Introductory Psychology (CLEP)

Psychology

The scientific study of human behavior and mental processes

Structuralism

Early school of psychology that believes that consciousness is made up of basic elements combined in different ways to produce perceptions.

Strove to find the basic elements of mental experiences using introspection

William Wundt was part of this school of psychology

Structuralism

Functionalism

This school of psychology was interested in the processes of the human condition.

Believed that consciousness helped people adjust to their environment and that understanding the mind = understanding what it could accomplish

William James was part of this school of psychology

Functionalism

Biological Approach

Physiological and biochemical explanations are the roots of behaviors.

Genetics, hormones, and neurotransmitters are the root of human behavior

Behavioral Approach

Learned responses to predictable patterns of external stimuli

Psychodynamic Approach

Unmet needs / desires from childhood determine your personality.

Unconscious elements of the psyche & the way it attaches to parental relationships from youth present themselves in adulthood.

Defense mechanisms play a key role in personality development

Id

Operates for pleasure; “I want this and I want it now”

Superego

Morals & values; preservation of social standards

Ego

Reality principle; moderates id and superego

Cognitive Approach

Developed in reaction to behaviorist approach.

Focused on elements that weren’t externally observable (memory, attention, thought processes, etc.)

Humanistic Approach

Developed in reaction to behaviorist and psychodynamic approaches.

We have free will and we are motivated to grow & develop into high-functioning beings

Psychologists associated with humanistic approach

Maslow: hierarchy of needs

Carl Rogers: people are basically good and drive to achieve unconditional positive regard

Psychologists associated with behaviorist approach

Pavlov: classical conditioning

B.F. Skinner: Operant conditioning

Psychologist associated with psychodynamic approach

Sigmund Freud

Case studies

Clinical research method.

Individual cases of studying a condition

Naturalistic Observation

Clinical research technique.

Observe behaviors of a group in their natural environment

Clinical Interviews

Clinical research technique.

Clinicians interview a participant

Correlational Research Method

Explores how two variables relate to each other w/o variable manipulation.

Does NOT measure cause and effect

Correlational Coefficient

Describes the correlation between two variables on a -1.0 to +1.0 scale.

-1.0 indicates that the increase of one variable results in a decrease in the other.

+1.0 indicates that the increase of one variable results in an increase in the other.

Surveys

Correlational research technique.

Self-report, subject to bias

The 3 Ethics in Research

1. Participants must be treated morally and respectfully

2. Participants must be informed of study’s purpose, duration, and process

3. Any possible harm should be disclosed

Endocrine System

Made up of glands that secrete hormones which are secreted into the blood streamho

Hormones

Chemical messengers that regulate bodily functions (i.e. metabolism, growth rate, blood pressure)

Pituitary Gland

Activated by the hypothalamus and controls the other glands in the body

Thyroid Gland

Releases hormones that regulate growth, metabolism, and appetiteA

Adrenal Glands

Sit atop the kidneys and secrete hormones involved in stress response such as epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline)

Pancreas

Organ that secretes hormones that regulate blood sugar levels: insulin and glucagon

Gonads

Contain sex hormones (testosterone, progesterone, estrogen)

Etiology

Biological explanation for mental disorders within psychology.

Ex: genetic predisposition & hereditary links, imbalanced neurotransmitters, atypical neuroanatomy

Neurons

Cells that are specialized to send and receive information across the body

Dendrites

Receive information from other neurons

Axons

Transmits information from the dendrites to the terminal buttons

Myelin sheath

Fatty substance that insulates the axon, increasing the transmission speed along the axonN

Neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers of the nervous system that are stored in the axon terminal

Synapse

Space between neurons where communication and reuptake occur

Acetylcholine

Neurotransmitter involved in muscle action and memory

Beta-endorphine

Neurotransmitter involved in pain, pleasure

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter involved in mood, sleep, and learning.

Associated with anticipation and motivation

GABA

Neurotransmitter involved in brain function and sleep

Glutamate

Neurotransmitter involved in memory and learning

Norepinephrine

Neurotransmitter involved in the heart, intestines, and alertness

Serotonin

Neurotransmitter involved in mood and sleep.

Associated with stability and relaxation

Central Nervous System

Compromised of the brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

Connects the CNS to the rest of the body

Sensory / Afferent Neurons

Transmit information from body to CNS (ARRIVES at CNS)

Motor / Efferent Neurons

Send info from CNS to body (EXITS CNS)

Agonists

Drugs that are used to increase neural activity

Antagonists

Drugs used to decrease neural activity

Somatic PNS

Carries info to and from CNS.

Associated with activities thought of as voluntary

Autonomic PNS

Controls internal environment of the body.

Associated with activities thought of as involuntary

Sympathetic NS

Part of the autonomic PNS.

Deals with stress, prepares body for action

Parasympathetic NS

Part of autonomic PNS.

Helps body relax

Genetics

Plays a large role in how/when learning, growing, and development occur.

Does NOT determine behavior, but has a significant impact on what we do and why

Cerebellum

Part of the hindbrain; associated with coordination of voluntary movement.

Balance, motor skills, procedural memory

Pons

Part of the hindbrain; bridge between spinal cord and brain.

Involved in regulating brain activity during sleepMe

Medulla

Part of the hindbrain; controls autonomic nervous system (breathing, heart rate, blood pressure)

Thalamus

Located in the forebrain; sensory relay for the brain (all senses but smell)

Limbic System

System of the brain involved in processing both emotion and memory.

Consists of hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala

Hypothalamus

Located in the midbrain; regulates a number of homeostatic processes.

Also an interface between nervous system and endocrine system

Hippocampus

Located in the midbrain; essential structure for learning and memory

Amygdala

Located in the midbrain; involved in experiencing emotions and tying emotional meaning to memories

Cerebral Cortex

The distinctive, lumpy outer surface of the brain.

Involved with motor functions, cognitive & sensory processes, higher order functions

Corpus Callopsum

Connects the two hemispheres of the brain

Frontal Lobe

Lobe involved in reasoning, motor control, emotion and language.

Contains motor cortex, prefrontal cortex (higher-level cognitive functioning), and Broca’s area (language production)

Parietal Lobe

Lobe involved with processing sensory input from the body.

Contains the somatosensory cortex (essential for processing sensory info)

Temporal Lobe

Lobe associated with hearing, memory, and some aspects of language.

Contains auditory cortex, Wernicke’s area (speech comprehension)

Occipital Lobe

Lobe that contains primary visual cortex and is essential for interpreting visual information

EEG

Test that measures brain’s electrical activity.

Helpful for understanding sleep

fMRI

Examination that measures brain activity over time by tracking blood flow and oxygen levels

CT Scan

A test that involves taking x-rays of the brain to construct an overall image of brain structures

PET Scan

Test that creates pictures of the living, active brain.

Subject consumes radioactive tracer to make brain activity capturable

Sensation

The transformation from outside stimuli into neural energy

Perception

Takes neural energy and creates an image of the outside world

Psychophysics

Area of psychology that addresses sensation.

Levels of intensity; how psychological factors influence our ability to sense stimuli (i.e. motivation, past experience, expectation)

Signal Detection Theory

Theory about how we respond to different degrees of stimuli and detect meaningful information

Selective Attention

Our ideas about reality are chosen, organized, and interpreted

Somesthesis

Touch

Skin-sense

Keep body in, germs out

Kinesthetic Sense

Knowing how the body is moving without visual observation

Vestibular Sense

Sense of balance, motion, spatial awareness, gravity.

Helps us keep eyes on a target while in motion

Olfaction

Sense of smell

Olfactory Bulb

Scents pass through this first.

Has ties to the amygdala & hippocampus which can trigger emotions and memory

Gustation

Sense of taste.

Promotes nutritional needs while helping avoid poison

Utricle & Saccule

Detect linear movement and gravity

Ecological

Nature side of perceptual development.

Some abilities are present at birth and fine-tuning of perceptual processes occurs throughout life

Constructivism

Nurture side of perceptual development.

Construction of perception through learning and reliant on specific experiences

Depth Perception

Allows us to estimate distances.

Binocular cue

Linear Perspective

Monocular clue.

Converging parallel lines give the brain a sense of depth

Transduction

Conversion from sensory stimulus energy to action potential

Absolute Threshold

Refers to the minimum amount of stimulus energy that must be present for the stimulus to be detected 50% of the time

JND (Just Noticeable Difference)

How much difference in stimuli is required to detect a difference between them

Bottom-up processing

Perceptions are built from sensory input.

This way of processing is called…

Top-Down Processing

How we interpret sensations is influenced by our available knowledge, experiences, and thoughts.

This way of processing is called…

Sensory Adaptation

Stimuli that isn’t perceived once it is relatively constant for a long period of time

Inattentional Blindness

Failure to notice something that is completely visible due to a lack of attention

Pupil

Part of the eye where light passes through

Lens

After the light passes through the pupil, it passes through this to provide additional focus

Cones

Photoreceptor cells that work best in bright light conditionsRods