PSY 101 exam 1

what is psychology?

psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior

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(mind: internal experiences of self and the world

behavior: actions and responses that are observable and measurable)

wundt

they call me the father of scientific psychology; i established the first psychology research laboratory in germany in 1879

james

i wrote the *Principles of Psychology* in 1890 and established functionalism, the first school of psychology in the united states. I am also considered the father of american psychology

freud

i was most controversial in my day for I wrote about unconscious conflicts, sex, and the importance of early childhood experiences

watson

i believe if you’re going to study behavior you have to be able to observe it and measure it. you cannot observe a thought

mary calkins

first female psychologist

metacognition

understanding how we think and learn and reflecting on that process

humanistic-positive perspective

emphasizes working toward reaching our full potential and finding happiness

behavioral perspective

the study of observable behavior

neuro/genetic perspective

influences of biological factors, including genotypes and the nervous system

cognitive perspective

how mental processes work

social/cross-cultural perspective

how the environment we are currently in and are raised in influence behavior

evolutionary perspective

studying how the psychological traits we posses were early adaptive mechanisms

psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic approach

the unconscious, early childhood experiences (freud)

is psychology more nature of nurture?

equally important

subdiscipline of psych- cognitive psychologist

the study of how we perceive information, how we learn and remember, how we acquire and use language, and how we solve problems

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* A *cognitive psychologist* asks people to do a driving simulation task and measures delays to different distractions.

subdiscipline of psych- developmental psychology

explores how thought and behavior change and show stability across the life span

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* A *developmental psychologist* measures how many words a two-year-old says when with their parent compared to when with a stranger.

subdiscipline of psych- behavioral neuroscience

studies the links among brain, mind, and behavior. neuroscience cuts across various disciplines and subdisciplines of psychology. one can study the brain functions involved in leaning, emotion, social behavior, mental illness, etc.

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* A *behavioral neuroscientist* examines fMRI scans while people recount negative memories.

subdiscipline of psych- personality psychology

considers what makes people unique, as well as the consistencies in people’s behavior across time and situations

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* A *personality psychologist* administers intelligence tests to anxious and secure fraternal and identical twins.

subdiscipline of psych- social psychology

considers how the real or imagines presence of others influences thought, feeling, and behavior

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* A *social psychologist* examines stereotype conformity when surrounded by peers, compared to authority figures.

subdiscipline of psych- clinical psychology

focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and ways to promote psychological health

* A *clinical psychologist* has just completed an intake (initial or background-gathering)interview with an apparently depressed gentleman who lost his job on month ago

subdiscipline of psych- health psychology

examines the role of psychological factors in physical health and illness

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* A *health psychologist* measures men’s body dysmorphia.

subdiscipline of psych- school psychology

studies how students learn, the effectiveness of particular teaching techniques, the dynamics of school populations, and the psychology of teaching

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* An educational psychologist designs a new standardized math test for the state, while a *school*

*psychologist* goes over test results with the parents of a child who appears to have a reading disability.

subdiscipline of psych- industrial/organizational (IO) psychology

an applied science, meaning it requires understanding the real-world rather than a laboratory behavior. involved matching employees to their jobs and aims to make workers more productive and satisfied with work environments

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* A *I/O psychologist* has been hired as a consultant for a company that has had a dramatically high

employee turnover rate for the past 2 years.

subdiscipline of psych- sports psychology

examines the psychological factors that affect performance and participation in sports and exercise

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* A *sports psychologist* has been hired to work with a minor league baseball team that has had two losing seasons.

subdiscipline of psych- community psychology

focuses on how individuals are connected to and part of their communities

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* A *community psychologist* meets with community members, groups, and organizations to address local houselessness.

subdiscipline of psych- forensic psychology

blend of psychology, law, and criminal justice

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* A *forensic psychologist* testifies in court to the mental state of a woman claiming workers compensation for an alleged Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) she received falling off a ladder at work.

empiricism

philosopher john locke established a view that knowledge and thoughts come from experience and observations, a point of view known as _____

steps of the scientific method

o   **Observe**

o   **Predict** (make a specific hypothesis)

o   **Test** (design a study and collect data)

o   **Interpret** (analyze results and interpret findings, (risk of overinterpretation))

o   **Communicate** (publish/present findings)

o   **Replicate** (why? - question again, again, and again)

validity

measuring all of what you actually need to measure, measuring all aspects of what you need to measure

reliability

must experience the same result many times to be considered reliable

independent variable

variable manipulated by the researcher

dependent variable

changes due to the effect of the manipulated variable

*___* variable affects change in the ___ variable

independent, dependent

identify the dependent & independent variables

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a cognitive psychologist would like to find out whether more extensive education might protect individuals from dementia and related disorders later in life

independent variable: education

dependent variable: dementia/related disorders \`

correlation

a mutual relationship/connection between two or more things

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example: height and weight

causation

the act of causing something

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example: how many hours you work and how much money you get paid

3 examples of “correlational language”

* related to
* linked with
* associated with

examples of “casual language”

* affects
* causes
* makes
* leads to
* helps
* impacts
* “you should…”

hypothesis

a specific, informed, and testable prediction of what kind of outcome should occur under a particular condition

pseudoscience

refers to practices that appear to be and claim to be science but do not use scientific method to reach their conclusions

replication

the repetition of a study that either confirms or disconfirms the original result

descriptive designs

researcher makes no prediction and does not try to control any variables. they simply defines a problem or interest and describes as carefully as possible the variable of interest

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* naturalistic observations
* case studies
* surveys

case studies

gathered by observing one person, often over a long period of time

qualitative research

data gathered from open-ended and unstructured answers, rather than quantitative or numeric answers

quantitative research

research that collects information using any kind of numeric and quantifiable scale and often has limited response options

correlational studies

measurer two or more variables and their relationship to one another

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* survey
* observational

experimental studies

experimental manipulation of a predicted cause, the independent variable

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random assignment of participants to control and experimental groups or conditions, meaning that each participant has an equal chance of being placed in a group

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longitudinal studies

make observations of the same people over time, ranging from months to decades. useful for studying change over time and can be used to study how specific causes affect specific outcomes

twin studies

observing the effects of genetics and environment is to study twins who are adopted or not and compare them to other siblings who are adopted or not

self-report measure

people’s written or oral accounts of their feelings, thoughts, or actions

behavioral measures

involve the systematic observation of people’s actions either in their normal environment (naturalistic observation) or in a lab setting

physiological measures

provide data on bodily responses

confirmation bias

the tendency to selectively attend to information that confirms one’s general beliefs while ignoring information or evidence that contradicts one’s beliefs

social desirability bias

people present themselves more favorably than they really are, not wanting to reveal what they are really thinking or feeling to others for fear of looking bad

effect size

a measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables

informed consent

tell participants in general terms what the study is about, what they will do and how long it will take, what the known risks and benefits are, and whom to contact with questions. they have the right to withdraw and must be signed by the participant (signed by guardian if under 18)

respect for persons

safeguard the dignity and autonomy of the individual and take extra precautions when dealing with study participants, such as children, who are less likely to understand that their participation is voluntary

beneficence

inform participants of costs and benefits of participation

privacy and confidentiality

protect the privacy of the participant, generally by keeping all responses confidential. confidentiality ensures that participants’ identities are never directly connected w the data they provide in the study

justice

benefits and costs must be distributed equally among participants

epigenetics

nature and nurture together influence who we are

3 major types of neurons

o   **Sensory neurons:** Transmits impulses from sensory organs (example: skin, someone taps u on the shoulder so sensory neurons send the message to the brain and the brain tells u what that means) to brain & spinal cord

o   **Motor Neurons:** Transmits impulses from brain & spinal cord to muscles and organs (example: taking in that someone is tapping you and your output from that information is caused by motor neurons)

o   **Interneurons:** Perform connective or associative functions

two cells of the nervous system

* **glial cells:** “glue”, surrounded neurons; hold them in place, makes myelin (myelin protects the neurons)
* **neurons:** building blocks of the nervous system, process & transmit information in the nervous system (through neurotransmitters)

how do neurons communicate with each other?

neural communication, a two-step process including action potential and neurotransmission

dopamine

plays an important role in arousal, mood (especially positive mood); oversupply correlates with schizophrenia; voluntary muscle control

epinephrine

increases ANS activity; fight-or-flight response

norepinephrine

affects CNS activity; plays role in increasing alertness, attention

serotonin

plays role in mood, sleep, eating, temperature regulation; undersupply correlates with anxiety and depression

GABA

is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain; slows CNS function; correlates with anxiety and intoxication

frontal lobe function

speech, personality, problem solving, emotional processing, planning

parietal lobe function

sensory (temp and touch perception), reading, writing

temporal lobe function

language comprehension, behavior, hearing

occipital lobe function

vision

wernicke’s aphasia

can speak understood words, but cannot create a reasonable sentence with them. but can write correctly

broca’s aphasia

cannot form the sounds of speech into normal words, but can write correctly

action potential triggers what?

neurotransmission

brain hemispheres and functions

sensation

the stimulation of our sense organs by our outer world (example: eyes sensitive to light waves, ears to sound, skin to touch) “I see…hear…feel…smell…taste… something”

perception

the act of organizing and interpreting sensory experience “I see a cat” “i hear footsteps”

absolute threshold

the lowest intensity level of a stimulus we can detect 50% of the time

difference threshold

\-       the smallest difference that can be detected 50% of the time

sensory adaption

sensitivity diminished when we experience constant stimulation (ex: sight (adapting to darkness/brightness), hearing (crickets outside, living in a big city))

Trichromatic Color Theory

perception of color comes from the combination of activating different cones

Opponent process Theory:

Cones are linked together (blue/yellow, red/green, black/white), activating one inhibits the other

rods

play a key role in night vision b/c they are most responsive to dark-and-light contrast

cones

responsible for color vision and are most functional in conditions of bright light

act much more quickly than rods

fusiform face area

viewing a face activates neurons in this area

what causes hearing loss?

* if hair cells in the inner ear become damaged
* when a person is exposes to very loud noises once or mederatlt loud noises over long periods of time

gestalt laws

* **similarity**: tendency to group like objects together
* **continuity**: we see points bro lines in such a way that they follow a continuous path
* **proximity**: we tend to group together objects that are near one another
* **closure**: occurs when e perceive a whole object in the absence of complete infomation
* **figure-ground**: the figure is the thing that stands in front of a somewhat unformed background

phantom limb syndrome

when people who have lost a limb feel pain in the missing arm or leg

synesthesia

occurs when a person experiences sensations in one sense when a different sense is stimulated

(senses get mixed up example: experience yellow or taste shapes)

Who proposed a model of personality development with 8 stages, each defined by an identity crisis or conflict?

erik erickson

the ___ transmits electrical impulses toward the adjacent neuron

axon

___ says that the size of the just noticeable difference is a constant fraction of the intensity of the stimulus (E.G. 3% for weight perception)

weber’s law

what type of training can improve memory and attention?

mindfulness meditation

in the eye, ___ convert light energy into nerve energy

photoreceptors

zelda is a 2 year old and is mad her older cousin cason, got two cookies when she only got one, zelda’s mother breaks her cookie in half, giving her two halves. zelda is satisfied that things are even between her and cason because she has not yet acquired

low of conservation

in the forebrain, the ___ is responsible for forming new memories, while the ___ is responsible for processing emotions (especially fear)

hippocampus

amygdala

who is credited with giving psychology independence from philosophy and physiology?

wundt