psych all definitions

structuralism

used introspection to determine the underlying structures of the mind

introspection

act of looking inward to examine mental experience

functionalism

need to analyze the purpose of behavior

psychoanalytic/dynamic approach

unconscious, childhood

behavioral approach

learned, reinforced

humanistic approach

free will, choice, ideal, actualization

cognitive approach

perceptions, thoughts

evolutionary approach

genes

biological approach

brain, neurotransmitters

sociocultural approach

society

biopsychosocial

combination of biological, psychoanalytic, and sociocultural approaches

Mary Calkins

first female president of APA

Margaret Floy Washburn

1st female PhD

Charles Darwin

Natural selection and evolution

Dorothea Dix

reformed mental institutions in the US

Stanley Hall

1st president of APA’’s 1st journal

William James

father of American psychology (functionalist)

Wilhelm Wundt

father of modern psychology (structuralist)

basic research

purpose is to increase knowledge (commonly done on rats)

applied research

purpose is to help people

psychologist

research or counseling (MS or PhD)

psychiatrist

prescribe medications and diagnose (MD)

experiment

researcher controls variables to establish cause and effect, but is difficult to generalize

independent variable

purposefully altered by research to look for effect

experimental group

received the treatment

control group

placebo, baseline

placebo effect

shows behaviors associated with the experimental group when having received placebo

dependent variable

measured variable and is dependent on the independent variable

double-blind

experiment where neither the participant nor the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to (drug studies)

single-blind

only participant blind and used if the experimenter can’t be blind

quasi experiment

experimental design where random assignment to conditions is impossible

operational definition

clear, precise, typically quantifiable definition of your variables (allows replication)

confound variable

error/flaw in study

random assignment

assigns participants to either control or experimental group at random - increase chance of equal representations among groups

random sample (selection)

method for choosing participants for your study - everyone has a chance to take part, increases generalizability

representative sample

sample mimics the general population (ethnic, gender, age)

stratified sampling

if you need to ensure a representative sample you can separate your population before you sample

correlation

identify relationship between

positive correlation

variables increase and decrease together

negative correlation

as one variable increases and the other decreases

3rd variable problem (confounding variable)

different variable is responsible for relationship

illusory correlation

belief of correlation that doesn’t exist

surveys

usually turned into correlation subject to social desirability and wording effects

social desirability

people lie to look good

wording effects

how you frame the question can impact your answers

naturalistic observation

real world validity (observe people in their own setting) with no cause and effect

case study

studies one person in great detail with no cause and effect

measures of central tendency

mean, median, mode

mean

average (use in normal distribution)

median

middle number (use in skewed distribution)

mode

value that occurs most often

skews

created by outliers (left or right)

statistical significance

results not due to chance, experimental manipulation caused the difference in means

ethical guidelines

confidentiality, informed consent, debriefing, deception, no harm

confidentiality

names kept secret

informed consent

must agree to be part of study

debriefing

must be told the true purpose of the study (done after for deception)

deception

if used must be warranted

no harm

mentally or physically

neuron

basic cell of the nervous system

dendrites

receive incoming neurotransmitters

soma

cell body (includes nucleus)

axon

action potential travels down this

myelin sheath

speeds up action potential down the axon, protects axon (MS could destroy this)

terminals

release neurotransmitters (send signal onto next neuron)

vesicles

sacs inside terminal contain neurotransmitters

synapse

gap between neurons

action potential

movement of Na and K ions across membrane sends an electrical charge down the axon (more Na outside)

all or none law

stimulus must trigger the action potential past its threshold, but does not increase the intensity of the response

refractory period

neuron must rest and reset before it can send another action potential

sensory neurons

receive sense signals

afferent neurons

brain accepts signals

motor neurons

signals to move

efferent neurons

signals exits brain

interneurons

cells in spinal cord responsible for reflex loop

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

the rest of the nervous system

somatic nervous system

voluntary movement

autonomic nervous system

involuntary movement (heart, lungs, etc)

sympathetic nervous system

arouses the body fight/flight (generally activates)

parasympathetic nervous system

established homeostasis after a sympathetic response (generally inhibits)

neurotransmitters

chemicals released in synaptic gap, received by neurons

gaba

major inhibitory neurotransmitter

glutamate

major excitatory neurotransmitter

dopamine

reward and movement

serotonin

moods and emotions

acetylcholine (ACh)

memory

epinephrine and norepinephrine

sympathetic nervous arousal

endorphins

pain control

oxytocin

love and bonding

agonist

drug that mimics a neurotransmitter

antagonist

drug that blocks a neurotransmitter

reuptake

unused neurotransmitters are taken back up into the sending neuron (SSRIs block reuptake)

SSRI

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

hindbrain

oldest part of the brain

cerebellum

movement/balance

medulla

vital organs (heart rate, blood pressure)

pons

basic functions (bridge between regions)

reticular formation

alertness

forebrain

higher thought processes