PSY 102 MIDTERM #1

Psychology

scientific study of the brain, mind and behaviour

multiply determined

produced by many factors

scientific psychology

-process based approach, not concerned with individuals but group norms
-behaviour can be explained in terms of biological, electrical and chemical changes in the brain

humanistic psychology

we can predict behaviour, not through deterministic laws but based on values, language, development and attitudes

structuralism

-Wundt + Titchener
-identify basic elements + "structures" of psychological experience
-'periodic table' of elements of consciousness

introspection

method by which trained observers carefully reflect and report on their mental experiences

functionalism

-William James influenced by Charles Darwin
-evolutionary theory in modern psychology
-identify adaptive purposes or functions of psychological characteristics such as thoughts, feelings + behaviours

behaviourism

-Watson + Skinner
- Uncover general principles of learning underlying human and animal behaviour

natural selection

principle that organisms that possess adaptations survive and reproduce at a higher rate than do other organisms

cognitivism

-Piaget + Neisser
-school of psychology that proposes that thinking is central to understanding behaviour

psychoanalysis

-Freud + Jung
- Focus on internal, psychological processes that control our behaviour (drives)

naive realism

There is one objective reality and we each believe that we see the world precisely as it is

scientific theory

Explanation for a large number of findings or observations that ties multiple findings together.

hypothesis

testable prediction derived from a scientific theory

confirmation bias

tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypotheses and deny, dismiss or distort evidence that contradicts them

apophenia

tendency to perceive meaningful connections among unrelated phenomena

pareidolia

seeing meaningful image in meaningless visual stimuli

emotional reasoning fallacy

using our emotions as guides in evaluating the validity of a claim

bandwagon fallacy

assuming a claim is correct because many people believe it

not me fallacy

error of believing that you are immune from errors that affect other people

belief perseverance

tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them

metaphysical claim

assertion about the world that is not testable

ruling out rival hypotheses

what are other potential explanations for a given behaviour? have other explanations been excluded?

correlation-causation fallacy

error of assuming that because one thing is associated with another, it must cause the other

falsifiability

a good theory or claim must be falsifiable. if there is no way to prove it false, it is not valid

falsifiable

capable of being disproved

replicability

when a study's findings are able to be duplicated, ideally by independent investigators

extraordinary claims

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

Occam's razor (parsimony)

simplest explanation for a given set of data is usually the best one

heuristics

Mental shortcuts or "rules of thumb" that often lead to a solution (but not always).

base rate fallacy

fail to consider how common a given characteristics or behaviour is in general population

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of an event based on the ease with which it comes to mind

hindsight bias

"I knew it all along" effect, our tendency to overestimate how well we could have predicted a given outcome

overconfidence

tendency to overestimate our ability to make correct predictions across many domains

theory

integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events

a good theory

effectively summarizes, leads to clear predictions, often stimulates research, may be replicated, not redundant

operationalization

translate variables from a theoretical level to specific, measurable variables

random selection

Every person in the population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate

population

the total group a researcher wishes to study & make inferences about

sample

a subset of the population

reliability

consistency of measurement

test-retest reliability

yields similar scores over time

inter-rater reliability

consensus among people rating/making observations of a given behaviour

validity

extent to which a measure is assessing what it claims to be assessing

naturalistic observation

watching behaviour in real-world settings without trying to manipulate the situation

external validity

extent to which we can generalize findings to real-world settings

internal validity

extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences from a study

case study

Studying one or a small number of people for an extended period of time

correlational design

research design that examines the extent to which two variables are associated

positive correlation

as one variable increases, so does the other

negative correlation

as one variable increases, the other decreases

zero correlation

no relationship between variables

illusory correlation

perception of a statistical association between two variables where none exists

independent variable

variable that an experimenter manipulates

dependent variable

variable that an experimenter measures to see whether the manipulation has an effect

random assignment

randomly sorting participants into two groups

experimental group

group of participants that receives the manipulation

control group

group of participants that doesn't receive the manipulation

between-subjects design

researchers assign different groups to the control or experimental condition

within-subjects design

participants are their own control group

placebo effect

improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement

nocebo effect

harm resulting from the expectation of harm

experimenter expectancy effect

phenomenon in which researchers hypothesis leads them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study

artificiality

participants act differently in a lab than they do in their everyday life

informed consent

informing research participants of what is involved in a study before asking them to participate

justice

risks should not fall disproportionately on certain segments of the population

harms/benefits

potential harms should not outweigh potential benefits

descriptive statistics

Numerical characteristics that summarize or describe the data

measures of central tendency

where the data tends to cluster together

mean

average; a measure of central tendency. total score divided by the \# of participants

median

middle score in a data set, splits the sample in half

mode

most frequently occurring score

variability

measure of how loosely or tightly bunched scores are

range

difference between the highest and lowest scores

standard deviation

how far each data point is from the mean

inferential statistics

mathematical methods that allow us to determine whether we can generalize findings from our sample to the full population

statistical significance

probability that our result occurred by chance (expressed as p value)

practical significance

an observed relationship that is large enough to be of value in a practical sense

neurons

nerve cells specialized to communicate with each other

cell body (soma)

Center of neuron; builds new cell components

dendrites

Branch-like extension that receive information from other neurons

axon

"Tail" of the neuron that spreads out from the cell body and transit information

myelin sheath

insulation for axons

axon terminal

knob-like structure at the end of the axon, containing synaptic vesicles

synaptic vesicles

contain the chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters.
-produced by cell body, SV's travel down the axon until bursting at the axon terminal, releasing neurotransmitters
-received by neighbouring dendrites

synapses

-tiny fluid-filled space between neurons including a synaptic cleft
-dendrites of nearby neurons pick up the neurotransmitters

synaptic cleft

tiny gap into which neurotransmitters are released

glial cells

cells in nervous system that plays a role in formation of myelin and the blood-brain barrier, responds to injury, removes debris, and enhances learning and memory

astrocytes (glial cell)

increase reliability of neurotransmission, control blood flow in brain, involved in thought, memory, immune response

oligodendrocytes (glial cell)

promote new connections among nerve cells, release chemicals that aid in healing, produce myelin sheath

brain electricity

-neurons respond to neurotransmitters by generating electrical activity.
-electrodes measure the electrical charges that are moving in and out

resting potential

-when there are no neurotransmitters acting on the neuron (-60 millivolts)
-until charge inside neuron reaches threshold and an action potential occurs

action potential

-electrical impulses travel down the axon, triggering the release of neurotransmitters
-a neuron "fires"
-positively charged particles flow rapidly into the axon, and then quickly back out

absolute refractory period

-neurons fire rapidly (100 to 1000 times/second)
-each action potential is followed by a brief period during which another AP cannot occur AKA time to "reload"
-the longer the axon, the more limited the maximal firing rate → longer the refractory period

absolute refractory period

time during which another action potential is impossible; limits maximal firing rate

neurotransmitters

chemical messenger specialized for communication from neuron to neuron

lock and key

-different receptor sites along the dendrites recognize specific neurotransmitters
-specific neurotransmitters bind with specific neurotransmitter sites

reuptake

-means of recycling neurotransmitters
-transmissions can be halted by reuptake of NT into the axon terminal
-synaptic vesicles sending the message retract it
-SSRI's block this, keeping more neurotransmitters at play

glutamate and gaba

most common neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (CNS)

glutamate

-excites neurons, enhances learning and memory
-high doses can be toxic (over-stimulating neural receptors)
-ie. adderall stimulates