psy 111 exam

what is psychology and its goals

scientific study of behavior and its processes, main goals are to describe, explain, control behavior

ethnocentrism

belief that one’s own culture is better than others and judges on that basis

wilhem wundt

1st physio psychological text and psychology lab

edward titcher

structuralism and introspection

wiliam james

functionalism, influenced by darwin

robert v. guthrie

early black psych

pauline e. scarborough

early women psych

g. stanley hall

1st US psy lab, established APA

mary whiton calkins

1st female APA pres

magaret floy washburn

1st female PHD, animal research

francis c summer

1st AF-AM president, helped end segregation

sigmund freud

psychoanalysis and unconsciousness

ivan pavlov

behaviorism, conditioning

john watson

behaviorism

bf skinner

behaviorism, reinforcement and punishment

carl rogers

humanism, potential for growth

maslow

humanism, motivation and growth, hierarchy of needs

structuralism

analyzing consciousness by breaking it down into most basic measurable components, like sensations, images, and feelings

functionalism

focuses on the purpose of consciousness and how mental processes help humans adapt to their environment

(think charles darwin)

behaviorism

all human and animal behaviors are acquired through interaction with the external environment rather than internal thoughts or feelings

psychoanalysis

human behavior and personality through the influence of the unconscious mind

(think freud)

biological perspective

emphasizes the physical base of human/animal behavior (nervous, endocrine, immune, genetics)

psychodynamic perspective

emphasizes unconscious processes and early experience (based og. on freud)

behavioral perspective

how behavior is acquired and modified through experience and env.

(watson, pavlov, skinner)

humanistic perspective

personal growth, interpersonal relationships, self-concept

(maslow and rogers)

positive psychology perspective

studies optimal functioning rather than emphasizing problems/disorders

(personal happiness, optimism, creativity)

cognitive perspective

mental process, memory, perception, language, problem solving, and thinking

cross-cultural

emphasizes diversity of behavior across cultures

evolutionary perspective

applies the principles of ev. to explain psychological processes

natural selection

psychology as a science

it uses the scientific method to systematicalyl study the mind, brain function, and human behavior

scientific attitude

curiosity, skepticism, humility

scientific method

1. formulate a testable hypothesis

2. design study and gather

3. analyze data and draw conclusions

4. report findings

theory

explanation that integrates many types of evidence from different sources/studies

hypothesis

testable prediction about the relationship between 2 variables

operational

specifically defines the procedures of a research variable

descriptive methods

systematically observes and describes behavior

case study (descriptive method)

examines one individual/unit in depth in hopes that the findings can be generalized

drawback: can be too narrow

survey (descriptive method)

asking people to respond to a series of question/report on their behavior

drawback: people won’t respond or may be biased

naturalistic observation (descriptive methods)

observing/recording behavior as it occurs in its natural setting

drawback: may not reveal all the factors that contribute to the observed behavior

random sampling

saves time and bias

selection of participants is driven only by chance

larger sampling tend to be more representative and decreases error of statistical variability

representative sample

small group that accurately mirrors the key traits, demographics, and diversity of a larger population

correlation

when two traits or attributes are related to each other

does not equal causation

positive correlation

both variables increase or decrease together

negative correlation

as one variable increases the other decreases

experiment

method to test a hypothesis about a cause-and-effect relationship

only way to determine causation

independent variable

what you are manipulating

dependent variable

what you are measuring

depends on IV

random assignment

random assign. of participants to control or experimental groups

first sampling, then assign

informed consent

human participants must know foreseeable risks, no coercion

animals can’t give informed consent, but must be protected from suffering

deception

allowed as long as it poses no foreseeable risks and participants are debriefed

confidentiality

personal information about participants must remain confidential

anonymity

protection of vulnerable populations

children, prisoners, mentally ill, unconscious, elderly, disabled, etc.

risk-benefit analysis

comparing positive effects of decision, treatment, product against potential negative outcomes/hazards

levels of protection

federal oversight for funded research

professional standards of conduct (APA)

institutional level board, reviews every research protocol

descriptive statistics

mathematical methods used to organize and summarize, or describe data

frequency distributions

visual summary of how often various scores occur in a sample of scores

measure of central tendency

single number that presents information about the “center” of a frequency distribution

mean

avg. of a data set

median

middle score

mode

most occurring score

range (variability)

highest score-lowest score

gives one simple number

standard deviation (variability)

how spread out (deviant) avg. scores in the data set are from the mean

statistical significance

statistical analysis of whether measurement differences are due to chance

the neuron

1. soma (nucleus with chromosomes)

2. dendrites (receive info from other neurons)

3. axon (send info to neurons, muscles, glands)

axon terminals/terminal buttons

button ending that sends the message

myelin sheath

fatty sheath that wraps around the axon and speeds up electrical activity

synapse

small gaps between axon terminals + dendrite

NTs cross here

types of neurons

1. sensory: sense the external environment

2. interneurons: connect neurons to each other

3. motor: signal muscles to move

neural communication

dendrites → soma → axon sends info to terminals w action potential → other neurons

resting potential

inside axon/cell:

• lots of K+

• large neg. charged proteins

outside of cell:

• a little K+

• lots of Na+

• some Cl-

charge is -70 mv

action potential initiated (threshold)

-50mv

Na+ channels open → Na+ flows into cell

positive charge increases intracellular (+40mv)

action potential travels down the axon

intracellular fluid is positively charged (triggers nearby Na+ channels to open)

1. K+ channels open

2. K+ channels move out of the cell

3. Intracellular fluid becomes negative again

4. K+ channels close

resting potential is restored

Na+ and K+ channels close (Na+ concentration higher, K+ lower)

Na+ is pumped out and K+ is pumped in (this restores resting state)

refractory period

right after action potential when the cell membrane can’t fire another electrical signal right away (too negative has to get back to -70mv)

myelinated vs. un-myelinated axons

faster in myelinated axons because of saltatory conduction

synaptic transmission

vesicles release NTs into synaptic gap

NTs bind to receptors on receiving neuron

recycling NTs

reuptake: taken back up into sending neuron and repackaged

enzyme degradation: NTs broken down by enzymes, and then may undergo reuptake

speed of neural transmission

0.5 meters per second to 120 meters per second in fast sensory fibers

CNS

brain + spinal cord

PNS

autonomic, somatic, sympathetic, parasympathetic

nerve

bundles of axons

myelin is formed by a type of glial cell called Schwann cells

autonomic system

controls involuntary body functions

sympathetic nervous system (autonomic)

arouses body to expend energy

parasympathetic system (autonomic)

calms body to conserve energy

endocrine system

making and releasing hormones

hypothalamus (endocrine)

regulates release of pituitary gland (organ) and hormones

(growth hormone and oxytocin)

adrenal glands (endocrine)

produces hormones involved in human stress response and testosterone in males and females

gonads (endocrine system)

ovaries (estrogen and progesterone)

testes (androgens)

brain overview

about 2-3 pounds

abt 233-465 sq in

uses oxygen, blood, energy

neural networks

the brain has around 100 billion neurons

each neuron has 10,000+ synapses

hindbrain (brainstem)

medulla, pons, cerebellum, reticular formation

ponds (hindbrain)

sleep, breathing, swallowing, equilibrium

if damaged, you would live, but daily life would be disrupted

medulla (hindbrain)

controls heartbeat and breathing

if damaged, trouble with bodily functions

reticular formation (hindbrain)

regulates sleep, wakefulness, and levels of arousal

if damage, depending on loc., could result in coma or never sleeping again

cerebellum (hindbrain)

enables nonverbal learning, coordinates movements, balance

damage, hard to walk or make smooth movements

midbrain (brainstem)

substantia nigra

damage would cause a loss of dopamine, leading to parkinson’s

forebrain (limbic system)

thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala

forebrain (cerebral cortex)

outermost layer of brain, contains 20-23 billion neurons

responsible for perception, emotion, movement, mood, planning, and thought

neuroplasticity

the ability to change function and structure

neurogenesis

the development of new neurons