Comprehensive Psychology and Neuroscience: Key Concepts and Research Methods Listen as a podcast Add to calendar

Psychology

The scientific study of human and animal behavior and mental processes.

Dualism

There is a distinction between the mind and the brain.

Monism

There is no distinction between the mind and the brain.

Nature vs. Nurture

A long past, but a short history.

Modern experimental psychology

Started in 1879.

Structuralism

What are the structures of the mind?

Functionalism

What function does the mind serve?

Behaviorism

Psychologists should study observable behavior.

S-R Psychology

SR stands for Stimulus response.

Psychoanalytic

The unconscious mind controls behavior.

Cognitive perspective

Acquiring, processing, and storing information.

S-O-R Psychology

Stimulus-Organism-Response Psychology.

Biological/Genetic perspective

Neurotransmitters, hormones, & genes affect behavior.

Evolutionary perspective

D. Buss's view on proximate vs. ultimate explanations.

Proximate explanations

Immediate factors as causal mechanisms.

Ultimate explanations

Evolutionary principles as causal mechanisms.

Independent Variable (IV)

The manipulated variable that defines experimental conditions.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The participants' measured response.

Internal Validity

Only the IV affects the DV.

External Validity

Generalizability of the findings to other populations and other settings.

Research ethics

IRBs evaluate potential benefits versus costs.

Glial Cells

Supporting cells for neurons.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit signals across synapses.

Acetylcholine

Involved in memory and neuromuscular junctions.

Dopamine

Associated with Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.

Serotonin

Regulates sleep, dreaming, and mood.

GABA

Inhibitory neurotransmitter associated with anxiety.

Agonists

Fit into receptors and mimic the action of natural neurotransmitters.

Antagonists

Fit into receptors and block the action of natural neurotransmitters.

Cirrhosis of the liver

12th leading cause of death (38k).

Frontal lobes

Target of lobotomies/lobectomies.

Gestalt

The whole is different from the sum of the parts.

Law of Proximity

We see objects that are spatially close to each other as a whole.

Depth Perception Cues

Includes accommodation, binocular disparity, and motion parallax.