psych

psychology

the scientific study of the mind and behavior

critical thinking

analyzing and evaluating before making a judgement - thinking before doing

introspection

experiments/methods used to study conscious experience (Wundts reaction time experiments)

pseudoscience

false or discredited science (reading personality through bumps on the skull)`

American Psychological Association (APA)

a US organization for psychologists that provides guidlines, funding, research opportunities, and standardized citation styles

biological psychology

focuses on how biology and physiology influence behavior

cognitive psychology

focuses on how thoughts and mental processes relate to experinces and behavior

developmental psychology

focuses on how people change as they develop across the entire lifespan including cognitive, social, and moral reasoning

social psychology

focuses on how we interact with, understand, and relate to other people

mental/physical health psychology

focuses on how we understand and treat psychological disorders (mood, stress)

industrial/organizational psychology

the study of human behavior in the workplace and the application of psychological principles to solve business and organizational problems

natural science and medicene

studying the human body/brain + behavior; reaction time experiments showing “the mind can be studied”

structuralism

scientific study of conscious experience - experiments used reaction time tests and introspection - goal: to describe the basic building blocks of mental experiences

functionalism

examined the function, purpose, and benefits of behavior; behaviors are adaptive in physical/social environments to help us survive

psychoanalytic theory

focused on a person’s unconscious mind (urges, desires, childhood experiences) to connect behaviors to unconscious meaning

gestalt (whole or form) psychology

rejected dividing experience into parts, holds that the whole experience is more than just than the sum of its parts and depends on point of view context

behaviorism

emphasized the importance of studying observable, objective behavior - Pavlov, Watson, Skinner - (experiments on rats)

humanism

emphasizes an innate potential for good in humans, personal control, desire for improvement, respect, and self-actualization/inner-fulfillment

the cognitive resolution

returned to studying mental procesess using technology, connecting linguistics and computer science to cognitive neuroscience

Carl Rogers

developed humanistic client-centred therapy

Abraham Maslow

theorized about self-actualization

developed psychoanalytic theory

Sigmund Freud

William James

helped found functionalism + draws on Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection

Wilhem Wundt

first “psychologist” - his student developed structuralism

empirical

grounded in objective evidence that can be observed over and over again, regardless of who is observing

fact

observable realities

opinion

personal judgements/attitudes

theory

a well-developed, broad set of ideas that propose an explnation for something

hypothesis

a specific, testable prediction about what will happen if an idea is correct (if…then… statements)

falsifiable

able to be proven correct or incorrect

generalize

when one is able to apply findings from a study sample/case to a larger population

observer bias

a limitation in research where the observers own biases affect naturalistic observation

population

the entire overall group from which a sample is drawn

sample

a subset taken from a population (via random sampling) to participate in research

correlation

a measure of the relationship between 2 variables (DOES NOT = CAUSATION)

causal relationship

establishing that one thing directly causes another, which requires a scientific experiment

confirmation bias

looking for evidence to support your claim while ignoring other evidence

experimental group

the group in an experiment that receives the treatment/change

control group

the baseline comparison group in an experiment

independent variable

the thing you are changing between groups in an experiment

dependent variable

the outcome variable you are measuring

participant

individuals who answer survey questions or take part in research studies

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

the body that regulates research to ensure it follows ethical standards

informed consent

an ethical requirement ensuring research participation is voluntary and informed

deception

a research practice that must be limited to maintain ethics

debriefing

an ethical requirement to inform participants about the study after participation

case study

focuses on one individual or small group

benefit of case study

very deep understanding of that one case

may not generalize to the larger population

limitation to case study

naturalistic observation

observing behavior as it naturally occurs

benefit of naturalistic observation

highly accurate and valid

limitation to naturalistic observation

lack of control; observer bias

survey/interview

a list of questions answered by participants

benefit of survey/interview

cheap, easy, large amounts of data (better generalizability)

limitation for survey/interview

people can lie (not very accurate); not very detailed

archival research

analyzing exsisting deidentified data

benefit to archival research

time and cost effective

limitation to archival research

no direct control over data; must answer questions with what already exists

theory of evolution by natural selection

describes changes in a species (not an individual) driven by genetic variation and heritable traits

genetic variation

biological differences driving changes in a species over time

heritable trait

traits passed down that increase an organisms fitness/survival

genetic environmental correlation

occurs when an individual’s genetic makeup influences the type of environmental experiences they encounter

nervous system

communciation network using local, fast-acting chemical messengers (neurons and neurotransmitters) released right next to cells

glial cell

support cells (clean up crew, cell insulation like myelin) with around 86 billion in the brain

neuron

cells that control the relay of information through the nervous system

soma

cell body housing the nucleus (which contains DNA)

dendrite

extensions that receive chemical messengers from other neurons; entry point of neuron

axon

major long extension that relays electrical singls down the neuron

terminal button

ends of the axon that release neurotransmitters to another cells dendrites

neurotransmitter

chemical messengers relevant for different behaviors/processes

receptor

structures on cells that receive horomones or neurotransmitters

central nervous system

consists of the brain (command center) and spine (relays messages to/from brain)

peripheral nervous system - P —> parts outside

nerves outside of the body/central nervous system

somatic nervous system

subdivision of peripheral nervous system for conscious/voluntary control; contains sensory + motor neurons (affarent/efferent)

autonomic nervous system

subdivision of peripheral nervous system controlling internal organs automatically

sympathetic nervous system

part of autonomic nervous system - responsible for “fight-or-flight” and stress responses

parasympathetic nervous system

part of autonomic nervous system - responsible for “rest-and-digest” ad regulating the body back to normal

homeostasis

equilibrium or state of balance in the body

spinal cord

extension of the brain down the middle of the body that connects to the peripheral nervous system and relays messages

cerebral cortex

forebrain/cerebrum outer layer containing hemispheres and lobes

corpus callosum

structure with 200 million connections connecting the left and right hemispheres

lateralization

the specialization of specific neural functions to one side of the brain/body over the other

thalamus

subcortical structure serving as sensory relay stations for all senses except smell

limbic system

subcortical system containing the hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus

hypothalamus

involved in homeostasis and communication between nervous and endocrine systems

hippocampus

responsible for learning and memory

amygdala

responsible for emotion

the endocrine system

system using horomones released into the bloodstream for widespread, slower-acting, long-lasting communication

horomone

chemical messengers produced by glands that travel through the bloodstream

frontal lobe - front = future —> what you’re going to do

higher-order processes, motor control (motor cortex), reasoning, decision-making (pre-frontal lobe), emotions, working memory, language production

parietal lobe - physical —> what you feel on your body (senses)

coordinating/processing sensory infomation (somatosensory cortex), spatial awareness (where we are in space), 5 senses

temporal lobe - tunes —> hearing/music

hearing input (auditory cortex), memory storage, emotion generation, language comprehension

occipital lobe

visual perception and processing (contains primary visual cortex)