PSYC 101

What two disciplines helped give rise to psychology?

Philosophy + physiology. Psychology developed partly from questions about how the mind and body interact.

Who established the first psychology laboratory, and when?

Wilhelm Wundt, 1879.

What did Wundt believe psychology should study?

Conscious experience.

What is structuralism?

An early approach that attempted to break conscious experience into its basic components, such as sensations, perceptions, and feelings.

What research technique is associated with structuralism?

Introspection: trained participants systematically described their own conscious experiences.

Who is most strongly associated with structuralism?

Edward Titchener; his approach developed from Wundt's work.

What is functionalism?

An approach emphasizing the purpose or function of consciousness and behavior, particularly how they help organisms adapt to their environments.

Who is most associated with functionalism?

William James.

What did William James mean by "stream of consciousness"?

Consciousness is a continuous flow of thoughts and experiences rather than separate elements.

Structuralism vs. functionalism?

Structuralism asks about the basic components of consciousness; functionalism asks what consciousness does and how it helps us adapt.

Who was Sigmund Freud?

Founder of psychoanalytic theory, which emphasizes how unconscious thoughts, memories, conflicts, and desires influence behavior.

What is the unconscious according to Freud?

Thoughts, memories, motives, and desires outside conscious awareness that can nevertheless influence behavior.

What is a Freudian slip?

A verbal mistake Freud believed could reveal an unconscious thought or motive.

What is psychoanalytic theory?

Freud's theory emphasizing unconscious psychological processes in personality, motivation, and psychological disorders.

Who is considered the founder/father of behaviorism?

John B. Watson.

What does behaviorism argue psychology should study?

Observable behavior rather than unobservable consciousness or mental processes.

What side of the nature-nurture debate did early behaviorists emphasize?

Nurture/environment.

What psychologist emphasized reinforcement and punishment?

B. F. Skinner.

What did Skinner believe about behavior?

Behavior is strongly shaped by its consequences. Behaviors followed by reinforcing consequences become more likely.

What did Skinner think about free will?

Free will is not needed to explain behavior; behavior can be understood through environmental histories and consequences.

Who is strongly associated with humanistic psychology?

Carl Rogers.

What does humanistic psychology emphasize?

Free will, personal growth, self-concept, subjective experience, and human potential.

Humanism vs. behaviorism?

Behaviorism emphasizes environmental control of observable behavior; humanism emphasizes choice, self-concept, and personal growth.

Who was G. Stanley Hall?

An important early American psychologist who founded the first U.S. psychology research laboratory and became the first president of the APA.

Who was the first female president of the APA?

Mary Whiton Calkins in 1905.

Why didn't Harvard award Mary Whiton Calkins a PhD?

Because she was a woman, despite completing the requirements.

What was Mary Whiton Calkins known for scientifically?

Memory research, including the paired-associate technique.

Who was the first woman to earn a PhD in psychology?

Margaret Floy Washburn.

What was Margaret Floy Washburn known for?

Experimental research involving animal behavior and cognition; she was also the second female APA president.

What was Leta Stetter Hollingworth known for?

Research on gifted children, child/adolescent development, and psychology of women, including challenging claims of female inferiority.

What does developmental psychology study?

Changes in behavior and mental processes across the lifespan, from infancy through old age.

A psychologist studying the effects of aging would most likely be what type?

Developmental psychologist.

What does clinical psychology focus on?

Assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of psychological disorders and distress.

What does cognitive psychology study?

Memory, thinking, attention, language, problem solving, and decision-making.

What does social psychology study?

How people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people and social situations.

What does biological psychology/behavioral neuroscience study?

Relationships between biology, the brain, nervous system, and behavior.

What does personality psychology study?

Patterns of traits, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that make individuals different.

What does industrial-organizational psychology study?

Human behavior in workplaces and organizations.

What does it mean that psychology is empirical?

Psychological knowledge is based on systematic observation and evidence rather than intuition alone.

What are the basic steps of the scientific method?

Ask a question → formulate a hypothesis → test the hypothesis → analyze results/draw conclusions.

What is a hypothesis?

A specific, testable prediction.

What is reliability?

The consistency of a measurement.

What is test-retest reliability?

Whether a test produces similar results when administered to the same people on different occasions.

What is interrater reliability?

The degree to which different observers agree when measuring the same behavior.

What is validity?

Whether a measurement actually measures what it claims to measure.

Reliability vs. validity?

Reliability = consistency; validity = whether the test measures what it is intended to measure.

What is internal validity?

The degree to which changes in the dependent variable can be attributed to the independent variable rather than confounding variables.

What is external validity?

The degree to which findings can generalize to other people, settings, or situations.

What is a structured interview?

Every participant is asked the same standardized questions.

What is a clinical/unstructured interview?

Questions can change based on the participant's responses, allowing greater depth.

What is social desirability bias?

Participants answer in ways that make them look favorable or socially acceptable rather than answering completely accurately.

What is naturalistic observation?

Observing behavior in its natural environment with minimal interference.

What is structured observation?

Researchers create a standardized situation and observe participants' behavior.

What is a case study?

An intensive investigation of one person, group, or unusual phenomenon.

What is a major advantage of a case study?

It provides detailed information and allows investigation of rare phenomena.

What is a major disadvantage of a case study?

Findings may be difficult to generalize to other people.

What is a correlation?

An association between two variables.

What values can a correlation coefficient (r) have?

-1.00 to +1.00.

What does the sign (+/-) of a correlation tell you?

The direction of the relationship.

What tells you the strength of a correlation?

How close the absolute value of r is to 1.00.

Does correlation prove causation?

No. Correlation does not equal causation.

What is the direction-of-causation problem?

If A and B correlate, you cannot determine whether A causes B or B causes A from the correlation alone.

What is the third-variable problem?

A third variable, C, may influence both A and B and produce their correlation.

What research design allows researchers to establish cause-and-effect relationships?

A properly controlled experiment.

What is an independent variable (IV)?

The variable the researcher deliberately manipulates.

What is a dependent variable (DV)?

The behavior or outcome the researcher measures to determine whether it was affected by the IV.

What is the experimental group?

The group exposed to the treatment/manipulation.

What is the control group?

The comparison group that is not exposed to the experimental treatment.

What is random assignment?

Assigning participants to experimental conditions by chance.

What does an Institutional Review Board (IRB) do?

Reviews research involving humans to ensure that it meets ethical standards.

Nature vs. nurture: what is psychology's modern position?

Nature AND nurture interact. Behavior generally cannot be explained by biology or environment alone.

What is a genotype?

An individual's genetic makeup.

What is a phenotype?

An individual's observable characteristics resulting from interactions between genotype and environment.

How many chromosomes are normally in a human somatic cell?

46 chromosomes, or 23 pairs.

What are alleles?

Alternative versions of a gene.

What does homozygous mean?

Having two identical alleles for a gene.

What does heterozygous mean?

Having two different alleles for a gene.

What is the norm of reaction?

The range of possible phenotypes that a genotype could produce across different environments.

What does behavioral genetics study?

How genetic and environmental differences contribute to variation in behavior and traits.

Why do psychologists study twins?

To help estimate the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences.

Why are adoption studies useful?

They allow researchers to compare similarities with biological relatives, representing genetic influence, versus adoptive relatives, representing environmental influence.

Are intelligence, mental health, or athletic ability completely determined by heredity?

No. All involve interactions between biological/genetic and environmental factors.

What is a neuron?

A specialized cell that receives, processes, and transmits information in the nervous system.

What do dendrites do?

Receive incoming signals from other neurons.

What does the cell body/soma do?

Contains the nucleus and cellular machinery that maintains the neuron.

What does the axon do?

Carries electrical signals away from the cell body toward other cells.

What do terminal buttons/axon terminals do?

Release neurotransmitters.

What is a synapse?

The junction where one neuron communicates with another cell.

What are glial cells?

Nervous-system cells that support, protect, nourish, regulate, and assist neurons.

What is myelin?

A fatty insulating material around certain axons that allows faster and more efficient neural transmission.

Damage to the myelin sheath would most directly cause what problem?

Slower or disrupted transmission of neural signals.

What are neurotransmitters?

Chemical messengers released by neurons that transmit signals across synapses.

Acetylcholine (ACh) is important for what?

Muscle action, learning, memory, and attention.

Dopamine is associated with what?

Reward, motivation, movement, learning, and attention.

Low dopamine activity in certain brain pathways is associated with what disease?

Parkinson's disease.

Norepinephrine is associated with what?

Arousal, alertness, attention, stress responses, and mood.

Serotonin is involved in what?

Mood, sleep, appetite, and other regulatory functions.

What does GABA do?

It is the brain's major inhibitory neurotransmitter and reduces neural activity.

Endorphins are associated with what?

Pain reduction and pleasure/euphoria.

Which neurotransmitter is associated with the "runner's high" in this course?

Endorphins.