General Psychology Final (Old Material)

Operational Definition

statement about procedure the researcher uses to measure a variable

Case Study

in depth analysis of one or more subjects

Survey

asking about thoughts, feelings, actions and recording them

Naturalistic observation

observing subjects in their own environment with no knowledge of your presence

Correlational study

measure the strength between two variables (-1.00 to +1.00)

Experimental method

manipulating one variable causing behavior contrasting with a control group

Random Sampling

everyone in the population has an equal chance of being studied

Positive Correlation

variables change in the same direction

Negative Correlation

variables change in different directions

Does correlation indicate causation?

Correlation does NOT indicate causation

Random assignment

participants have an equal chance of being in every experimental group

Independent Variables

manipulated by experimenter

Dependent Variables

outcome variable

Confounding Variable

variable that is potentially responsible for the results, but is not the variable of interest (IV)

Placebo effect

observed improvement following an inert (fake) treatment

Generalizability

applying results of the research to groups and settings outside of the study

Informed consent

the permission a participant gives to researchers prior to taking part in a study/ experiment and being informed of what you can expect during the study
INCLUDES:
- potential risks and implications
- participation is voluntary
- can end experiment at any time
- data collected will remain confidential

Debriefing

a procedure conducted at the end of an experiment with participants especially if deception was used
WHY?
- explain why deception was used
- to ensure participant is not physically or psychologically harmed
- to fully inform participants about their experience

Dendrites

receives neural message from other neurons

Cell body

houses DNA

Axons

thin tube that transmits messages

Glial cells (glia)

- provide structure for neurons
- some form blood-brain-barrier
- some form myelin sheath

Myelin Sheath

specialized cells wrapped around the axon to help transmit messages, made of glial cells

Action Potential

electrochemical impulse that travels from the cell body down to the end of the axon

"All or none" response

once the electric charge of the neuron reaches a certain threshold, it fires an action potential

Synapse

junction between 2 neurons, transmits impulses via neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitter

chemical signal between neurons

Endorphins

reduce pain and promote pleasure

Dopamine

affects neurons involved in voluntary movement, reward, learning, and memory

Serotonin

affects neurons involved in sleep, appetite, and mood

Epinephrine/Norepinephrine

involved in stress response

Agonists

increases normal activity of a neurotransmitter
- binds to receptors

Antagonists

decreases activity of a neurotransmitter

Sympathetic Nervous System

increases physiological arousal (fight or flight)

Parasympathetic Nervous System

decreases physiological arousal (rest and digest)

Endocrine System

controls hormones

Pituitary gland

"master gland" secretes hormones

EEG

detects electrical activity of neurons in particular regions of the brain

fMRI

uses magnetic field to measure relative activity of various brain areas during tasks

Brainstem

controls primitive and involuntary behaviors under voluntary control

Amygdala

emotions, aggression, fear

Hippocampus

gateway to memory, form new conscious memories

Frontal Lobe

front of brain, planning, creative thinking, personality

Parietal Lobe

top of brain, sensation and sensory

Occipital Lobe

back of head, processes visual signals (visual cortex)

Temporal Lobe

sides of head, processes sound and language comprehension (auditory cortex and wernicke's area)

Somatosensory Cortex

receives information about sensation, in parietal lobe

Motor Cortex

voluntary movement, in frontal lobe

Plasticity

flexibility of brain structures

Mirror Neurons

fire when observing another person doing something

How heritable is intelligence?

50-80% heritable

How does light affect the SCN?

Less light- secrete melatonin
More light- stop secreting melatonin

How are the pineal gland and melatonin involved in our sleep-wake cycle?

The pineal gland secretes melatonin and melatonin causes sleepiness

REM Sleep

rapid eye movement, dreams, sleep paralysis

Stage 1 N-REM

similar to drowsiness, jerks, hallucinations

Stage 2 N-REM

true sleep, reduction in heart rate and muscle tension, brain activity slows

Stage 3 N-REM

deeply asleep and hard to awaken, disoriented when awakened

When is growth hormone released from the pituitary gland?

Stage 3/4 N-REM

What was Piaget's approach to Cognitive Development?

children understand the world through schemes, make constant mental adaptations to new observations and experiences

Assimilation

fitting new information into present system of knowledge and beliefs

Accomodation

change existing scheme, result of undeniable new info

4 stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, formal operations

Sensorimotor Stage

0-2, looking,sucking, touching, develop object permanence

Preoperational Stage

2-7,egocentric, no grasp of conservation, attribute life to objects (animistic thinking)

Concrete Operations Stage

7-11, can understand conversation, transitivity- relations among elements in a series

Formal Operations stage

11+, abstract reasoning, thinking about future possibilities

Object permanence

something continues to exist even when it cannot be seen

Egocentrism

only use own frame of reference (preoperational stage)

Conservation

properties of objects stay the same despite change in shape

Theory of Mind

People's ideas about their own and others' mental states about their feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

What is Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development?

cognitive development results from assistance

Zone of Proximal Development

level at which a child can almost perform a task independently

Scaffolding

teacher adjusts amount of support child's level of development

What are the results of Harlow's studies of infant attachment?

soft contact is important
RESULTS: monkeys chose cloth w/ no food over wire w/ food

How did Mary Ainsworth Study of Attachment?

adult as secure base from which to explore

Secure Attachment

upset when parents leave, happy when they return

Insecure-avoidant Attachment

little to no reaction to parents coming and going

Insecure-anxious-ambivalent Attachment

upset when parents leave, did not calm down when they came back

Baumrind's 4 parenting styles

authoritarian, permissive, uninvolved, authoritative

Authoritarian Parenting

low warmth, high control

Permissive Parenting

high warmth, low control

Uninvolved Parenting

low warmth, low control

Authoritative Parenting

high warmth, high control

What are Kohlberg's 3 Stages of Moral Development?

preconventional, conventional, postconventional

Preconventional Morality

avoid punishment/ gain reward, 4-10

Conventional Morality

"good boy" morality, law and order, after 10

Postconventional Morality

individual principles and conscience

What is Erik Erikson's Stage Theory of Social Development?

○ Changes in interpersonal thought, feeling, and behavior
○ Social development is lifelong
○ Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development: 8 stages

Trust vs. Mistrust

allows formation of intimate relationships

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Autonomy- independence, self-control. Favorite word is no

Initiative vs. guilt

Am I good or bad?

Industry vs. Inferiority

Sense of competence or inadequacy

Identity vs confusion

Stable sense of who one is and what one's values are or identity confusion
Identity- who am ? Where do I belong?

Intimacy vs isolation

establish enduring, committed friendships and relationships or isolate yourself

Generativity vs stagnation

§ Generativity- generate things that contribute to the future of society (these people are generally happier and do better)
§ Stagnation- see life as meaningless (an extreme stagnation is a midlife crisis)

Integrity vs despair

§ Ego integrity- feeling that one's life has coherence and purpose
Despair- disappointment, regret

Bottom-Up Processing

starts with raw sensory data that gets communicated to the brain

Top-Down Processing

starts with observer's expectations and knowledge

Absolute Thresholds

minimal amount of stimulation that can be detected half of the time

Difference Thresholds

lowest level of stimulation required to sense that a change in the intensity has occurred