Intro To Psychology Exam 1

Intro, 1, 2, 5

Psychology

The scientific study of the mind and behavior

What does psychology involve

understanding ourselves and others

Stories to remember about trusting your intuition and being critical

Story about lady asking for money for landlord, lady asking for money to buy diapers

Patient X

Man who had stroke and lost sight (1/2 pathways to vision were blocked, the high road) this revealed a second pathway, low road, for sight

The Amygdala

extracts emotional meaning from non verbal messages (emotional subtext from low road)

What is psychology based on

scientific method; observation and documentation

What does psychology believe about behavior

it is multi-factorial causation of behavior- never a single cause

Psychologist who studied world cup penalty shots

noticed that anxiety, pressure, perceived control, speed, emotional contagions of teammates and crowd impact performance

Psychology is theoretically diverse

It is based on a variety of perspectives, there are many areas of psychology

Capuchin monkey

Like cucumbers, love grapes. When one monkey was given cucumbers but the other was given grapes, the one given cucumbers got really mad. They have an idea of fairness.

How is our experience of the world

Highly subjective; influenced by mood, culture, background, attention, and perspective

Why science

1. Curiosity (why people do what they do)

2. Complexity (human behavior is unpredictable)

3. Challenge (our own behaviors, emotions, and behaviors can be confusing to even ourselves.)

Empiricism

experience is the soul source of knowlege

Skepticism

an attitude of doubt

Hans the horse

Was famous for being able to count and do math; in reality, he was trained to read human behavior

Scientific Methods

1. observation (leads to description, surveys, case studies; mom with baby)

2. correlation (a relationship between two variables that vary together. correlation v. causation)

3. experimentation (used to discern cause and effect, manipulating factors.)

Correlation V. Causation

Correlations can be explained by a 3rd variable like age or weather. Correlation does not equal causation. Ex. taking vitamins and being a drug user. Leads to prediction and indicates the possibility of causation.

Experimentation factors

Independent Variable

Dependent Variable

(in mom and baby video, independent variable was the moms face and the dependent variable was the baby’s reaction)

Experimental v. Control Group: experimental was moms face, control was just being normal.

Who are psychologists

those with education and training

5 yrs for MA/Phd

3yrs for marriage and family therapy

psychiatrists earn MD in med school (different)

Founders of Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt, William James, John B. Watson

Wilhelm Wundt

structuralism (structure of the brain)

William James

Functionalism (what parts of the brain do what)

John B. Watson

Behaviorism (why we do what we do)

What three ideas make up psychology

Structuralism

Functionalism

Behaviorism

Falling in love

dopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin

Anxiety

amygdala, cortisol, adrenaline

Memories

hippocampus, structural brain changes

Neuropsychology

Everything psychological is simultaneously biological

Mental Health

Imbalances in serotonin

Nervous system

Electrochemical communications system, including peripheral nervous system (PNS), central nervous system (CNS), and neurons (nerve cells), Neurotransmitters

Peripheral nervous system

No bones, just nerves

Somatic (voluntary) vs. Automatic (self-regulating)

Automatic includes sympathetic (arousing) and parasympathetic (calming, think of parachute)

Somatic nervous system

Voluntary control of our skeletal muscles, ½ components of peripheral nervous system.

Automatic nervous system

Controls glands and internal organ muscles, ½ components of peripheral nervous system

Also includes Sympathetic (arouses and expends energy) and Parasympathetic (calms you down and conserves energy) WHY? to maintain homeostasis

Optic Nerve

carries signals from eyes to brain (allows us to see)

Auditory nerve

conducts acoustically for hearing (allows us to hear)

Vagus

longest nerve, controls heart rate, stomach, and s*x arousal

Central Nervous System (CNS)

has bone surrounding it, neurons talking to other neurons, brain and spinal cord. Neural networks, short and fast connections, neurons that fire together wire together, connect peripheral nervous system and the brain

Neurons

Nerve cells!! electrical and chemical, all or none response.

Mirror neurons!!

each nerve cell is a decision making device

Mirror Neurons

respond to what you see others do as if you were them. people with autism have broken mirror neurons.

mimicry, bonding, sympatico

1

Dendrites (receives neurotransmitters from sending neutron)

2

Cell Body

4

myelin sheath covering axon

5

Axon Terminals (send neurotransmitters to the recieving neuron)

Neurotransmitters

either excitors (sending message) or inhibitors (stop message from being sent)

Excitors

Acetylcholine (muscle control, brain function, automatic regulation)

dopamine (drugs)

endorphins (natural pain killer, think runners high)

serotonin (boosts mood)

adrenaline/epinephrine (Fight or flight, body response)

Inhibitor

GABBA inhibitor (slows you down, anti-anxiety, often used in anesthesia)

Types of drugs

Agonist (increases a neurotransmitters action, mimics neurotransmitter)

Antagonist (blocks neurotransmitters, decreased action)

Narcotics (increase pleasure, decrease pain. To make numb or sleep.)

Organization of the brain

1. brain stem (automatic survival system, begins where spinal cord swells as it enters the skull)

2. limbic system (emotional states, drives)

3. cortex (receives and processes information, makes decisions, directs voluntary actions.)

geographical divisions of the brain

Frontal (in front)

Parietal (top)

occipital (back)

Temporal (by temples)

Divided brain

it is possible to sever the corpus callosum to prevent seizures, separating the two hemispheres of the brain (left and right)

video of woman able to write what she saw though she couldn’t tell researcher what she saw.

3 weeks

first brain cells

7 weeks

brain stem

8 weeks

face, hands, feet

15 weeks

grasp, frown, squint, grimmace

20 weeks

taste and smell

22

cortex controls limbs

age of viability

28 weeks

interneurons form linking cells

30 weeks

sleep and wake patterns

Nature V Nurture

Genes v experience

Genetic factors (40-50% of personality) make up nature

prenatal and postnatal chemical factors, general and individual experimental factors, and traumatic factors (50-60% of personality) make up nurture

Marshmallow study

Kids were given a marshmallow and told if they could wait to eat it, they could have 2! Those who could wait had more prefrontal cortex activity, while those who couldn’t wait had more pleasure circuitry which is linked to addictions.

Stages of development

Zygote (0-2 weeks)

Embryo (2-8 weeks)

Fetus (8+ weeks)

Teratogens

potentially harmful viruses or chemicals (alcohol, drugs, x-rays, measles)

Motor Development and reflexes

Rooting reflex (tendency to open mouth and search for nipple when touched on cheek)

Newborn preferances

Human voices and faces, smell and sound of parents

Harlow’s studies

baby monkeys were more likely to cling to a cloth monkey than a wire monkey even though the wire monkey was where they were fed.

Physical touch with pre-mature infants

pre-mature infants were rubbed and given physical affection, and the babies who were touched were released from the hospital around 30 days before those who were not touched.

Jean Piaget

studied how knowledge is acquired, focusing on errors in cognition, thinking, and knowing; studied schemas (assimilations/accommodations)

Egocentrism

toddlers think that the world revolves around them.

6 contemporary perspectives of psychology

Biological, Behavioral, Cognitive, psychodynamic, humanistic, and sociocultural