PSYCH 101 Midterm

Psychology

study of behavior & mental processes

Behavior

outward or overt actions & reactions

Mental Processes

internal, covert activity of our minds

Objective Introspection

process of objectively examining & measuring one's thoughts & mental activity

Cognitive Psychology

field focusing on perception, leaning, memory, thought process, problem solving (elementary abilities)

Psychoanalysis

theory & therapy based on Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud's Theory

proposed existence of unconscious mind where we repress out threatening urges & desires

Behaviorism

science of behavior that only focuses on observable behavior

Psychodynamic Perspective

modern version of psychoanalysis focused on development of sense of self & discovery of motivations behind person's behavior

Cognitive Perspective

focuses on information processing, attention, memory, intelligence, perception, problem solving, learning

Sociocultural perspective

focuses on relationship between society, behavior, culture

Biopsychological/neuroscience perspective

attributes human & animal behavior to biological events occuring in the body

What are the 3 levels of analysis?

Biological, psychological, sociocultural

Scientific Method

system of gathering date so bias & error in measurements are reduced

What are the 5 steps of the scientific method?

1. Perceive a question, 2. Form hypothesis, 3. Test hypothesis, 4. Draw conclusions, 5. Report results for others to try & replicate

Case Study

study one individual (typically unusual/special) in great detail

Naturalistic Observation

watching animals or humans behave in their normal environment

Observer Effect

tendency of people or animals to behave differently when they know they're being observed

Participant Observation

natural observation in which the observer becomes a participant in the group being observed (reduces observer effect)

Observer Bias

tendence of observer to see what they expect or want to see

Blind Observers

people who do not know what the research question is or don't know what to expect (reduces observer bias)

Representative Sample

randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects

Lab Observation

watching animals or humans behave in a lab setting

Survey

Researchers ask a series of questions about the topic under study

Correlation

measure of relationship between two various (correlation is not causation)

Experiments

deliberately manipulating a variable to see corresponding changes in behavior result

Independent Variable (IV)

variable in experiment that is manipulated by experimenter

Dependent Variable (DV)

variable that represents measurable response or behavior of the subjects (measured variable)

Operational Definition

definition of variable of interest that allows that allows it to be directly measured

Experimental Group

subjects in experiment who are subjected to independent variable

Control Group

subjects in experiment who are not subjected to independent variable & may receive placebo treatment

Placebo Effect

phenomenon in which expectations of participants can influence behavior

Double-Blind Study

Neither observer nor participants know which subjects are in experimental or control groups (reduces placebo effect & experimenter effect)

Single-Blind Study

subjects don't' know whether they're in experimental or control group (reduces placebo effect)

Experimenter Effect

tendency of experimenter's expectations for study to unintentionally influence result of study

Structuralism

used introspection to define mind's makeup

Functionalism

focused on how mental processes help us adapt, survive, flourish

Mental Processes

internal, subjective experiences we infer from behavior (sensations, thoughts, dreams)

Nature-Nurture Issue

controversy over relative contributions that genes & experience make to development of psychological traits & behavior

Natural Selection

Nature selects traits that best enable organisms to survive

Evolutionary Psychology

study of evolution of behavior & mind using ideas of natural selection

Behavior Genetics

study of relative power & limits of genetic & environmental influences on behavior

Confounding Variable

factor other than factor being studied that might produce an effect

Dendrites

Branchlike parts of a neuron receive information

Soma

Cell body of a neuron

Axon

Long tube of neuron that sends information

Synapse

Connection between axon terminal of one neuron to dendrite of other neuron

Neurotransmitter

Chemicals in synaptic vesicles

Reuptake

A process in which neurotransmitters are taken back into synaptic vesicles & re-used

Hippocampus function

Formation of long-term memories & storage of memory for location of objects

Amygdala function

Fear responses & memory of fear

Thalamus function

Relay's sensory information from lower parts of brain to areas of the cortex & processes some sensory information before sending it to proper areas

Hypothalamus function

Motivation behavior such as sleep, hunger, thirst, sex

Hippocampus location

limbic system structure surrounding the thalamus

Amygdala location

located close to the hippocampus, in the frontal portion of the temporal lobe

Thalamus location

top of brainstem in middle of brain

Hypothalamus location

Below the thalamus & directly above pituitary gland

Occipital Lobe Function

Visual processing Primary visual cortex - processes info from eyes Visual association cortex - identifies & makes sense of visual info

Parietal Lobe Function

Sensory processing Somatosensroy cortex - processes info from skin & internal body receptors for touch, temperature, body position, taste

Temporal Lobe Function

Auditory processing Primary auditory cortex - processes auditory info from ears Auditory association cortex - identifies & makes sense of auditory info

Front Lobe Function

Higher mental processes (decision making/production of fluent speech) Motor cortex - sends motor commands to muscles of somatic nervous system

Occipital Lobe Location

Rear & bottom of each cerebral hemisphere

Parietal Lobe Location

Top & back of each cerebral hemisphere

Temporal Lobe Location

Behind temples

Frontal Lobe Location

Front & top of brain

Corpus Callosum

Thick band of neurons that connect left & right hemisphere

Left Hemisphere

controls the right side of the body, analytical, language, math, Specific details

Right Hemisphere

controls the left side of the body, creative, intuitive, spacial Whole picture

Medulla

the first large swelling at the top of the spinal cord, forming the lowest part of the brain, which is responsible for life-sustaining functions such as breathing, swallowing, and heart rate

Pons

the larger swelling above the medulla that connects the top of the brain to the bottom and that plays a part in sleep, dreaming, left-right body coordination, and arousal

Consciousness

Our subjective awareness of ourselves and everything that is going on around us at any given moment

Waking consciousness

state in which thoughts, feelings, and sensations are clear, organized, and the person feels alert

Selective Attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Attention is a...

limited capacity system (dual-tasking is often just switching attention between tasks, worsening your performance on both tasks)

Inattentional Blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Change Blindness

Form of inattentional blindness, failing to notice changes in the environment

Cognitive Unconscious

the mental processes that give rise to a person's thoughts, choices, emotions, and behavior even though they are not experienced by the person

Dual Processing/Cognitive Processes (includes perception, memory, thinking, language, etc.)

Cognitive processes are the results of both unconscious, automatic and attentional, controlled processes.

Automatic Processes

Don't require attention/conscious awareness, innate/highly practiced, occur in parallel (Ex: breathing, blinking)

Controlled Processes

Requires attention or conscious awareness, new, occur sequentially

Altered States of Consciouousness

Shift in quality/pattern of mental activity compared to waking consciousness

Circadian Rhythm (Circa

about, dian - day) - Cycle of bodily rhythm, occurs over 24 hour period,

Hypothalamus

tiny section of the brain that influences the glandular system

suprachiasmatic nucleus

the internal clock that tells people when to wake up and when to fall asleep

Microsleeps

brief sidesteps into sleep lasting only a few seconds

Sleep Deprivation

any significant loss of sleep, resulting in problems in concentration and irritability

We sleep because:

Brain repair, memory, conserve energy, physical health, growth, can impact physical recovery

Electroencophalography (EEG)

Allows scientists to see brain wave activity as a person passes though the various stages of sleep and to determine what type of sleep the person has entered

REM

stage of sleep in which the eyes move rapidly under the eyelids and the person is typically experiencing a dream

NREM (non-rem) sleep

any of the stages of sleep that do not include REM

N1: Light Sleep

May experience: Hypnagogic images: hallucinations or vivid visual events Hypnic jerk: knees, legs, or whole body jerks

N2: Sleep spindles

brief bursts of activity only lasting a second or two

N3: Deep sleep

deepest stage of sleep (50% or more of waves are delta waves), body at lowest level of functioning, time at which growth occurs

REM sleep is paradoxical because:

the brain is active, but the major skeletal muscles appear to be paralyzed. If wakened during REM sleep, sleepers always report a dream.

REM Rebound

increased amounts of REM sleep after being deprived of REM sleep on earlier nights

During normal sleep:

we cycle between these stages.

Nightmares

bad dreams occurring during REM sleep

REM Behavior Disorder

-mechanism that blocks the movement of the voluntary muscles fails -allows the person to thrash around, or even get up and act out nightmares

Sleepwalking

episode of moving around or walking around in one's sleep, more common among children than adults

Night Terrors

The person experiences extreme fear and screams or runs around during deep sleep. Doesn't wake fully Relatively rare disorder