalamus

Relay station for all incoming sensory info (except smell)

Hypothalamus

Controls eating, drinking, temperature, and hormones (+ many more)

Hippocampus

Involved in memory process

Amygdala

Involved in fear, anger, and emotion

Midbrain

contains structures involved in visual and auditory reflexes, sleep, and movement

Cerebellum

Coordination and balance (+ many
more)

Pons

swallowing and chewing, connects hindbrain to rest of brain

Medulla

controls autonomic nervous system processes

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Captures structural image of the brain with high detail (no information about activity)

Functional MRI (fMRI)

Brain regions that are more active will recruit more blood flood, fMRI captures changes in blood flow

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Injected radioactive chemical provides detailed functional and structural image

Computerized Tomography (CT)

Provides X-ray image of brain