Psychology - Exam 1 - Mccall

What is Psycological Science

Study of Mind, Brain, and Behavior - Mental activity, biochemical processes, observable human interactions

What are the goals of Psychological Science

Critically evaluate, answer your own questions, avoid common misunderstandings

Confimation Bias

Ignoring evidence that is contrary to your hypothesis

Hindsight Bias

Seeing connections after the fact and claiming they are more predictable than they actually are

Quick judgements and decisions

Taking mental shortcuts

Seeing casual relationships

Making connections between two things that do not connect

Clinical Psychology

understand, characterize, and treat mental illness

Cognitive Psychology

understand the basic skills and processes that are the foundation of mental life and behavior (attention, memory, etc. )

Cultural Psychology

effects of geographical regions, national beliefs, religious values on mental life and behavior

Developmental Psychology

how humans grow and develop from the prenatal period through infancy and early childhood, through adolescence and early adulthood, and into old age

Nature/Nurture debate

is development genetically based or is it based on the environment you're in and it's determined that they are intertwined

Dunning-Kruger effect

People lack the ability to evaluate their own performance in areas where they have little expertise - people who performed worse thought that they would perform better and people who performed higher thought they would perform worse

Construct validity

extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure - you wouldn't be given chemistry questions to measure your knowledge of psychology

External validity

degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, or situations - if participants represent the intended population and if the variables are similar to how they would occur in the real world

internal validity

degree to which effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not to confounds - experiment is well designed and well controlled

Descriptive Studies

Case Studies, Observation, and Self Report - Describe what you see going on and gather data

Correlational Studies

describes and predicts how variables are naturally related in the real world without any attempt by the researcher to alter them or assign causation between them

Experimental Studies

Manipulation of one variable to measure the effect on a second variable - the only type of study that shows causality

Replication

Repeating a study to see if the results are the same, ideally by someone not affiliated with the original study

Central Tendencies

Mean, Median, Mode

Mean

the average of a set of numbers

Median

the value in a set of numbers that falls exactly halfway between the lowest and highest values

Mode

the most frequent score or value in a set of numbers

Agonists

Drugs and toxins that enhance the actions of neurotransmitters

Antagonists

Drugs and toxins that inhibit the actions of neurotransmitters

Theory

an explanation or model of how a phenomenon works; used to explain prior observations and to make predictions about future events

Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction, narrower than the theory it is based on

Independent Variable

the variable that is manipulated in a research study; variable assigned to participants in different levels of the variable

Dependent Variable

the variable that is the outcome that gets measured in a research study after a manipulation - value of the dependent variable depends on the changes produced by the independent variable

Positive Correlation

When higher values on one variable predict higher values on a second variable and lower predicts lower

Control Group

participants in an experiment who receive no intervention or who receive an intervention that is unrelated to the independent variable being investigated

Experimental Group

the participants in an experiment who receive the treatment

Meta - analysis

a study of studies that combines the findings of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion - researchers believe it provides stronger evidence than the results of any single study

Definition of Neurons

the basic units of the nervous system

3 phases of a neuron

receive, integrate, and transmit

Parts of a neuron

Dendrite, Cell Body, Axon, Terminal Buttons, Synapse , Myelin Sheath

Action Potential

also called neural firing; the electrical signal that passes along the axon and causes the terminal buttons to release chemicals to transmit signals to other neurons

Synapse

site where chemical communication occurs between neurons

Dendrites

Short, branch-like appendages that detect chemical signals from neighboring neurons

Cell Body

The site where information from thousands of other neurons is collected and integrated

Axon

A long, narrow outgrowth of a neuron by which information is conducted from the cell body to the terminal buttons

Terminal buttons

At the end of axons, small nodules that release chemical signals from the neuron into the synapse

Myelin Sheath

a fatty material, made up of glial cells, that insulates some axons to allow for faster movement of electrical impulses along the axon

Types of neurons

Sensory, Motor, interneurons

Brain Lobes

Occipital, Parietal, temporal, frontal, prefrontal cortex

Hippocampus

plays an important role in the formation of memories

Amygdala

Serves a vital role in learning to associate things with emotional responses and in processing emotional information, especially stimuli that elicits fear

Sympathetic Nervous system

Prepares the body for action

Parasympathetic

Returns the body to its resting state

Hormones

Chemical substances, released from teh endocrine glands, that travel through the bloodstream to targeted tissues; the tissues are subsequently influenced by the hormones

Hormones vs. Neurotransmitters

Hormones belong to the endocrine system and neurotransmitters belong to the nervous system

Brain plasticity

The ability to change in response to experience or injury

Genotype

an organisms genetic makeup

Phenotype

organism observable physical characteristic and is always changing

what makes up the central nervous system

Brain and spinal chord

What drug houses the chemical THC

Marijuana

Shadowing

Someone is told a different statement in each ear - they can only repeat the one they are told to listen to

Flow

An experience that is so enjoyable that it happens automatically - done out of fascination not to complete a task

Qualia

subjective experiences of sensations; the qualitative experiences of your conscious state

Circadian Rhythms

biological patterns that occur at regular intervals (monthly cycle, sleep)

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

a disorder in which a person, while asleep, stops breathing because his or her throats closes; results in frequent awakenings during the night

Narcolepsy

a sleep disorder in which people experience excessive sleepiness during normal waking hours, sometimes going limp and collapsing

Insomnia

a disorder characterized by an inability to sleep that causes significant problems in daily living

Types of meditation

concentrative and mindfulness

concentrative mediation

focusing your attention on one things

Mindfulness meditation

pay attention to thoughts but don't react to them

Gender differences in alcohol consumption

Men more likely to report binge drinking and alcohol intoxication because women metabolize alcohol slower than men and can get the same effects while consuming less

Effects of laptop use on college courses

Increased difficulty for instructor to hold attention and those on laptops and those around them do worse

Strategies for effective sleep

1. Establish a routine to help set your biological clock

2. Avoid alcohol and caffeine just before going to bed

3. Exercise Regularly

4. Your bed is for sleeping

5. Relax

6. Get up

7. Do not try to catch up on sleep

8. Avoid electronic devices late at night

What determines being brain dead vs. coma

In a coma there is brain activity but when you are brain dead there is none

REM dreams vs. non- REM dreams

REM dreams are bizarre, intense, and emotional whereas non-REM dreams are boring and routine

Automatic process of conscious awareness

Can do it without thinking (walking, reading) but controlled is for slower and more complex tasks (driving in the rain)

Most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world

Caffeine

Escapists actives

distracts people from their problems and helps them avoid feeling bad about themselves

Examples of escapists activities

sports, music, screen activities, self-destructive activities

Who can be hypnotized

People who are highly suggestible and willing